---
product_id: 507823471
title: "Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds"
price: "₨774"
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reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.sc/products/507823471-otherlands-a-journey-through-earths-extinct-worlds
store_origin: SC
region: Seychelles
---

# Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds

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Review: New insights and discoveries on practically every page - This book is easily one of the finest I have ever read, as it combines paleontology with most of the Earth sciences. The prose even has a poetic feel and often reads as philosophical — confronting Deep Time rarely evokes these qualities in scientific books of any kind. Richard Fortey’s LIFE, and John McPhee’s ANNALS OF THE FORMER WORLD are two other such brilliant achievements. The author begins with the Pleistocene 22,000 years ago and work his way backwards all the way to the Ediacaran Period. Each period has its own chapter; some stress animals, or plants, insects, and microbial life. No matter the emphasis, the author limns each chapter with other flora or fauna. Surprises (at least for me) abound. One such was that the Cambrian Anomalocarids were thought to have died out at the end of that period but I was astounded that they show up in the Silurian after the Ordovician, the period between the Cambrian and the Silurian. One salient observation is that the author does not concentrate on ancient animals already made famous by dozens of other paleontology books: Tyrannosaurids; Gorgonopsids; Trilobites, the giant insects of the Carboniferous, etc. Instead we get such creatures like Wiwaxia and Opabinia in the Cambrian for example. I was astonished by an animal from the Carboniferous named the Tully Monster, which has baffled paleontologists for years — they just don’t know what it is, although it reminds them of the Cambrian Opabinia. The Ediacarans from the Precambrian are wonderfully treated in the penultimate chapter of the book. They emerge as distinct animals of considerable size (compared to the minuscule Archaeans). The Ediacardan Dickinsonia and Spriggina tell us that other as yet unknown smaller progenitors gave rise to them. Which leads to the author’s observation that fossils are only a tiny representation of life throughout time. The final chapter is a meditation on climate (and plate tectonics) change which has ruled from the formation of the Earth to the beginnings of life and will continue until the Earth’s core cools.. Climate change deniers won’t understand much of this last chapter but the author emphasizes that the current ecological crisis is in and of itself another engine of change no matter who or what causes it. The author does not preach — he just frames the current era as it is. Highly recommended.
Review: Great, but needs more art - This text is a lovely and lovingly written overview exploring the major eras of Deep Time from a holistic ecosystem wide perspective. It is readable, evocative, and informative as can be expected from a survey that crams the better part of 600 million years of history into 300 pages. The text is possibly the best such overview on the topic I've yet encountered, and I've read quite a few books on the subject. Unfortunately, for a book that is clearly aimed at introducing the wonders of paleontology to a newcomer, the book suffers from a crippling lack of artistic depictions. Art is limited to images of the arrangement of continents at the relevant geologic eras and a single line drawing of one organism per chapter. However, the chapters regularly mention upwards of a dozen organisms or whole groups of organisms with only a modicum of description as to what these animals (and occasionally plants) might have looked like. Myself, having read extensively on paleontology, I was familiar with the relevant names and understood immediately what the focus was, but I cannot help but think someone less versed in the topic would have simply encountered a blur of strange names and organisms they struggled to imagine. A version of this text with comprehensive paleoart would be profound, but the current lack keeps it from true greatness.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #37,990 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #4 in Biology of Dinosaurs #18 in Ecology (Books) #24 in Natural History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (770) |
| Dimensions  | 5.18 x 0.87 x 9.08 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 0593132904 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0593132906 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 416 pages |
| Publication date  | February 14, 2023 |
| Publisher  | Random House Trade Paperbacks |

## Images

![Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91feATA0P5L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ New insights and discoveries on practically every page
*by D***) on March 16, 2022*

