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When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
Winner, A Friend of Darwin Award, 2024
A gorgeously composed narrative nonfiction book about the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth.
Immaculately framed by ancient stone, the leaves look as if they were pressed between the gray pages of a great geological diary. If we were to see the plant alive, we would simply pass it by, but the fossil is a whisper from a time more than 55 million years ago, when alligators dwelled within the Arctic Circle and gigantic dragonflies buzzed through the air. This little plant is an entry-point into this lost world. Past, present, and future, this ancient specimen has roots in all of them.
We often retell the history of life on Earth as a series of great moments in which fascinating animal life springs forth, all the while forgetting the plants that made these moments possible. But we can’t understand our own history without them. Or, our future. Dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and all mammals would be nothing without the efforts of their leafy counterparts. Even humans would likely not exist had plants not taken root to sow the land for our amphibious ancestors.
Using the same scientifically-informed narrative technique that readers loved in the award-winning The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, in When the Earth Was Green, Riley Black brings readers back in time to prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas where critical moments in plant evolution unfolded. Each chapter stars plants and animals alike, underscoring how the interactions between species have helped shape the world we call home. As the chapters move upwards in time, Black guides readers along the burgeoning trunk of the Tree of Life, stopping to appreciate branches of an evolutionary story that links the world we know with one we can only just perceive now through the silent stone, from ancient roots to the present.
A gorgeously composed narrative nonfiction book about the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth.
Immaculately framed by ancient stone, the leaves look as if they were pressed between the gray pages of a great geological diary. If we were to see the plant alive, we would simply pass it by, but the fossil is a whisper from a time more than 55 million years ago, when alligators dwelled within the Arctic Circle and gigantic dragonflies buzzed through the air. This little plant is an entry-point into this lost world. Past, present, and future, this ancient specimen has roots in all of them.
We often retell the history of life on Earth as a series of great moments in which fascinating animal life springs forth, all the while forgetting the plants that made these moments possible. But we can’t understand our own history without them. Or, our future. Dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and all mammals would be nothing without the efforts of their leafy counterparts. Even humans would likely not exist had plants not taken root to sow the land for our amphibious ancestors.
Using the same scientifically-informed narrative technique that readers loved in the award-winning The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, in When the Earth Was Green, Riley Black brings readers back in time to prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas where critical moments in plant evolution unfolded. Each chapter stars plants and animals alike, underscoring how the interactions between species have helped shape the world we call home. As the chapters move upwards in time, Black guides readers along the burgeoning trunk of the Tree of Life, stopping to appreciate branches of an evolutionary story that links the world we know with one we can only just perceive now through the silent stone, from ancient roots to the present.
292 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2025
145 people are currently reading
12013 people want to read
About the author
Riley Black
15 books219 followersRiley Black has been heralded as “one of our premier gifted young science writers” and is the critically-acclaimed author of Skeleton Keys, My Beloved Brontosaurus, Written in Stone, and When Dinosaurs Ruled. An online columnist for Scientific American, Riley has become a widely-recognized expert on paleontology and has appeared on programs such as Science Friday, HuffingtonPost Live, and All Things Considered. Riley has also written on nerdy pop culture.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
February 22, 2025
“Ripped away from Earth’s botanical history, life on our planet doesn’t make the least bit of sense.”
It’s easy to relegate plants to be just the scenery, the backdrop on which something interesting - like dinosaurs, for instance - is happening. It seems that they do little but sit around being green (mostly) and being food, but life without taking into account all that botany around is not possible, at least not in the way we know it. Plants shaped our world from the air to life moving out of the oceans and onto the land, and yet through their sheer difference from easy to empathize with animal life they get the short shrift in our attention and knowledge.
“We often present plants as little more than the static background for animal behavior—grasslands are sustenance and setting for gazelle, rafts of duckweed conceal lurking alligators, and tigers need forests of the night to burn so brightly in. Even within the confines of our own experience, plants are often part of an inert-seeming landscape until they have some direct effect on our day-to-day lives.”
