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Brian Switek

Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature Paperback – Illustrated, November 30, 2010

by Brian Switek (Author)

4.5 110 ratings

Part of: Icon Science (12 books)

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“Switek seamlessly intertwines two types of evolution: one of life on earth and the other of paleontology itself.”—Discover Magazine

““In delightful prose, [Switek] . . . superbly shows that ‘[i]f we can let go of our conceit,’ we will see the preciousness of life in all its forms.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Highly instructive . . . a warm, intelligent yeoman’s guide to the progress of life.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Magisterial . . . part historical account, part scientific detective story. Switek’s elegant prose and thoughtful scholarship will change the way you see life on our planet. This book marks the debut of an important new voice.”—Neil Shubin

“Elegantly and engagingly crafted, Brian Switek’s narrative interweaves stories and characters not often encountered in books on paleontology—at once a unique, informative and entertaining read.”—Niles Eldredge

“If you want to read one book to get up to speed on evolution, read Written in Stone. Brian Switek’s clear and compelling book is full of fascinating stories about how scientists have read the fossil record to trace the evolution of life on Earth.”—Ann Gibbons

“[Switek's] accounts of dinosaurs, birds, whales, and our own primate ancestors are not just fascinating for their rich historical detail, but also for their up-to-date reporting on paleontology’s latest discoveries.”—Carl Zimmer

"After reading this book, you will have a totally new context in which to interpret the evolutionary history of amphibians, mammals, whales, elephants, horses, and especially humans.”—Donald R. Prothero

Spectacular fossil finds make today's headlines; new technology unlocks secrets of skeletons unearthed a hundred years ago. Still, evolution is often poorly represented by the media and misunderstood by the public. A potent antidote to pseudoscience, Written in Stone is an engrossing history of evolutionary discovery for anyone who has marveled at the variety and richness of life.

Part of series

Icon Science
Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bellevue Literary Press
Publication date

November 30, 2010
Dimensions

6 x 0.7 x 8.9 inches
ISBN-10

1934137294
ISBN-13

978-1934137291
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Beginning with a recently discovered 47-million-year-old primate fossil, Switek effectively and eloquently demonstrates the exponential increase in fossils that have been found since Darwin first published On the Origin of Species. In delightful prose, he blends information about fossil evidence with the scientific debates about how that evidence might be best interpreted. Switek, who writes the Smithsonian's Dinosaur Tracking blog, focuses on evidence for the evolution of major lineages, from reptiles to birds and from fish to tetrapods. He also explains at length how whales, horses, and humans evolved, marshaling compelling fossil evidence and combining it with information from molecular biology; at every step, he makes clear what is still unknown. He underscores that life forms have not "progressed" through evolution to end with Homo sapiens as the highest life form; rather, evolution has produced "a wildly branching tree of life with no predetermined path or endpoint." He superbly shows that "f we can let go of our conceit," we will see the preciousness of life in all its forms. 90 b&w illus. (Nov.) (c)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In this thoroughly entertaining science history, Switek combines a deep knowledge of the fossil record with a Holmesian compulsion to investigate the myriad ways evolutionary discoveries have been made. Just one chapter encompasses an 1817 Amazon expedition, Richard Owen and London’s Natural History Museum, the musings of Darwin, an array of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century naturalists, some digs in Greenland, and paleontologist Jenny Clack’s 1980 research in old field notebooks and a trip to the Sedgewick Museum basement. All of this leads in a roundabout way to the 2006 discovery of Tiktaalik: a fish with a critical position in the record between fins and fingers. From there Switek moves on to “footprints and feathers” and a dozen other topics that all further his mission of exploring natural history and portraying the scientists who spent their lives asking questions and finding answers. It’s poetry, serendipity, and smart entertainment because Switek has found the sweet spot between academic treatise and pop culture, a literary locale that is a godsend to armchair explorers everywhere. --Colleen Mondor

