Life Through the Ages II: Twenty-First Century Visions of Prehistory
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-09 09:55:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mark P. Witton
- ISBN：0253048117
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
What was life like on our planet long before the early humans emerged？
Paleontologist Dr。 Mark P。 Witton draws on the latest twenty-first century discoveries to re-create the appearances and lifestyles of extinct， fascinating species， the environments they inhabited， and the challenges they faced living on an ever-changing planet。 A worthy successor to Charles Knight's beloved 1946 classic， Life through the Ages II takes us on an unforgettable journey through the evolution of life on Earth。
Dozens of gorgeous color illustrations and meticulously researched， accompanying commentary showcase the succession of lost worlds， defining events， and ancient creatures that have appeared since the earth was formed， creating an indispensable guide to explore what came before us。
Paleontologist Dr。 Mark P。 Witton draws on the latest twenty-first century discoveries to re-create the appearances and lifestyles of extinct， fascinating species， the environments they inhabited， and the challenges they faced living on an ever-changing planet。 A worthy successor to Charles Knight's beloved 1946 classic， Life through the Ages II takes us on an unforgettable journey through the evolution of life on Earth。
Dozens of gorgeous color illustrations and meticulously researched， accompanying commentary showcase the succession of lost worlds， defining events， and ancient creatures that have appeared since the earth was formed， creating an indispensable guide to explore what came before us。
Reviews
Daniel Morgan
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This is a beautiful book。 The author created this as an update and an homage to Knight's original "Life Through the Ages" from decades ago （so there is no need to look for the Vol。 1 like I did！）。 I thought the introduction about Knight was really interesting， because apparently due to being popular early on his work became extremely influential - not only for pieces like Fantasia， but even for artistic tropes like T。 Rex v。 Triceratops or the Allosaurus gnawing on a tail。 The heart of the text This is a beautiful book。 The author created this as an update and an homage to Knight's original "Life Through the Ages" from decades ago （so there is no need to look for the Vol。 1 like I did！）。 I thought the introduction about Knight was really interesting， because apparently due to being popular early on his work became extremely influential - not only for pieces like Fantasia， but even for artistic tropes like T。 Rex v。 Triceratops or the Allosaurus gnawing on a tail。 The heart of the text is about 70 plates with a facing 1-page description。 The plates are art - these are not just informed by science， but also by color， composition， lighting， and sometimes even try to create a particular perspective。 My personal favorite is one image of a giant scorpion hunting， and we are gazing from below and from a curved perspective - almost like the perspective from a burrow。 The author's commentaries are great because they explain why this creature is signficant， what it means， what are some of the questions and speculation， and frequently connects back to present-day issues of climate， biodiversity， conservation， etc。 Finally， I appreciate the at the author included notes and references in the back to delineate fact， inference， and speculation。 。。。more
Peter Tillman
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Review by the Inquisitive Biologist: https://inquisitivebiologist。com/2020。。。Excerpt:"In the pantheon of palaeoart few names loom as large as that of American artist Charles R。 Knight （1874-1953）。 Of the several books he wrote， his 1946 Life Through the Ages is the one that stood the test of time， having been reprinted on multiple occasions。 In Life through the Ages II， Witton provides a gorgeously illustrated tour of life on Earth， reflecting how the state of science has advanced in the interve Review by the Inquisitive Biologist: https://inquisitivebiologist。com/2020。。。Excerpt:"In the pantheon of palaeoart few names loom as large as that of American artist Charles R。 Knight （1874-1953）。 Of the several books he wrote， his 1946 Life Through the Ages is the one that stood the test of time， having been reprinted on multiple occasions。 In Life through the Ages II， Witton provides a gorgeously illustrated tour of life on Earth， reflecting how the state of science has advanced in the intervening seven decades。 。。。Witton’s style is characterised by a subdued use of colours and tones that feel earthy and organic to me， making for atmospheric pictures。 Some are downright eerie， such as a giant， floating crinoid barge or his near-Lovecraftian depiction of a giant ammonite。 There is as much attention to the backdrop of skies， vegetation， or mountains， as there is for the subjects in the foreground。 The notes in the appendix reveal a careful artist who holds himself to exacting standards of authenticity while acknowledging the sometimes limited state of our knowledge。 So， he asks readers to be sceptical of his depiction of the Ediacaran biota and warns them that more complete， future remains of Plathyhystrix could render his depiction obsolete。 No posture， no limb placement， no choice of bodily proportions has gone without serious research and thought。 "ZIP book for our library？ 。。。more
Laura McLain
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Mark Witton is both a paleontologist and a paleoartist， so the beautiful illustrations are up-to-the-minute scientifically。 The book follows life on earth over 3。5 billion years。
The Inquisitive Biologist
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