———
“Our ignorance certainly colors what we understand of life’s ever-expanding evolutionary panorama. Palms and conifers might frame a prehistoric scene where bizarre reptiles snarl at each other, but we tend not to ask about the lives that make up the habitats in which our favorite prehistoric creatures roamed. Such scenes are absolutely bursting with life, but it’s challenging for us to think beyond the experiences of the toothy and reptilian.”
I adored Riley Black’s The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World, and I was very curious what she does here with the greenery as her subject. To be fair, she doesn’t focus just on the plants but rather on the interconnected coexistence between plants and animals, looking at how plants and animals co-shaped their mutual evolution through interactions with each other.
The book is structured as a dozen-plus vignettes from different periods of prehistory, from 1.2 billion years ago to 15,000 years in the past, starting among the first photosynthesizers who also discovered sexual reproduction, through time periods where we get plants migrating on land, first forests and increase in oxygen in the atmosphere leading to some gigantic insects, to colossal herbivores consuming unbelievable amounts of plants to fuel their insane growth and the adaptations herbivores had to come up with, to appearance of angiosperms, pollination, emergence of rainforests following the evolutionary niches left bare by the dinosaur-killing asteroid, grasslands, catnip (seriously!), the autumn adaptation of leaves changing color and falling off.
“The further we get from our own evolutionary neighborhood, the harder it is for us to connect or understand all the different ways there are to be alive. Plants are the aliens that live in the yard. They grow according to timescales that are often imperceptible to us, release the most essential element in the air we breathe as a waste product, cast their sex cells to the wind, and communicate with each other in ways we’ve only just barely begun to perceive. The great trick of the plants is that they are so ubiquitous, so essential for our own lives, that we’ve ceased to be impressed by their lives and how ours intersect with them.”
It’s a bit meandering and has way more animal life than I thought I’d find after reading the introduction — but I suppose it’s not a book on plants but rather on interconnectedness between plant and animal life. It may be a bit disjointed and by the end of the chapter I would sometimes forget why and how we got there — but yet it’s fun and written so enthusiastically, with a little bit of humor. Black is very descriptive and makes her prehistoric landscapes very vivid, sometimes even flowery (to risk a bad plants-related pun), which sometimes got a bit tiring but luckily not overly so. Of course she admits to some guesswork and assumptions, but without those it’s pretty much impossible to imagine the past with the limitations of our fossil records. She addresses these in the appendices to each chapter, and I found those notes almost more interesting than the chapters themselves, and I think I would have preferred for each appendix to follow the chapter directly rather than all them clustered at the end.
It didn’t pull me in as much as Riley Black’s prior book on dinosaurs, but I still had a good time reading it. 3.5 stars, and I’m looking forward to more of her work.
——————
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Also posted on my blog.
January 21, 2025
4.0 Stars
I am someone who primarily reads fiction, I can confirm that this was an engaging piece of nonfiction. I had a goal to read more non fiction this year and so jumped at the opportunity to review this book.
As someone fascinated by prehistoric beasts, I knew I would love those sections. However I was surprised by how equally fascinating I found the prehistoric plants right.
As non fiction I found the narrative engaging. The author really did a great job bringing the past to life.
If you love non fiction or want to get into the genre, this is an excellent book to pick up. I found the scope of the broad and deep with enough interesting details to keep any reader hooked.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
I am someone who primarily reads fiction, I can confirm that this was an engaging piece of nonfiction. I had a goal to read more non fiction this year and so jumped at the opportunity to review this book.
As someone fascinated by prehistoric beasts, I knew I would love those sections. However I was surprised by how equally fascinating I found the prehistoric plants right.
As non fiction I found the narrative engaging. The author really did a great job bringing the past to life.
If you love non fiction or want to get into the genre, this is an excellent book to pick up. I found the scope of the broad and deep with enough interesting details to keep any reader hooked.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
July 9, 2025
Finished Reading
Pre-Read notes
I adore natural history. Nothing makes me happier than learning something I didn't before about the imprint of life on Earth. This book, about prehistoric vegetation, seemed like the perfect choice for my interests! The first few pages already excite me!