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bellevue Literary Press; Illustrated edition (November 30, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1934137294
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1934137291
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 8.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,031,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #261 in Biology of Fossils
- #314 in Paleontology (Books)
- #1,686 in History of Civilization & Culture

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4.5 110 ratings

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Brian Switek

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Brian Switek has been a fossil fan since he was knee-high to a Stegosaurus. This natural history passion has led him to a career writing about lost worlds, from the critically-acclaimed books Written in Stone and My Beloved Brontosaurus to his National Geographic blog Laelaps. When not writing about fossils, Brian also joins museum and university field crews on paleontological expeditions around the American West. His next book, with artist Julius Csotonyi, is Prehistoric Predators, a children's book due in May of 2015.

Brian's website: http://www.brianswitek.net

Laelaps, at National Geographic: http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/blog/laelaps/

Follow Brian on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/paleoswitek

Follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Laelaps

Follow Brian on GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3958757.Brian_Switek

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4.5 out of 5

110 global ratings

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A "Solid" Book Indeed!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 24, 2011

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Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature by Brian Switek

"Written in Stone" is a "solid" scientific book from freelance science writer Brian Switek. This book focuses on the history of fossil evidence in support of evolution. This 320-page book is composed of the following ten chapters: The Living Rock, Moving Mountains, From Fins to Fingers, Footprints and Feathers on the Sands of Time, The Meek Inherit the Earth, As Monstrous as a Whale, Behemoth, On a Last Leg, Through the Looking Glass, and Time and Chance.

Positives:
1. Well researched, well written book that is accessible to the masses.
2. Very respectful and pleasant tone throughout.
3. Evolution through the eyes of paleontologists, geologists, archeologists...The book focuses on fossils, their discoveries and how they inspire scientific discussions that ultimately lead to a consensus or even more questions.
4. Fabulous use of drawings and illustrations. I also want to thank Mr. Switek for providing photos of many of the scientists involved in this book. I understand that there are legal issues involving the use of photos and such but it's refreshing to see an author go out of his way to provide that to the readers. It makes reading that much more enjoyable.
5. The core of paleontology discussed.
6. Interesting tidbits throughout the book.
7. The always fascinating clash of science and religion.
8. Many brief historical accounts of scientists and their impact.
9. The explanation of evolutionary history based on mainly fossil evidence of some of our main species: fish, birds, whales, elephants, horses and of course humans.
10. Does a great job of dispelling Lamarck's contention that life appeared to be progressive (well you know with a little help from Darwin...).
11. Transitional fossils and some very good examples.
12. Archaeopteryx in updated context.
13. The curveball that was the platypus.
14. The impact of mass extinctions. Various accounts and theories.
15. Hoaxes exposed. "Piltdown man" as an example.
16. Vestigial traits. As an example, living whales retain vestiges of their hips and hind limbs.
17. The curious tale of Thomas Jefferson regarding national pride in correlation to natural history. Loved that.
18. Examples of punctuated equilibrium.
19. The impact of Linnaeus.
20. Human evolution, it's in the bones.
21. All the links, notes, glossary does this superb book justice.

Negatives:
1. The biggest negative of this book is that it's a dry book. That is, it lacks panache; it lacks the ability to engage the reader. Let loose Mr. Switek. The final chapter Mr. Switek provides evidence that he is capable of lucid science writing with passion. I would have liked to have seen more of that immersed in the rest of the book.
2. Lacking in thought-provoking quotes. There are a few, Mark Twain has a great quote but they are few and far between.
3. So many scientific terms for new species that it will make your head spin.

In summary, this is a very solid book and another good contribution to evolution with the focus on fossils. It's a bit dry at times but the author met all my expectations regarding the science involved. If you are looking for a well-researched books on the evolutionary history of fossils, this is a good purchase. I recommend this book for all the science lovers out there and look forward to reading more books from Mr. Switek in the future.

