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Peter Douglas Ward
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Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth's Ancient Atmosphere Hardcover – International Edition, September 26, 2006

by Peter Ward (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 60 ratings
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For 65 million years dinosaurs ruled the Earth—until a deadly asteroid forced their extinction. But what accounts for the incredible longevity of dinosaurs? A renowned scientist now provides a startling explanation that is rewriting the history of the Age of Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were pretty amazing creatures—real-life monsters that have the power to fascinate us. And their fiery Hollywood ending only serves to make the story that much more dramatic. But fossil evidence demonstrates that dinosaurs survived several mass extinctions, and were seemingly unaffected by catastrophes that decimated most other life on Earth. What could explain their uncanny ability to endure through the ages? Biologist and earth scientist Peter Ward now accounts for the remarkable indestructibility of dinosaurs by connecting their unusual respiration system with their ability to adapt to Earth's changing environment—a system that was ultimately bequeathed to their descendants, birds. By tracing the evolutionary path back through time and carefully connecting the dots from birds to dinosaurs, Ward describes the unique form of breathing shared by these two distant relatives and demonstrates how this simple but remarkable characteristic provides the elusive explanation to a question that has thus far stumped scientists. Nothing short of revolutionary in its bold presentation of an astonishing theory, Out of Thin Air is a story of science at the edge of discovery. Ward is an outstanding guide to the process of scientific detection. Audacious and innovative in his thinking, meticulous and thoroughly detailed in his research, only a scientist of his caliber is capable of telling this surprising story.

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  1. Print length
    296 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Joseph Henry Press
  4. Publication date
    September 26, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0309100615
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0309100618
  8. See all details
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4.5 out of 5 stars
60 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and well-written. They appreciate the creative writing style and the analysis of oxygen levels over time. The book provides an overview of life's evolution over the past 600 million years, with a special focus on birds' evolution.

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ReadabilityWriting qualityOxygen levelsBiodiversity
13 customers mention "Readability"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and engaging. They describe it as a good science book without being too technical. The premise is intriguing, but some readers find it challenging. Overall, they find the book enjoyable and easy to read.

"...subject of paleo-atmosphereic science was entirely new to me and exciting! The book is clearly written and easy to understand...." Read more

"...I found it intelligent, lively, and filled with new assertions and new insights. I do NOT agree with one reviewer that the book is too expensive...." Read more

"...It was fascinating without being too technical, and technical without being dry...." Read more

"...The scope and novelty of his research is impressive, let's not quibble about its form...." Read more

10 customers mention "Writing quality"7 positive3 negative

Customers find the book well-written and easy to understand. They appreciate the creative writing style and the science content. However, some readers feel the book is overly long.

"...The book is clearly written and easy to understand. Everyone should read it as it explains our present global warming crisis." Read more

"...As for criticism of Ward's writing style, there were creative forays in his writing that I most enjoyed...." Read more

"...but read the whole thing and found it enjoyable, science based, and easy to read and understand as an undergraduate of geology...." Read more

"...The book, although well written, is far from as riveting as "Rare Earth" is. I also missed more pictures, which are almost nonexistent...." Read more

4 customers mention "Oxygen levels"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book helpful for understanding how oxygen levels have varied over time. They mention it analyzes Berner's Atmospheric Oxygen over Phanerozoic Time and relates it to evolution.

"...history of animals in the past 540 million years and how varying oxygen levels, he believes, was a driving force of evolution...." Read more

"The fraction of oxygen in our atmosphere has varied over time...." Read more

"...of the dinosaurs, it also discusses how fluctuations in the oxygen and carbon dioxyide levels in the Earth's atmosphere could have been the major..." Read more

"Analyzes Berner's Atmospheric Oxygen over Phanerozoic Time, Relates it To Evolution..." Read more

3 customers mention "Biodiversity"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's biodiversity. They find it provides an overview of life's evolution over the past 600 million years, with new ideas on paleobiology and the realization that birds migrate over the Himalayas.

"...and attracted me to this book was the realization that birds migrate over the Himalayas..." Read more

"...The book presents an overview of life's evolution along the past 600 million years from a perspective of the atmospheric oxygen content as a major..." Read more

"Provocative -- New ideas on paleobiology..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • virginia langford
    5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book
    Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I love this book! I learned so many new things from it! I got it from the library and read it, and liked it so much I had to buy a copy so I could pass it on to others. The whole subject of paleo-atmosphereic science was entirely new to me and exciting! The book is clearly written and easy to understand. Everyone should read it as it explains our present global warming crisis.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Patrick J. Callahan
    4.0 out of 5 stars Provocative -- New ideas on paleobiology
    Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Ward's book is really quite interesting to explain the "logic" of life's development on the earth, starting with the first animals (540 MA). Everything is linked to a timeline showing the rise and fall of oxygen levels over the geologic eras. It would be fatal to the book's premise, I believe, if subsequent research drastically revises this timeline.

    As for criticism of Ward's writing style, there were creative forays in his writing that I most enjoyed. On a number of occasions, he takes us on an imaginary trip to visit Earth at a particular era. We are in some sort of conveyance that is boat, submarine, and plane. Like a tour guide, he explains what we are seeing -- bare rocks covered with moss and lichens, the faint haze of hydrogen sulphide in the air, the first primitive pre-phyla of the Burgess shale slowly moving across the sea bottom.