Final Review
The tree that moves some to tears of joy is to others a green thing that stands in the way. —WILLIAM BLAKE p5
Review summary and recommendations
I loved the subject of this book and I learned so much about how plants support life, through the ages. I relished in Black's descriptions of different Earths of epochs past. Though I wanted more science, a deeper look at the species of interest, I had a lot of fun reading this.
I recommend this book to readers who love popular science, dinosaurs, or discussions of prehistoric Earth. A book that turned my very adult self into a kid for a couple of days!
Genetics alone are useless. DNA only makes sense in the context of its environment, an interplay between what genes can tell a body to do and whether that body is having its requirements met. p62
Reading Notes
Six things I loved:
1. What I mean by “when the Earth was green” is not some irretrievable past or a denial that, despite our efforts, there is a great deal of green around us today, but thinking of key moments that plants have changed the nature of nature itself just as we tend to pay special attention to the great springtime blooms when the first leaves unfurled all around us are so impossibly, vibrantly verdant that I can’t help but smile when I notice the hills around my home burst with color. p17 This gorgeous passage both displays Black's writing prowess and also defines the author's purpose for her text.
2. In a rapidly changing world, sex is one way to stay ahead of tomorrow’s changes. p27 When sex isn't sexy it's survival.
3. [T]he chromosomes split again into two parts to send out into the environment as spores. The plants don’t have control over where those spores land. If too many egg-producing plants land near each other, they might not get fertilized. If the spores land in dried-out patches of the beach, the liverworts won’t grow there. The fate of the spores depends almost entirely on wind and water, sand and sun, which then grow just to add more chance into the process. p35 It's wild to think about how much life depends on luck.
4. The story about the monkeys on the raft is one of the best things I've ever heard!
5. Plants can be surprisingly sensitive organisms. They’ve had to be. For a tree like the hackberry , rooted in one place for the entire duration of its life, there’s no way to physically evade hungry herbivores or forcefully shoo them away. In such circumstances, plants have had to evolve ways to both detect danger and, if not drive the attackers off, quickly repair the damage done from so many hungry mouths. p109 Plants are amazing. I love the approach Black chose, to discuss the plants and animals that have always interacted, needed each other, depended on each other.
6. How can I not love a lengthy description of ancient saber-tooth cats enjoying a wild patch of fresh catnip!?
One thing I didn't love:
This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.
1. It doesn't affect readability, or at least hasn't yet, but this author writes some very long sentences. They are well-built, just phrase-heavy. *edit The long sentences are part of this author's style, but she writes them well, and they are perfectly readable throughout the text.
Rating: 🦣🦤🐊🦕 /5 prehistoric critters
Recommend? yes!
Finished: Feb 3 '25
Format: digital arc, NetGalley; accessible digital, Libby
Read this book if you like:
⚗️ popular science
🧬 biology
🦕 dinosaurs
🌱 plants
🦠 natural history
Thank you to the author Riley Black, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of WHEN THE EARTH WAS GREEN. I found an accessible digital copy on Libby. All views are mine.
---------------
Pre-Read notes
I adore natural history. Nothing makes me happier than learning something I didn't before about the imprint of life on Earth. This book, about prehistoric vegetation, seemed like the perfect choice for my interests! The first few pages already excite me!
Final Review
The tree that moves some to tears of joy is to others a green thing that stands in the way. —WILLIAM BLAKE p5
Review summary and recommendations
I loved the subject of this book and I learned so much about how plants support life, through the ages. I relished in Black's descriptions of different Earths of epochs past. Though I wanted more science, a deeper look at the species of interest, I had a lot of fun reading this.
I recommend this book to readers who love popular science, dinosaurs, or discussions of prehistoric Earth. A book that turned my very adult self into a kid for a couple of days!