Recommendations: " Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters " by Donald R. Prothero, " The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution " by Gregory Cochran, " Why Evolution Is True " by Jerry A. Coyne, " Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body " by Neil Shubin, " The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution " by Sean B. Carroll, " What Evolution Is (Science Masters Series) " by Ernst Mayr, " Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution " by Nick Lane, " Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA " by Daniel J. Fairbanks and " The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution " by the great Richard Dawkins.

7 people found this helpful

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LastRanger

Reading The Book Of Earth:

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 10, 2016

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This excellent book covers a lot of ground, in more ways than one. Part science and part history, "Written in Stone" by science writer Brian Switek offers an overview of how men of science came to understand the Earth and its myriad life forms. If you are an experienced reader of the Earth Sciences some of this material may already be familiar to you but Switek presents it in a fresh, informative manner. Starting in the 15th Century, and probably before, men of science noticed how the landscape was arranged in layers and some of those layers contained rock formations that looked a lot like the remains of living things. If these were indeed traces of long dead plants and animals, how did they come to be entombed in solid rock and why were the shells of sea creatures often found so far inland or in high mountain locations? Early studies of Geology and Evolution were often hampered by Religious Doctrine that teaches a strict interpretation of Scripture that often ran contrary what science had to say on the subjects. Throughout the book Switek introduces you to some of the scientist who shaped our understanding of the world around us. Men like Charles Lyell, Thomas Huxley, Alfred Wallace and, of course, Darwin himself. What they discovered and what they proposed was controversial to say the least and has remained so, to this very day. For me the most interesting parts of the book dealt with the history of life as we understand it today. The transition of fish to tetrapod, how birds may have learned to fly, why whales and elephants got so big. Then there's Man's story, tracing our journey from the trees to the ground and why "Homo sapiens" is probably the last of a varied group. This book may not be for everyone but if you're at all interested in prehistoric life and the geological history of our world then "Written in Stone" may be just what you've been looking for. This is Switek's first book and it's a good one, a little technical in parts but clearly written for the layman reader. Both the print and e-reader editions are illustrated with archival photos, numerous charts, graphs and animal reconstructions. I had no technical or downloading problems with this Kindle edition.

Last Ranger

13 people found this helpful

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PaulaB

a few "miniscule" problems

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 5, 2019

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First, to the content of this book. I found the first two-thirds or so quite interesting, as the author explores the very beginnings of historical archaeology and its ramifications for the understanding of evolution and the players (including Darwin) who upended the Bible's "truths." The last third is devoted to the modern understanding of the evolution of whales, horses, and of course Homo sapiens and the confusion over our prehistoric ancestors. There is only so much that a reader can take of horse ancestor's toes, whale's flukes, and the like. The inclusion of every single species' names is more distracting than illuminating for the casual reader and is more suited to an academic paper than a general-interest book.

The various charts are virtually indecipherable in the Kindle version, no matter what strength readers you're wearing. I obviously can't speak to the print edition.

What I can definitively say is that this book, no matter what version one reads, is riddled with typographic errors. Does no one copy-edit or proofread a book before its publication anymore? And I'm certain that this is not limited to the Kindle edition; minuscule (a favorite word of the author's) is never spelled "miniscule" no matter how many times this error is repeated. I don't care if this sounds like I'm nitpicking--I'm used to Kindle editions of books being, for lack of a better term, sloppy in that format. In this book, these typographical errors and misspellings were distracting. And yes, I admit that I'm old-fashioned when it comes to good spelling and grammar, although I do give a wider berth to Kindle books.

There's a problem for readers like me whose main takeaway from a book is the non-word "miniscule."

18 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Rock solid read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 29, 2012

Verified Purchase

This is an easy, pleasant book to read.

The book is structured in an episodic way looking at different aspects of paleontology, for example the evolution of whales, or the evolution of horses, by first looking at the history of the science in these areas over the last couple of centuries or so showing how knowledge of the science has gradually built up followed by a summary description of current knowledge on the subject.

