This is very well written and does a wonderful job summing up a very long period of time. Recommended for high schools, homeschools, libraries, and people who want to understand more about our history on this planet.

A (Very) Short History of life on Earth by Henry Gee is a, stay with me here, concisely told history of life on Earth. Really, it’s all in the title there. So you pretty much know upfront what you’re going to get. A broad but not deep fast-paced glide through the major elements of how life evolved from its earliest bacteria days to the more complex (if not “better”) days of, well, us. So put the goggles on and tie down any loose items, because billions and millions of years are going to fly by in a matter of a few pages.

The first chapter, after dispensing with the formation of the solar system and our planet in about five pages, covers the first few billion years on the planet: its atmosphere and geology, and the surprisingly early appearance of life in the form of cyanobacteria followed by eukaryotes and multicellular creatures. Chapter two picks up with the arrival of sponges, the development of the anus, which “led to a revolution in the biosphere,” the beginning of the predatory-prey arms race (teeth and armor), and the movement from soft-bodied to skeletons and shells. The chapter closes with the well-known Cambrian Explosion, after which “all the major groups of animals still around today had made their first appearance.”

Chapter three brings about the backbone, fish, and the development of jaws. In Chapter Four life moves from the ocean to land via plants then arthropods, then amphibians. Amniotes, in particular reptiles, come on the scene in chapter five, as does the largest extinction event ever, where “nineteen of every twenty species of animal in the sea and more than seven out of every ten on land had been driven to extinction,” thus clearing the way for the Age of Dinosaurs in chapter six and flying reptile in chapter seven, which ends with its own, more famous extinction event. This one killed of the dinosaurs, once again helping pave the way for a new wave, in this case the mammals whose rise is the focus of chapter 8. Chapter nine starts to slow the millennia hopping down a bit, focusing on the evolution of apes and hominids, while chapter ten picks up that story with Homo Erectus about 2.5 million years ago and the movement out of Africa. Other hominin species soon evolved and co-existed: Homo Floresiensis, Homo antecessor, Homo heidelbergensis, the Neanderthals, and the Denisovans. A flourishing of species that, as chapter 11 notes, ended with the arrival of the sole remaining one, Homo sapiens. This chapter ends the history part of the book, with chapter twelve looking ahead to the future of humanity and the planet.

That’s a lot to cover in under 300 pages, but Gee deftly manages to both zoom through time and make that movement seem smooth, manageable, and comprehensible. The big shifts are all here, not just with regard to life’s evolving forms, but also the surrounding necessary context: the changing atmosphere, the shifting continents, weathering/erosion, rising and falling sea levels, advancing and retreating ice, massive lava eruptions, asteroid impacts. These events aren’t simply catalogued; Gee shows how each of these affected the conditions for life, leading some species to adapt to new conditions and driving others into extinction.

Sure, some of the names might be a bit hard to keep straight, unfamiliar as they are and coming sometimes in quick manner, but one never loses the big picture, not the sense of wonder at life’s ingenuity, the way, as someone once said in some little film, it “finds a way.” Gee’s own sense of wonder at this, and his unbridled enthusiasm, shine through the entire book, and he makes for an engaging, sometimes poetic but always easy-to-follow tour guide. Finally, one of the guides I always use for how much like a non-fiction book is if/how much I read of the notes. I read them all. And highlighted large chunks (so don’t skip them).

A few times I felt he could have been a bit more nuanced or addressed a few other views (for instance, the idea that the extinction of the dinosaurs led to the rise of the mammals has been somewhat questioned of late). And including illustrations would have been a definite plus. But those were relatively minor quibbles. Other, far longer, books will obviously go into more detail, as will more focused books, such as those exploring only human evolution or that look solely at the Cambrian Explosion. But there’s also a need for these sort of foundational concept books, ones that give a broadly shallow overview in clear, concise fashion, allowing the reader to step back and hold an entirety of vision in their heads. Which in turn allows them to better understand the more detailed knowledge they’ll get elsewhere. A (Very) Short History of life on Earth is just that kind of foundational book, and one I highly recommend.

A fascinating read a trips through life on earth.Even though this is a scientific read it is so well written so informative it was so interesting.A book packed with information written in a lyrical manner.Short but loaded with information.#netgalley #st.Martinsbooks

Henry Gee delivers on his commitment to reveal the history of life on earth from the earliest slime to the present with some speculation on the far future . He keeps it short by focusing on important developments in the anatomy and abilities of successive forms of life, such as the formation of a backbone. Of course it wasn't only the living that changed, the planet has never been static. Changes in landforms, atmosphere and climate have altered life, sometimes nearly wiping it out. For me one of the strong points of this book is Gee's illustration of the interconnectedness of all these forces.
Yes, there are many Latin names. These aren't plants and animals with nicknames and since there is no quiz there is no need to memorize them. Paying attention to the reason Gee is writing about them isn't difficult. Yes, some line drawings would be wonderful, but then it wouldn't be a (Very) Short History. and it would cost more, too.
You will miss out if you skip the notes. There are interesting tidbits and trivia. Gee also explains what some of the controversies on various theories are about. Glancing at a few of the titles of papers cited gives a hint of the depth of Gee's research.
This is an excellent book..

Great science writing: fun and informative

I loved this book. It certainly lives up to its name as it is short, but it isn’t short on great writing. It also lives up to it’s subtitle about pithy chapters. There were several passages that were so well written that I would re-read them several times. I am glad that Henry Gee made room for clever writing in such a concise book. Although the book is concise, I never felt that Gee skimped on content. It all flowed very well, with my never having asked how he got from point A to point B. Even some of the footnotes are worth reading. My one quibble about the book is the speculative nature of some of the information in chapter 12, but this is a minor point. This book is well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy.

I really enjoyed this book. With the terminology and names it might be a bit of a challenge for some who don't know much about prehistoric creatures. Fortunately, I've watched a lot of science documentaries so I could picture the creatures when he spoke of them. Definitely don't miss the footnotes because they are often quite funny and charming.

Gee takes readers on a 4 and a half billion year journey of the origins of life on our planet. Not a coffee table book, but an articulate scientific trip for the layman through the remarkable and chaotic random events that ends with humans, who now have the ability to destroy it all