Genetics alone are useless. DNA only makes sense in the context of its environment, an interplay between what genes can tell a body to do and whether that body is having its requirements met. p62
Reading Notes
Six things I loved:
1. What I mean by “when the Earth was green” is not some irretrievable past or a denial that, despite our efforts, there is a great deal of green around us today, but thinking of key moments that plants have changed the nature of nature itself just as we tend to pay special attention to the great springtime blooms when the first leaves unfurled all around us are so impossibly, vibrantly verdant that I can’t help but smile when I notice the hills around my home burst with color. p17 This gorgeous passage both displays Black's writing prowess and also defines the author's purpose for her text.
2. In a rapidly changing world, sex is one way to stay ahead of tomorrow’s changes. p27 When sex isn't sexy it's survival.
3. [T]he chromosomes split again into two parts to send out into the environment as spores. The plants don’t have control over where those spores land. If too many egg-producing plants land near each other, they might not get fertilized. If the spores land in dried-out patches of the beach, the liverworts won’t grow there. The fate of the spores depends almost entirely on wind and water, sand and sun, which then grow just to add more chance into the process. p35 It's wild to think about how much life depends on luck.
4. The story about the monkeys on the raft is one of the best things I've ever heard!
5. Plants can be surprisingly sensitive organisms. They’ve had to be. For a tree like the hackberry , rooted in one place for the entire duration of its life, there’s no way to physically evade hungry herbivores or forcefully shoo them away. In such circumstances, plants have had to evolve ways to both detect danger and, if not drive the attackers off, quickly repair the damage done from so many hungry mouths. p109 Plants are amazing. I love the approach Black chose, to discuss the plants and animals that have always interacted, needed each other, depended on each other.
6. How can I not love a lengthy description of ancient saber-tooth cats enjoying a wild patch of fresh catnip!?
One thing I didn't love:
This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.
1. It doesn't affect readability, or at least hasn't yet, but this author writes some very long sentences. They are well-built, just phrase-heavy. *edit The long sentences are part of this author's style, but she writes them well, and they are perfectly readable throughout the text.
Rating: 🦣🦤🐊🦕 /5 prehistoric critters
Recommend? yes!
Finished: Feb 3 '25
Format: digital arc, NetGalley; accessible digital, Libby
Read this book if you like:
⚗️ popular science
🧬 biology
🦕 dinosaurs
🌱 plants
🦠 natural history
Thank you to the author Riley Black, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of WHEN THE EARTH WAS GREEN. I found an accessible digital copy on Libby. All views are mine.
---------------
April 10, 2025
A picture paints a thousand words? Well, this author uses more than a thousand flowery words to paint a collection of vignettes of ancient life. The author states in the waffley introduction that the aim of this text is to explain how important plants are and how they are interconnected with the evolution of more mobile life, only I came away with the impression that the animals were still more important and exciting than the scenery, which was essentially there just to be "munched" on. I'm also not sure who the author's target audience is supposed to be. Big words are used, but concepts are explained in the most superficial and simplistic manner possible. The narrative is meandering and disjointed. All the interesting stuff that tells us how scientists know what they know or deduce are at the back of the book as an appendix, instead of including this information in the main chapter. I enjoyed the appendix more than the rest of the book. The whole thing got tedious after a while. This should probably have been a fully colour-illustrated coffee table book, or the text accompanying a prehistoric nature documentary. As it is, the book lacks substance and I found it disappointing.
