Abstract
The work begins with an overview essay explaining limitations in past attempts at panoramic portrayal of Earth's life forms. In the second chapter the reader is given solid grounding in evolutionist conceptions of geologic time and for the basic structure of the fossil record. The third chapter is devoted to "foundations" for Earth life and its initial appearance in primordial oceans. Coverage of the remaining five chapters is largely indicated by their titles: "The Rise of the Fishes," "Four Feet on the Ground" (the emergence of amphibians), "Dinosaur Summer," "Victors by Default" (mammalian succession of the dinosaur dynasties), and "The Primates' Progress" (from hominoid primates to Homo sapiens). The reviewer for Booklist characterized the effort as "marvelous.... The modesty of this first-rank team of scientists and illustrators makes all the more trustworthy their seven-chapter telling of the evolution story."