Explorers of Deep Time: Paleontologists and the History of Life

Explorers of Deep Time is an accessible, scientifically accurate, and well written look at paleontology and the scientists who study it written by Dr. Roy Plotnick. Released 4th Jan 2022 by The Columbia University Press, it's 344 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. 

The author writes engagingly and well about "Deep Time" and the conditions and physical, geological, and biological features which shaped those eras and have had such a profound effect on our world. The illustrations and photographs (and digital recreations) add a lot and helped me to visualize scale (giant dragonflies circa 310 million years ago were *really* huge). 

Besides talking about ancient history, the author spends a gratifying amount of time talking about academia and the sometimes (often?) circuitous path to becoming a paleontologist or other theoretical scientist and academic. I am a bionerd and am on numerous groups on social media and one of the perennial questions is "My kid is interested in _____, so what education should they be pursuing"? It's nice to see actual real life advice on real life studies by an eminent (real life) scientist.

The book is layman accessible, and I found it a fascinating read. It's well annotated (and the chapter notes and index make for fascinating further reading) but doesn't get bogged down in overly academic language. This is popular science writing - not a "how-to" guide for collection or specimen study. It's clear he's both knowledgeable and engaged in the subjects as well as having a solid interest in passing on knowledge and encouraging others to learn and study. There are a handful of popular science writers who have the gift of writing layman accessibly and engagingly on their topics of expertise. We can safely add Dr. Plotnick to the list. The chapter notes and bibliography are for  papers and research presented in English (most science writing is in English these days).

Five stars. Heartily recommended for readers of science, paleontology, academic pursuits, and STEM subjects, as well as for public and school library acquisition.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.