OTHER BOOKS:
-The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History by David Beerling
-Making Eden: How Plants Transformed a Barren Planet by David Beerling
-Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology
-A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee
-Otherlands: A World in the Making by Thomas Halliday
-Planet of the Bugs: Evolution and the Rise of Insects by Scott Richard Shaw
-Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Future by Merlin Sheldrake
-Survivors: The Animals and Plants that Time has Left Behind by Richard Fortey
-Life: An Unauthorised Biography by Richard Fortey
-The Vital Question by Nick Lane
-The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live and Why They Matter by Colin Tudge
-Fortress Plant: How to Survive When Everything Wants to Eat You by Dale Walters
-The Goldilocks Planet: The Four Billion Year Story of Earth's Climate by Jan Zalasiewica and Mark Willimans
OTHER BOOKS:
-The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History by David Beerling
-Making Eden: How Plants Transformed a Barren Planet by David Beerling
-Dinosaurs Rediscovered: The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology
-A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee
-Otherlands: A World in the Making by Thomas Halliday
-Planet of the Bugs: Evolution and the Rise of Insects by Scott Richard Shaw
-Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Future by Merlin Sheldrake
-Survivors: The Animals and Plants that Time has Left Behind by Richard Fortey
-Life: An Unauthorised Biography by Richard Fortey
-The Vital Question by Nick Lane
-The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live and Why They Matter by Colin Tudge
-Fortress Plant: How to Survive When Everything Wants to Eat You by Dale Walters
-The Goldilocks Planet: The Four Billion Year Story of Earth's Climate by Jan Zalasiewica and Mark Willimans
December 31, 2024
Alone, a dinosaur is meaningless. We put them on literal pedestals in our museums, behind glass and railings as befits their place as the world’s most ancient and long-standing celebrities. But what is a Tyrannosaurus without a forest to conceal its shadow as it stalks? What is a Triceratops without a buffet of ferns and cycad fronds to eat? What is a Mesozoic world without the busy machinations of pollen-collecting beetles and nectar-drinking butterflies that assisted the innumerable, vegetal lives that set the basis for so many other living things to exist?... Ripped away from Earth’s botanical history, life on our planet doesn’t make the least bit of sense.
The book was interesting and had some new details/facts I had never heard of or considered. For example, I knew that certain animals and insects used to be larger. I never considered that these larger sizes might have been due to evolution and overcoming oxygen overload (discussed in Chapter 3).
I also found it interesting to learn how certain plants had more nutritional value to dinosaurs than others. It was cool to read these facts and see how long it might take to consume a particularly indigestible plant. It was also interesting to learn about hindgut fermentation (discussed in Chapter 5).
Overall, the book was pretty good and interesting. However, it got a little boring at times, and it was hard to conceptualize the time difference between chapters.
The book was interesting and had some new details/facts I had never heard of or considered. For example, I knew that certain animals and insects used to be larger. I never considered that these larger sizes might have been due to evolution and overcoming oxygen overload (discussed in Chapter 3).
I also found it interesting to learn how certain plants had more nutritional value to dinosaurs than others. It was cool to read these facts and see how long it might take to consume a particularly indigestible plant. It was also interesting to learn about hindgut fermentation (discussed in Chapter 5).
Overall, the book was pretty good and interesting. However, it got a little boring at times, and it was hard to conceptualize the time difference between chapters.
December 9, 2024
Full disclosure: I won a free ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
A series of prehistoric vignettes showing how plants and animals influence each other's evolution. It's a side of paleontology that I, at least, had never seen before. In all the years of reading fiction and nonfiction about dinosaurs and Ice Age mammals and evolution and fossils and extinction events and everything, I never thought much about the evolution of plants. Black has done her best to bring together the latest research and evoke as total a picture as we can get of the various eras depicted in this book.
I found it to be a captivating read. My normal practice is to have two or three books going at once, alternating between them as circumstances and my moods dictate–some books are portable enough to take to work to read during my breaks; others, not so much. But When the Earth Was Green was engaging enough that I read it exclusively. Just couldn't put it down.
The end of the book features extensive appendices where Black brings up the limits of current knowledge and discusses the reasoning behind the choices made in her depictions. The result is a book sure to delight anyone with even a casual interest in paleontology. Highly recommended!
#WhenTheEarthWasGreen
@StMartinsPress
A series of prehistoric vignettes showing how plants and animals influence each other's evolution. It's a side of paleontology that I, at least, had never seen before. In all the years of reading fiction and nonfiction about dinosaurs and Ice Age mammals and evolution and fossils and extinction events and everything, I never thought much about the evolution of plants. Black has done her best to bring together the latest research and evoke as total a picture as we can get of the various eras depicted in this book.
I found it to be a captivating read. My normal practice is to have two or three books going at once, alternating between them as circumstances and my moods dictate–some books are portable enough to take to work to read during my breaks; others, not so much. But When the Earth Was Green was engaging enough that I read it exclusively. Just couldn't put it down.
The end of the book features extensive appendices where Black brings up the limits of current knowledge and discusses the reasoning behind the choices made in her depictions. The result is a book sure to delight anyone with even a casual interest in paleontology. Highly recommended!
#WhenTheEarthWasGreen
@StMartinsPress
May 20, 2025
This is a book about evolution with a focus on plants. Riley Black is a paleontologist who studies dinosaurs and later expands to plants and other animals. It tells the history of plants in chronological order, their roles as driving force in evolution. The book is written in an unusual (for a science book) “story-format”. Each chapter tells a story in time, where the main character is a plant or an animal, recreated in vivid details. The author explains her choice of format and lists the sources in the appendix, which takes up the last 25% of the book.
These days books like When the Earth Was Green are my comfort reading. I like the evolution time scale. 5 million years ? That’s only a flash. The thought comforts me. My seemingly unsolvable problems become insignificant. The piece of grassland I am standing on right now stood dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and where are the dinosaurs now? Perhaps ginkgo trees can tell me. They once stood with the dinosaurs and stand with us now. They probably will continue to stand while we are gone.
PS: In my opinion, ginkgo tree fruits do not smell as bad as the author describes.
These days books like When the Earth Was Green are my comfort reading. I like the evolution time scale. 5 million years ? That’s only a flash. The thought comforts me. My seemingly unsolvable problems become insignificant. The piece of grassland I am standing on right now stood dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and where are the dinosaurs now? Perhaps ginkgo trees can tell me. They once stood with the dinosaurs and stand with us now. They probably will continue to stand while we are gone.
PS: In my opinion, ginkgo tree fruits do not smell as bad as the author describes.
August 30, 2024
I do love books that describe the earth that once was. This book travels back millions of years ago and describes numerous creatures and how vegetation had impacted them and via Versa. This book provided a lot of information that I was not aware of. It is well written and worth a read!
I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 7, 2025
3.5 stars. Short version is that this isn't quite as gripping as The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World - but that's a damn tough act to follow. Still, Black has a unique and poetic way of telling the story of plant life and how it has interacted and shaped animal life throughout time, and I was into it.
One important note, this book is almost like two books: the original narrative takes each geologic time period chapter by chapter and uses an example or two to show us what was going on. But then at the end, she includes a hefty section of appendices. Don't skip the appendices!! They are just as interesting as the first part - maybe more so. In the appendices, Black explains where she got the data, how likely it is to change, why she selected the examples she did, and any controversies in the field related to them. I can see why an editor probably told her to keep these parts separate, but I found them well worth the read.
This was the April 2025 selection of the SciFri Book Club and another banger. A recorded livestream talk that Black did for the group can be found here.
One important note, this book is almost like two books: the original narrative takes each geologic time period chapter by chapter and uses an example or two to show us what was going on. But then at the end, she includes a hefty section of appendices. Don't skip the appendices!! They are just as interesting as the first part - maybe more so. In the appendices, Black explains where she got the data, how likely it is to change, why she selected the examples she did, and any controversies in the field related to them. I can see why an editor probably told her to keep these parts separate, but I found them well worth the read.
This was the April 2025 selection of the SciFri Book Club and another banger. A recorded livestream talk that Black did for the group can be found here.
February 25, 2025
**Happy Publication Day!**
I was thoroughly enthralled by this nature book that seeks to depict what grew and moved on Earth from 1.2 billion years ago to nearly the present, i.e. 15,000 years ago. In Riley Black's own words: 'I've written this book as a series of unfolding vignettes that speak to how animal and land life have changed each other through the ages.' The Appendix to the book goes back over each chapter, explaining why they chose the plants and animals they did for each period of time.
Two things that became abundantly clear to me while reading the vast history of our planet is how unimportant we are and that life on Earth will go on long after we are gone.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this astounding new book via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own. I will have to check out the book when it is published to see the artwork by Kory Bing that wasn't included in my arc. I have to say I feel a bit cheated. :-)
I was thoroughly enthralled by this nature book that seeks to depict what grew and moved on Earth from 1.2 billion years ago to nearly the present, i.e. 15,000 years ago. In Riley Black's own words: 'I've written this book as a series of unfolding vignettes that speak to how animal and land life have changed each other through the ages.' The Appendix to the book goes back over each chapter, explaining why they chose the plants and animals they did for each period of time.
Two things that became abundantly clear to me while reading the vast history of our planet is how unimportant we are and that life on Earth will go on long after we are gone.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this astounding new book via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own. I will have to check out the book when it is published to see the artwork by Kory Bing that wasn't included in my arc. I have to say I feel a bit cheated. :-)
December 2, 2024
Riley Black is a great storyteller. This non-fiction saga has engaging twists and turns like a novel.
April 7, 2025
This is an excellent exploration of how plants evolved and influenced the evolution of animals throughout prehistory.
It is written as a journey to the past, beginning when plants first began to move onto land and then moving forward through the millennia as the nature of plants and animals changed. In each time visited, the plants and animals are brought to life in a vibrant portrait of what life looked like during that time. A hungry mosquito gets stuck in amber. An elderly mastodon crunches through trees, trying to conserve its remaining teeth. It's the next best thing to stepping into a time machine and visiting those times yourself.
My science-loving 11-year-old is absolutely enraptured by this exploration of times past and has loved listening to it at bedtime. He has learned a ton, as have I, listening beside him. On the night we finished the audiobook, before we started, kiddo said "Do you know what we should do when this is finished? We should start over from the beginning." That is a sign of a good audiobook - when he loves it enough to immediately want to experience it again.
The science is fascinating, and the writing is stellar. The combination makes for a truly excellent nonfiction reading experience.
The narrator did a great job bringing life to the text and their voice conveys the emotion and drama of the text beautifully.
Riley Black is absolutely going on my must-read list and kiddo and I will be reading her previous books as soon as possible.
*Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.
UPDATE: Kiddo did indeed love listening to this a second time through. It has joined The Sixth Extinction as a comfort read for him.
It is written as a journey to the past, beginning when plants first began to move onto land and then moving forward through the millennia as the nature of plants and animals changed. In each time visited, the plants and animals are brought to life in a vibrant portrait of what life looked like during that time. A hungry mosquito gets stuck in amber. An elderly mastodon crunches through trees, trying to conserve its remaining teeth. It's the next best thing to stepping into a time machine and visiting those times yourself.
My science-loving 11-year-old is absolutely enraptured by this exploration of times past and has loved listening to it at bedtime. He has learned a ton, as have I, listening beside him. On the night we finished the audiobook, before we started, kiddo said "Do you know what we should do when this is finished? We should start over from the beginning." That is a sign of a good audiobook - when he loves it enough to immediately want to experience it again.
The science is fascinating, and the writing is stellar. The combination makes for a truly excellent nonfiction reading experience.
The narrator did a great job bringing life to the text and their voice conveys the emotion and drama of the text beautifully.
Riley Black is absolutely going on my must-read list and kiddo and I will be reading her previous books as soon as possible.
*Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy for review.
UPDATE: Kiddo did indeed love listening to this a second time through. It has joined The Sixth Extinction as a comfort read for him.
January 15, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Stats:
4.5 rounded up
(Losing .5 for an editorial choice I’ll explain below)
About 4 hours audiobook at 2x speed
Narrator choice = 10/10
Stepping into Riley Black’s voice was like coming back home after a beautiful fresh coat of paint. As someone who has read a lot of “dinosaur” books, this was a fresh perspective on the earth and its plant life from a voice I haven’t encountered before. This is distinctly “lefter” than many science books and distinctly “queerer”
Fans of Steve Brusatte’s “The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs” will enjoy stepping onto the other (even more ancient) side of the coin as Black looks at the evolution of plant life on earth in tandem with the animals who thrived on changing landscapes.
I found this to be incredibly readable even with the dense scientific language. Black parallels vivid and often fun and irreverent imagery with technological and biological terms that, in context, even a lay person such as myself could understand. Blacks voice is buoyant and inviting. I put down all the other books I was reading just to finish this one.
