Inheritors of the Earth: How Nature Is Thriving in an Age of Extinction by Chris D. Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
4 solid stars even though I have (temporarily) DNF’d @ 39%.
….the story of life on Earth is one of never-ending change…
Inheritors of the Earth will be moved to my ‘started but pick up again later’ shelf as I have the upmost respect for the unique way our ever-changing world is portrayed by ecologist, Chris D Thomas.
‘Wherever in the world you are reading this book, you would once have been surrounded by an impressive array of staggeringly large animals’.
Never have I read a statement so thought-provoking in a non-fiction book. It made me look out my window, imagining what I would see if I turned the clock back a few million years.
I’m always tuning in to TV documentaries about nature and this fantastic world we are all honoured to be part of. Inheritors of the Earth caught my eye on NetGalley. I thought that reading a documentary style book would feed my brain and satisfy my yearning to try and understand planet earth just that little bit more. I was fascinated by the fact that ‘nature is fighting back’.
Mankind has altered our planet over millions of years, but instead of exploring the negative impact, the author instead gives an account of how the flora and fauna has learned to adapt and thrive in this forever changing world.
Like a lot of non-fics that are bursting with facts, figures and fantastic photography, this one doesn’t disappoint. I will say, however, that e-ARC’s of this kind are not at their best, this would undoubtedly be a five star hardback. In the format of an e-book, which lacks flow (no fault of the author/editor) it is heavy-going for me. At just under half way, I was feeling bogged down with information overload.
Let me just say, this is absolutely without a doubt a truly brilliant and unique account of Earths past, present and future which deserves all the stars. Unfortunately, I am unable to finish it because my brain simply cannot take it!
I got as far as 39%, and I began to forget everything I’d read, apart from the wonderful detailed account of the hardy Sparrow. It’s all my own doing, the book is not to blame. As a ‘coffee-table’ book, this is perfection. If I owned this in all its hardback glory, over a (long!) period of time, I would read it all. Bite-sizing this would satisfy me more than a cover-to-cover approach.
I will be keeping this on my kindle, and will read occasionally, it deserves to be savoured because there is stacks to learn, just not all in one go.
I would highly recommend it to students that are studying environmental subjects, and those with a real in-depth passion for conservation. It’s not a light read, little ol’ me just hasn’t got space on my brain hard drive to store it all. I’d need much more RAM to be able to process it all satisfactorily.
I’d like to thank the author, Chris D Thomas and the publisher, Perseus Books for the opportunity to read this, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I’m not giving up on it, what I did read was faultless, I shall continue at some point in the future.
OwlBeSatReading 