Trilobite (Hardcover)

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Amazon.co.uk Review
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.

Amazon.co.uk Review
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

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14 Reviews 5 star:  (6) 4 star:  (6) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   21 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Swimming with trilobites!, 8 Jul 2004 By  Sally-Anne "mynameissally" (Leicestershire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    This review is from: Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution (Paperback) What interesting creatures. I feel I've learned a bit and would like to know more. I did read S J Gould's "Wonderful Life", about the fossilised creatures discovered in the Burgess Shale, a few years ago. That was fascinating too, but I found the author's gushing enthusiasm and sometimes over-imaginative speculation a bit of an impediment to my enjoyment. Now I try not to let style and presentation get in the way because quite a few popular science books seem to go in for this 'author centred story' sort of style and it would be a shame to miss out because of it. Style isn't everything and if a book is interesting, you can forgive the author's foibles. I think most of the interesting trilobite facts could have been covered in about 50 pages. This book is over 250 pages long because it covers the personal journey of the author from his first trilobite through the interesting people he met and worked with and whose work he admires (or not) and some interesting snatches of the history of palaeontology and the literature of Thomas Hardy and so on. It's not just a trilobite text book. There's lots of 'human interest' stuff here. Some people like that sort of thing and others can learn to relax and enjoy it. I tried to enjoy the personal four fifths of the book and didn't do too badly but the really interesting stuff for me was the information about trilobites. It wasn't difficult to startle and amaze me with trilobite facts as I knew almost nothing about them. Here are some of the things that surprised and delighted me: there were thousands and thousands of different species (a bit like beetles today); they had very peculiar and remarkable eyes (those that weren't blind); they could be as big as a very large lobster or as small as a gnat; they could only live in sea water - not fresh water; most of the fossilised remains found are old carapaces that were cast off to allow growth, rather than whole dead trilobites; trilobites were around for about 300 million years; and so on - and plenty more. There are lots of photographs and diagrams. Trilobites are absolutely beautiful - some of them are absolutely fabulously beautiful. It seems a shame that we'll never be able to see them alive. So, a very worthwhile read. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   16 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Swimming with trilobites!, 10 Jul 2004 By  Sally-Anne "mynameissally" (Leicestershire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    This review is from: Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution (Paperback) What interesting creatures. I feel I've learned a bit and would like to know more. I did read S J Gould's "Wonderful Life", about the fossilised creatures discovered in the Burgess Shale, a few years ago. That was fascinating too, but I found the author's gushing enthusiasm and sometimes over-imaginative speculation a bit of an impediment to my enjoyment. Now I try not to let style and presentation get in the way because quite a few popular science books seem to go in for this 'author centred story' sort of style and it would be a shame to miss out because of it. Style isn't everything and if a book is interesting, you can forgive the author's foibles. I think most of the interesting trilobite facts could have been covered in about 50 pages. This book is over 250 pages long because it covers the personal journey of the author from his first trilobite through the interesting people he met and worked with and whose work he admires (or not) and some interesting snatches of the history of palaeontology and the literature of Thomas Hardy and so on. It's not just a trilobite text book. There's lots of 'human interest' stuff here. Some people like that sort of thing and others can learn to relax and enjoy it. I tried to enjoy the personal four fifths of the book and didn't do too badly but the really interesting stuff for me was the information about trilobites. It wasn't difficult to startle and amaze me with trilobite facts as I knew almost nothing about them. Here are some of the things that surprised and delighted me: there were thousands and thousands of different species (a bit like beetles today); they had very peculiar and remarkable eyes (those that weren't blind); they could be as big as a very large lobster or as small as a gnat; they could only live in sea water - not fresh water; most of the fossilised remains found are old carapaces that were cast off to allow growth, rather than whole dead trilobites; trilobites were around for about 300 million years; and so on - and plenty more. There are lots of photographs and diagrams. Trilobites are absolutely beautiful - some of them are absolutely fabulously beautiful. It seems a shame that we'll never be able to see them alive. So, a very worthwhile read. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Informative and easy to read., 8 Mar 2002 By A Customer This review is from: Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution (Paperback) It is hard not to share Richard Fortey's enthusiasm for Trilobites after reading this book. I found that, unlike with most science books, I read every word and didn't just skim for interesting snippets. I now know more about trilobites than I did after completing a 3-year gelology-oriented degree because interesting and enthusiastic writing sticks in the memory. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 14 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars The dead come to life On the face of it, trilobites seem a very dead subject (pun intended). That which lived such a long time ago cannot tell us a great deal about how life existed then, or indeed... Read more Published on 12 Mar 2007 by Mr P R Morgan 5.0 out of 5 stars Fortey is formidable! Fortey's writing talent is capable and captivating. Whether describing the cliffs of Cornwall or his journeys in search of fossils, he keeps your attention in thrall. Read more Published on 1 Aug 2004 by Stephen A. Haines 4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, funny and for everyone! I've never really been a reader of science books, but the reviews of this were so good that i bought it to read on a long car journey, and it kept me entertained and interested... Read more Published on 21 Dec 2003 by alpha2000 5.0 out of 5 stars Simply superb One of the best "popular science" books I have read. Fortey guides the reader effortlessly through the anatomy, physiology, habitats and habits of trilobites, peppering his... Read more Published on 28 Oct 2002 by Simon Gillespie 4.0 out of 5 stars fascinating revelations I was astounded by how quickly i became totally absorbed by this book. No real science background needed to appreciate this witty distillation of hundreds of millions of years of... Read more Published on 4 Oct 2002 5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating read This book is superb. If you are at all interested in fossils, evolution or geology then buy it and read it without hesitation. Read more Published on 31 Jul 2001 by amazon@mikescommunity.com 2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting material, not so good outcome I am puzzled by people's reactions to this book. I came to this book with high hopes: the reviews are generally excellent and I have always thought the subject matter fascinating... Read more Published on 11 Jun 2001 3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the hype would have you think I bought this book on the back of numerous reviews for the Samuel Johnson Awards, and whilst the author does have a passion for his subject, the language he writes in is... Read more Published on 7 Jun 2001 5.0 out of 5 stars It deserves its exclamation mark! Who would have thought that trilobites could be so interesting? Funny little creatures, they tell us about evolution, the past, and about human life today, through the window of... Read more Published on 30 April 2001 5.0 out of 5 stars Another view on the history of life This is one for those who like Stephen Jay Gould's books. It shows us where there is controvery over the interpretation of observations of the fossil record, shows us how... Read more Published on 10 Mar 2001 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 14 customer reviews...

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