Trilobite!: Eyewitness to Evolution [Hardcover]

With his new book Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution Richard Fortey confirms his status as one of the best communicators of science around today. His hugely enjoyable previous book Life: an Unauthorised Biography was shortlisted for the 1998 Rhone-Poulenc science book prize, but Trilobite is sure to receive even greater acclaim. Whereas Life took the reader on a whistle-stop tour of evolution from start to present--a huge undertaking that necessarily granted little space to each time period or taxonomic group--Trilobite sees Fortey indulging in a whole book about his overriding palaeontological passion, the long extinct and enigmatic creatures of the title. The result is a joy. Trilobites--woodlice-like creatures that dominated the world's oceans long before the time of the dinosaurs--are arguably the most beautiful animals that have ever been chipped out of the fossil record. Fortey certainly seems to think so. His enthusiastic, almost loving explanations of the anatomy, ecology and long evolutionary history of these fascinating vanished creatures carry the reader on a fascinating and inspirational journey into the Earth's distant past. But the book is much more than a technical treatise on trilobites. We learn about Fortey himself, his formative years as an amateur then professional palaeontologist, about his much-loved teachers and colleagues, and above all about that strange but addictive pastime known as science. You may not find arthropods as charming as Fortey does, but you will not fail to be charmed by the man. --Chris Lavers --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

With his new book Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution Richard Fortey confirms his status as one of the best communicators of science around today. His hugely enjoyable previous book Life: an Unauthorised Biography was shortlisted for the 1998 Rhone-Poulenc science book prize, but Trilobite is sure to receive even greater acclaim. Whereas Life took the reader on a whistle-stop tour of evolution from start to present--a huge undertaking that necessarily granted little space to each time period or taxonomic group--Trilobite sees Fortey indulging in a whole book about his overriding palaeontological passion, the long extinct and enigmatic creatures of the title. The result is a joy. Trilobites--woodlice-like creatures that dominated the world's oceans long before the time of the dinosaurs--are arguably the most beautiful animals that have ever been chipped out of the fossil record. Fortey certainly seems to think so. His enthusiastic, almost loving explanations of the anatomy, ecology and long evolutionary history of these fascinating vanished creatures carry the reader on a fascinating and inspirational journey into the Earth's distant past. But the book is much more than a technical treatise on trilobites. We learn about Fortey himself, his formative years as an amateur then professional palaeontologist, about his much-loved teachers and colleagues, and above all about that strange but addictive pastime known as science. You may not find arthropods as charming as Fortey does, but you will not fail to be charmed by the man. A delightful read. --Chris Lavers --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Praise for LIFE: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY:

‘Read this book because it is, indeed, the best natural history of the first four billion years of life on earth.’
John Gribbin, Sunday Times

‘Richard Fortey is a scientist… but his big, rich history of four billion years of evolution is written with an artist’s zest for life and language. Anyone who wants to understand how we came to be here on earth,
4 000 000 000 years after life began, should read this sparkling book.’
Maggie Gee, Daily Telegraph

The tale of life needs constantly retelling. Thank some happy accident of history that we have Fortey to tell it to us anew.’
Ted Nield, New Scientist

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Praise for 'Dry Store Room No 1': 'This book is worthy of the place it tells us about, and that is a pretty lofty chunk of praise.' The Times 'In this loving survey of his life at the museum, Fortey!is never less than enthused by all the museum's collections.' Financial Times 'Fortey!in his affectionate portrayal of the institution in which he spent his working life ! sneaks us behind the scenes with all the glee of a small child seeing for the first time the museum's iconic Diplodocus skeleton ! always authoritative ! the beauty of the book is that - just like a museum - you can visit the different sections in any order you choose, lingering in the places that most take your fancy ! and there is plenty of solid science to enjoy, elucidated with brilliant flair.' Sunday Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

"At last, I found a trilobite. The rock simply parted around the animal, like some sort of revelation. I was left holding two pieces of rock--surely what I held was the textbook come alive. The long thin eyes of the trilobite regarded me and I returned the gaze. More compelling than any pair of blue eyes, there was a shiver of recognition across 500 million years."

From the author of Life comes the fascinating story of the beginnings of life on our planet as seen by its very first creatures, trilobites--the exotic, crustacean-like animals that dominated the seas for 300 million years.
Richard Fortey fell in love with trilobites as a fourteen-year-old when he held his first fossil in his hand. In Trilobite!, he draws on a lifetime of study of these creatures to unravel the history of life on earth from their point of view. Trilobites saw continents move, mountain chains grow and erode; they survived ice ages and volcanic eruptions, constantly evolving and exquisitely adapting to their environment--their own evolution calibrated to geological time itself.
With Fortey's expert guidance, we begin to understand how trilobites reveal the pattern and mechanism of evolution through their fossil legacy in the rocks. Through the eyes of trilobites, he allows us glimpses of former worlds as foreign in their geography as in their life forms. Altogether, he provides a unique picture of our geological past, which in turn provides us--scientist and layperson alike--with a new grasp of the wonders of scientific discovery.

This astonishing book from the best-selling author of 'Life: An Unauthorised Biography' gives an amazing view of evolution as seen from the eyes of the trilobites – arthropods from 500 million years ago.

Richard Fortey is one of Britain's leading popular scientists. 'Life: An Unauthorised Biography' was short -listed for the Rhone Poulenc prize and has been reprinted five times. In all he writes, Fortey displays extraordinary range, delight and descriptive gifts, which make complicated scientific facts and concepts not only easy to understand but a delight to absorb.

'Trilobite' is an unashamedly trilobito-centric view of the world unravelling the history of the exotic, crustacean-like animal, which dominated the seas for three hundred million years. These arthropods witnessed continents move, mountain chains elevated and eroded; they survived ice ages and volcanic eruptions, evolving and adapting exquisitely to their environment. They watched through their crystal eyes whilst life evolved. Their own evolution calibrated geological time itself.

In 'Trilobite' Fortey ponders the great cycles of earth history, the durability of stone compared with the transience of human life, and the fecundity of evolution. With his expert guidance, we begin to understand how trilobites reveal the mechanism and pattern of evolution from their legacy in the rocks. Through the eyes of the trilobites, he allows us glimpses of former worlds as exotic in their geography as in their life forms. This is time travel with the guidance of master.

'Read this book because it is, indeed, the best natural history of the first four billion years of life on earth.'
JOHN GRIBBIN 'Sunday Times'

'Richard Fortey is a scientist… but his big, rich history of four billion years of evolution is written with an artist's zest for life and language. Anyone who wants to understand how we came to be here on earth, 4 000 000 000 years after life began, should read this sparkling book.'
MAGGIE GEE 'Daily Telegraph'

The tale of life needs constantly retelling. Thank some happy accident of history that we have Fortey to tell it to us anew. '
TED NIELD 'New Scientist'

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Richard Fortey is senior palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum. His previous books include the critically acclaimed LIFE: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY and the prize-winning THE HIDDEN LANDSCAPE. He lives in London.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.