The structure of this book is what makes it a comfortable (but not shallow) read. By focusing to start with on the history of an aspect of evolution, the author takes the opportunity to include a large number of entertaining anecdotes about early scientists and their quirks, which keep you interested and entertained, whilst the way that he describes there understanding of what the science is takes you from the intuitive assumptions that you initially had on the subject to the more counter intuitive facts that are the modern day view on an easy to climb learning curve. This is impressive science writing.

The book is modern enough that if you haven't took much notice of the science over the last four or five years, like me, you'll find that things have moved on......e.g. Previous reading made me aware that birds had evolved from dinosaurs, I wasn't aware that many dinosaurs that we traditionally think of as scaled were in fact feathered.

I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend reading it.

7 people found this helpful

Andy Laverick

Filling in the gaps

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 17, 2017

Verified Purchase

Creationists tend to use Darwin's discussion of fossils to justify their nonacceptance of evolution. This book destroys their argument. Easy to read and clinical in getting it's point across it is a must read for anyone with an interest in the history of humankind.

lost coloradoan

Must read for anyone interested in evolution and paleontology

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 19, 2014

Verified Purchase

The history of the evolution revolution and how the fossil record backs it up are discussed in length and detail. Several different animal groups are covered, including dinosaur, bird, mammal, amphibian, horse, whale and primate evolution. Well written in terminology most people will find easy to understand and follow.

Ray Hill

A easy romp through dino land

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 30, 2015

Verified Purchase

Love it. Read it and enjoy.

Peer Sylvester

Evolution in Aktion

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on July 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

Das erste Buch von Brian Switek (der auf der amerikanischen National Geographic Seite sein Blog Laelaps unterhält) befasst sich vordergründig mit Fossilien. Liest man etwas weiter rein stellt man fest: Eigentlich befasst sich jedes Kapitel mit einer "Evolutionsgeschichte": Zum Beispiel Evolution der Beine, der Federn, der Wale, der Pferde und natürlich der Menschen. Dabei fängt er immer mit den ersten Forssilien an und was die damals für die Wissenschaft bedeuteten. Oft gab es einige Sackgassen und Streit bezüglich der richtigen Interpretation. Auch der Kampf zwischen Kreationismus und Darwins Evolutionslehre taucht immer wieder auf. Im Laufe der Zeit verdichtet sich aber das Bild und wenn Switek in der Gegenwart angekommen ist, merkt man wie aktuell das Buch ist und wie der aktuelle Stand der Forschung ist. Dadurch bekommt man zudem einen hervorragenden Einblick in die Disziplin der Paläentologie und lernt wie die Wissenschat eigentlich zu ihren Erkenntnissen kommen. Nebenbei merkt man auch, wie vollständig die Evolutionsgeschichte in Teilen doch ist und wo noch Lücken sind. Damit ist es sehr empfehlenswert, wenn man sich mit Evolutionslehre auseinandersetzen will.
Zwei Kritikpunkte habe ich aber dann doch: Einmal sind die Kapitel wie ich schon angedeutet habe schon sehr unabhängig voneinander. Es wird immer ein Aspekt vollständig beleuchtet, dann der nächste usw. Dabei ist die abgedcekte Zeitspanne fast immer identisch und auch eine Reihe von namen kommen sehr oft vor. Dadurch hat man eher das Gefühl eine Essaysammlung vor sich zu haben, als ein Buch aus einem Guß, aber das ist eine Marginalie. Was man aber auch wissen muss: Das Niveau ist z.T. nicht ohne. Zwar erklärt Switek das meiste, aber dennoch neigt er gerade bei der Unterscheidung zwischen einzelnen Fossilien zu technische Details, die man nur nachvollziehen kann, wenn man wirklich sehr konzentriert ist. Zudem ist das Sprachniveau nicht ohne. Das sollte man zumindest wissen, bevor man sich an die Lektüre macht- was ich aber durchaus empfehle!

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