LIFE - AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY - RICHARD FORTEY -1997

A Natural History of the First 4,000,000,000 Years of Life on Earth.

What do any of us know about the history of our planet before the arrival of man?  Most of us have a dim impression of a swirling mass of dust solidifying to form a volcanic globe, briefly populated by dinosaurs, then the woolly mammoths and finally our own hairy ancestors.

This book, aimed at the curious and intelligent but perhaps mildly uninformed reader, brilliantly dispels any such lingering notions forever.  It guides us from the barren globe spinning through space, through the very earliest signs of life on the rims of volcanoes, the appearance of cells, the creation of an atmosphere and the myriad forms of plants and animals (happily including dinosaurs) which could then evolve and be sustained, right up to the first appearance of homo sapiens.  But it is not simply what Richard Fortey has to tell us that makes this book so distinctive.  His grasp of the significant detail and his power of allusion mark him as one of the finest explicators; his book seeks to entertain his readers as much as to inform them.  The result is enthralling.

This 399 page softcover is illustrated with black and white photographs.  The cover has some edgewear, corner bumps and light creases and there is a texta line to bottom page edges.  Internally there is a light moisture mark which impacts on the top edge of the inside front cover and top edge of first 6 pages (to diminishing degrees).  There is also original owner's name and date on first page.  With a little light browning to page edges due to age, this book is otherwise in a good, tight condition. 

Postage quoted is for within Australia. Overseas customers are more than welcome to email me for a postage quote. Local Pick up is not available.

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