    There is some repetition -- this can be criticized, but can also be helpful if one does not whiz through the book rapidly, but goes back every few days for another bite. This is not a thriller, but a rather challenging book of lay science. It is filled with mouthfilling Latinate words. A little extra help by way of some selective repetion is not that objectionable, I think.

    One aspect of the book that is radically new is the analysis of the physiology of various prehistoric families of creatures. Their livers, their lungs, their feathers, their bone structure. Only in fairly recent times has this sort of discussion even been possible, and the field is sort of a "terra incognita."

    Because the book covers new ground, it will remain to be seen how will the findings hold up in decades to come.

    I found it intelligent, lively, and filled with new assertions and new insights. I do NOT agree with one reviewer that the book is too expensive. I got my copy from Amazon for a considerable discount from the nominal price.

    Buy it if you think you will enjoy it.
    68 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it. It was fascinating without being too technical
    Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Ironically, I bought this book because it was a required textbook in one of Ward's classes. No one ENJOYS their textbooks, right? Wrong (at least in this case). Despite having 4 other classes with reading to do, I finished this book in a week. I won't bore you with another summary, just know that even being forced to read it, I loved it. It was fascinating without being too technical, and technical without being dry. This book was my introduction to prehistoric life, and I've been hooked ever since.
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  • Jonathan Ursin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent but challenging
    Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent writing. The author writes about the evolutionary history of animals in the past 540 million years and how varying oxygen levels, he believes, was a driving force of evolution. When I started this book I knew very little about the topic however after reading the book I learned a great deal on this topic and I am motivated to find other books on evolutionary biology.

    I found the book challenging to read. The author assumes the reader is knowledgeable on various topics. Using wikipedia as a tutor throughout the book was a must for me.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Paul Carleton
    4.0 out of 5 stars "Birds fly over the rainbow. Why then, oh why can't I?"
    Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    Did periods of low oxygen in Earth's ocean and atmosphere - `thin air' - drive the evolution of animals? Ward meticulously correlates oxygen levels with virtually all animal species' evolutions on land and sea from the Cambrian thru-out the following half-billion years. Altho the timings of the oxygen/carbon-dioxide levels versus ancient animals' ages are both still somewhat speculative, Ward's theory seems to be the most plausible explanation I've read so far.

    What caught my attention and attracted me to this book was the realization that birds migrate over the Himalayas (the book's dust-jacket and chapter headings picture Eurasian cranes in flight) while the fittest of our species struggle in the thin air to reach those heights. What enables birds to do that? Ward traces birds' respiratory system's origin to the pre-avian dinosaurs and says that at sea level birds' is a third more efficient than mammals' and at a mile high theirs is two times more efficient. However I was disappointed that he doesn't explain why birds' dinosaur ancestors survived the K-T extinction 65mya which killed off all the other dinosaurs, or how they evolved into today's birds. His focus is more on us mammals.

    Some reviewers grumble that Ward's prose is flawed which impeded their reading. Granted it's a little rough but the fact that he's breaking new ground and promptly delivering the results to us, should earn him some latitude. The scope and novelty of his research is impressive, let's not quibble about its form. Perhaps his fault is that he rushed to publish his `first draft' rather than take the time to polish it, but I'm glad he did altho as I said, I think he wraps it up too hastily. (His "Under a Green Sky" was published just 5½ months later - I'll tackle it next.)
    38 people found this helpful
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  • Marco Polo
    5.0 out of 5 stars Much of the story of life on Earth has been a story of adaptations to oxygen levels high and low.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    The fraction of oxygen in our atmosphere has varied over time. The advent of photosynthetic life caused oxygen levels to soar from earlier near zero levels, and much of the subsequent history of life may have been driven by later changes in this level. Ward advances both rock solid points, such as that there must have been more O2 in the days of giant insects, and intriguing but more speculative points such as that dinosaurs probably had lung anatomy much like birds of today and that in low oxygen conditions this would have been a huge advantage. He’s careful to buttress this with recently discovered fossil evidence.
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Jacek
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in Canada on March 25, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The history of oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere and it's profound importance on life. Very educational, well written and entertaining.
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  • djb
    5.0 out of 5 stars not just hot air
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    This is a very very good book on evolution. In a way it is a companion volume to Beerling's highly regarded 'Emerald Planet'. Beerling looked at the changing atmosphere and the relationship with plant life. This book considers the potential selection pressures pertaining to periods of low atmospheric oxygen in particular, and makes a strong correlation between atmospheric cause and evolutionary effect from the Cambrian to the Cretaceous.Mercifully it lacks the hot air, waffle and padding which have blighted other output by the same author. This is certainly the best book I've read on the history of evolution in a while. In time it might even be regarded as an important book. Possibly even a classic ? The argument certainly seems very compelling.
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  • Rambling Man
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Tale
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    A fascinating tale of how life on Earth has risen and fallen, and possible reasons why, with the dinosaurs as a grand finale. You may not agree with the general hypothesis but it should at least make you think.
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