Bruce Lieberman
In this enjoyable and deep account, Prothero uses fascinating lessons from geology and paleontology to explain and illustrate the important impacts that climate has had on life, and that life has had on climate in turn. The Story of Earth's Climate in 25 Discoveries is an excellent addition to the author's series on the 25 Discoveries concept.
Gregory J. Retallack
With his traditional clarity, organization, and experience, Prothero takes readers through the evolution of life and climate to illustrate why we are in trouble today. The stories of the lives of scientists and how they made their discoveries are interesting reading and an essential contribution.
Everything Dinosaur
Delegates at COP28 continue their discussions on how to limit and make preparations for future climate change. These discussions, their success or failure will have consequences for all of humanity. Decisions made today will have implications for all future generations too. The publication of a new book that documents the history of our planet’s climate and its connection to life on Earth provides context and delivers a fresh perspective.
The Story of Earth’s Climate in 25 Discoveries is written by Donald R. Prothero. He is an incredibly talented American palaeontologist and geologist with a gift for communication. As adjunct professor of geological sciences at California State Polytechnic University (Pomona, California), the author is well qualified to explain the intimate connection between climate and life on Earth. However, unlike many scientists, Donald R. Prothero’s engaging writing style permits the general reader to understand and grasp sometimes difficult concepts.
Trilobite Tales
A clearly-written book that everyone should read.
New Scientist
Paleontologist, Donald Prothero, takes on the hefty task of recounting how life and climate have shaped each other during Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history. The chapter on the end-Cretaceous extinction is a knockout. Prothero has a big problem with the notion that an asteroid impact was the sole cause of this mass extinction, and also with what he sees as an excessive focus on dinosaurs at the expense of other groups. The whole tone and pace shifts as Prothero moves into fifth gear and explains why it is a bit more complicated than ‘big rock hits, everything dies.’ [The book] is rich from concepts, stories and characters – and there is always another apocalypse just a few pages away.
Yale Climate Connections
In this lively and entertaining book, Donald R. Prothero explores the astonishing connections between climate and life through the ages, telling the remarkable stories of the scientists who made crucial discoveries. This timely book shows, is essential to grasping the gravity of how radically human activity is altering the climate today.
Library Journal
01/19/2024
Prothero (geological sciences, California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona; The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries) examines the complex relationship between the geology and ecology of Earth by highlighting scientific discoveries spanning from the Big Bang Theory to post-Industrial Revolution climate changes. This broad approach enables a discussion of the initial conditions necessary for life on Earth; the chemistry of the atmosphere's, crust's, and oceans' responses to geological and biological processes; and the whole swaths of related lifeforms that sometimes disappear from the fossil record. Some chapters, noting that these extinctions and transitions from one geologic age to another, may feel repetitive and dry for some readers, as the causes are nearly always related to the interplay between temperature, volcanoes, shifting continents, and the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Prothero concludes that prior climate fluctuations and their effects on plants and animals are well understood, and that the current crisis is an ecological tipping point brought about by human energy production in this finely tuned system. VERDICT Adult readers seeking grounded scientific arguments about current climate change will appreciate this big-picture view of the history of Earth's ecosystems and how present circumstances may herald another tipping point.—Wade Lee-Smith
