Title: The Story of the World in 100 Species

Author: Christopher Lloyd

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing 2016

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

In the retitled paperback edition of his book What on Earth Evolved?, Christopher Lloyd leads us on an extraordinary journey, from the birth of life to the present day, as he explains, in a jargon-free way, the phenomenon we call “life on Earth.” Lloyd starts with the Earth “before humans,” when loose strands of genetic code swarmed over the planet, and moves on to explore the creatures that evolved in the murky deep and crept up on the shore to become pioneers of life on land. He then investigates the world “after humans” and how the coevolution of humans and a range of other key species has transformed the planet over the last twelve thousand years. In the process, he identifies the hundred most influential species that have ever lived--with candidates as diverse as slime, sea scorpions, dragonflies, potatoes, ants, tulips, sheep, and grapes--and reveals those that have most changed life on Earth.

One of the books from the library that I grabbed on a whim but kept putting at the bottom of the To Read stack. With the library closures, I have extended due dates on all books. This one got moved up to the top of the pile. Over about a week I read through the 100 entires detailing very important species to life. I found the sections on early life (pre-human life) to be much more interesting that more modern species. The two entries about bony fish were especially fascinating. I think I gravitated towards those entries that focused on the mechanics of evolution to trace the path of life through the ages. An interesting science book for the week.

Next up on the TBR pile: