Product Description

This is is a trilobito-centric view of the world, unravelling the history of the crustacean-like animals 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 to their environment. They watched through their crystal eyes whilst life evolved. Their own evolution calibrated geological time itself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #480483 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

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

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

Review
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

Fortey has a gift for bringing profound science grippingly to life for a general audience, and even the very best writers have admiration for his superlative literary craft. Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution is the latest book from the working palaeontologist, and it does not disappoint. Fortey's previous book was Life: An Unauthorized Biogrpahy, the 4,500-million-year history of our planet and its remarkable array of living inhabitants. Trilobite! tells a part of that story. The trilobites were animals that looked like giant woodlice. Denizens of the sea, they first evolved at least 540 million years ago. Trilobites were among the earliest animals to leave evidence of their passing, as fossils. They became extinct around 250 million years ago, during the so-called end Permian mass-extinction - a cataclysmic extinction that dwarfed the demise of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago. Most people have seen the beautiful, polished fossils of trilobites in museums, rock shops and mantlepieces. Fortey came across them as a tender teenager and it was love at first sight. He grew up to be the trilobite specialist at the Natural History Museum in London: Trilobite! tells the 300-million-year history of the lives and times of the trilobites, and records a personal obsession. More than any other science, palaeontology has scenery, and Fortey describes his quest to find trilobites from the deserts of Morocco to the glaciers of Spitzbergen. He also explains what palaeontologists actually do. Palaeontologists are voyagers on a ocean of time. Unlike every other commuter on the 8.02 to Waterloo, Fortey will spend his working day exploring vistas of the deep past, worlds as strange and remote as anything in science fiction or poetry. In Trilobite! he invites you to share the ride. Review by HENRY GEE (Kirkus UK)

Customer Reviews

Swimming with trilobites!
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.

Swimming with trilobites!
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.

Excellent, Informative and easy to read.
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.