This book is easily one of the finest I have ever read, as it combines paleontology with most of the Earth sciences. The prose even has a poetic feel and often reads as philosophical — confronting Deep Time rarely evokes these qualities in scientific books of any kind. Richard Fortey’s LIFE, and John McPhee’s ANNALS OF THE FORMER WORLD are two other such brilliant achievements. The author begins with the Pleistocene 22,000 years ago and work his way backwards all the way to the Ediacaran Period. Each period has its own chapter; some stress animals, or plants, insects, and microbial life. No matter the emphasis, the author limns each chapter with other flora or fauna. Surprises (at least for me) abound. One such was that the Cambrian Anomalocarids were thought to have died out at the end of that period but I was astounded that they show up in the Silurian after the Ordovician, the period between the Cambrian and the Silurian. One salient observation is that the author does not concentrate on ancient animals already made famous by dozens of other paleontology books: Tyrannosaurids; Gorgonopsids; Trilobites, the giant insects of the Carboniferous, etc. Instead we get such creatures like Wiwaxia and Opabinia in the Cambrian for example. I was astonished by an animal from the Carboniferous named the Tully Monster, which has baffled paleontologists for years — they just don’t know what it is, although it reminds them of the Cambrian Opabinia. The Ediacarans from the Precambrian are wonderfully treated in the penultimate chapter of the book. They emerge as distinct animals of considerable size (compared to the minuscule Archaeans). The Ediacardan Dickinsonia and Spriggina tell us that other as yet unknown smaller progenitors gave rise to them. Which leads to the author’s observation that fossils are only a tiny representation of life throughout time. The final chapter is a meditation on climate (and plate tectonics) change which has ruled from the formation of the Earth to the beginnings of life and will continue until the Earth’s core cools.. Climate change deniers won’t understand much of this last chapter but the author emphasizes that the current ecological crisis is in and of itself another engine of change no matter who or what causes it. The author does not preach — he just frames the current era as it is. Highly recommended.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great, but needs more art
*by D***I on October 28, 2022*

This text is a lovely and lovingly written overview exploring the major eras of Deep Time from a holistic ecosystem wide perspective. It is readable, evocative, and informative as can be expected from a survey that crams the better part of 600 million years of history into 300 pages. The text is possibly the best such overview on the topic I've yet encountered, and I've read quite a few books on the subject. Unfortunately, for a book that is clearly aimed at introducing the wonders of paleontology to a newcomer, the book suffers from a crippling lack of artistic depictions. Art is limited to images of the arrangement of continents at the relevant geologic eras and a single line drawing of one organism per chapter. However, the chapters regularly mention upwards of a dozen organisms or whole groups of organisms with only a modicum of description as to what these animals (and occasionally plants) might have looked like. Myself, having read extensively on paleontology, I was familiar with the relevant names and understood immediately what the focus was, but I cannot help but think someone less versed in the topic would have simply encountered a blur of strange names and organisms they struggled to imagine. A version of this text with comprehensive paleoart would be profound, but the current lack keeps it from true greatness.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rich in Content - Well Written - An Enjoyable Tour thru Time
*by J***N on February 14, 2022*

The author takes you progressively backwards thru time, starting from the Ice Age and trekking backwards to more than 500 million years ago. As a traveler, you'll spend some time at one particular place during one particular time, and then your off to someplace new. There is lots of content in this book, and the author conveys it scientifically at times, but also poetically too. Lots of species are discussed, but I should emphasize that the author spends just as much time discussing the geology, geography and climate of these places as he does the animal life. He paints a rich description that forces you to concentrate. At times I almost wish there was a 3-D animation to accompany these descriptions so that I can be sure I'm visualizing it properly. Your reminded again and again of how dynamic our planet is. (One interesting fact to impart from the book - Did you know that Mammoths were still walking around on this planet while the Pyramids in Egypt were being built? I bet many don't know this!) A very worthwhile and quality book, and I hope the author will write another sometime down the road.

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*Product available on Desertcart Seychelles*
*Store origin: SC*
*Last updated: 2026-02-05*