A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth – Book Review

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A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters

by Henry Gee

Perhaps, for most people, the word "history" invokes monumental events that have peppered humanity's communal trajectory – the Industrial Revolution, the Second World War, the invention of the internet, etc. That's the upshot of us being so accustomed to peering into life through an infinitesimal lens, which, in a sense, doesn't do justice to the grand scheme of things. A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee provides an easy, almost cheating-like way to grok life in a vastly larger picture.

As the title says, this book summarizes what has transpired to date in relation to life on our planet. Compressing 4.6 billion years into 12 chapters in 230 pages or so is no mean feat, and the author deserves lavish praise for doing that. A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth is brilliantly "written with style" (as Sunday Times testifies) and emanates a modicum of humor. The fact that this book also projects life in the future is to be celebrated, and, as a dinophile, I love the fact that the author has devoted an appreciable portion of it to discussing the icons of the ancient past.

All that being said, despite the inclusion of timeline diagrams, I wish this book was accompanied with more pictures, as it would help readers with imagination in regard to the points of discussion. What I read is the Kindle version, though, so the paperback and/or hardcover version might feature the visual aids.

All in all, if you are interested in or curious about the history of life on Gaia, including that beyond our own species', it is well worth dedicating a tiny part of your own history/life to reading A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee.

Have you read A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth? What do you think of this book? Share your opinion in the comment section below!