Black also balances “what we know, what we think, and what [she] just supposes” and is very open about that. I listened to the audiobook which meant I had to listen to the entire appendix (FIFTEEN SECTIONS!!!!) where this discussion mostly takes place AFTER listening to the whole book. This is a lovely statement of transparency that allows reality and imagination to work in tandem to make this an enjoyable read. My only complaint here is I think the appendix where fact and fiction is acknowledged should have come right after the chapter it references rather than all of the appendix coming at the end. Not a big deal tho. It just had the effect of feeling like I was listening to the same book twice in a row, one with more imagery and one with more “this is how the field is and how I made up the imagery.” if that makes sense. That may feel different when reading the physical book.
I also thought the ending concluding leap into queerness, rather than the expected general environmental statement, was a fresh and unique perspective fueled by Black’s openness about her own identity.
All in all, I think the people who find this book will love it. I’m sure absolute experts will find issues with it, and if you literally don’t care about ancient earth at all, this may not be for you. I can see why this kind of nonfiction may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I was enthralled. For a day, I felt like an expert in ancient plant life evolution as Black’s verdant language enveloped me. And don’t worry, there are plenty of creatures here too.
Stats:
4.5 rounded up
(Losing .5 for an editorial choice I’ll explain below)
About 4 hours audiobook at 2x speed
Narrator choice = 10/10
Stepping into Riley Black’s voice was like coming back home after a beautiful fresh coat of paint. As someone who has read a lot of “dinosaur” books, this was a fresh perspective on the earth and its plant life from a voice I haven’t encountered before. This is distinctly “lefter” than many science books and distinctly “queerer”
Fans of Steve Brusatte’s “The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs” will enjoy stepping onto the other (even more ancient) side of the coin as Black looks at the evolution of plant life on earth in tandem with the animals who thrived on changing landscapes.
I found this to be incredibly readable even with the dense scientific language. Black parallels vivid and often fun and irreverent imagery with technological and biological terms that, in context, even a lay person such as myself could understand. Blacks voice is buoyant and inviting. I put down all the other books I was reading just to finish this one.
Black also balances “what we know, what we think, and what [she] just supposes” and is very open about that. I listened to the audiobook which meant I had to listen to the entire appendix (FIFTEEN SECTIONS!!!!) where this discussion mostly takes place AFTER listening to the whole book. This is a lovely statement of transparency that allows reality and imagination to work in tandem to make this an enjoyable read. My only complaint here is I think the appendix where fact and fiction is acknowledged should have come right after the chapter it references rather than all of the appendix coming at the end. Not a big deal tho. It just had the effect of feeling like I was listening to the same book twice in a row, one with more imagery and one with more “this is how the field is and how I made up the imagery.” if that makes sense. That may feel different when reading the physical book.
I also thought the ending concluding leap into queerness, rather than the expected general environmental statement, was a fresh and unique perspective fueled by Black’s openness about her own identity.
All in all, I think the people who find this book will love it. I’m sure absolute experts will find issues with it, and if you literally don’t care about ancient earth at all, this may not be for you. I can see why this kind of nonfiction may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I was enthralled. For a day, I felt like an expert in ancient plant life evolution as Black’s verdant language enveloped me. And don’t worry, there are plenty of creatures here too.
December 31, 2024
She's done it again! Riley Black has written a marvelous book that feels more like having a conversation with a friend, than absorbing words from a page. When the Earth Was Green is a deeply personal look at the most prolific "background" character of life on Earth. As someone who lives and works in a field dominated by Fiction, it is always refreshing when a good piece of refreshing nonfiction finds its way to me. Even more so when the book is an easy, smart read that doesn't insult you or presume that you are arriving with a strong background in paleontology. It is because of this easy going, conversational writing style and her talent for infusing such a powerful personal message to her prose that I believe Riley Black is one of the strongest science writers today.
Thank you to Riley Black, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for advanced access to this book. Expected date of publication is February 25, 2025 at time of writing.
Thank you to Riley Black, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for advanced access to this book. Expected date of publication is February 25, 2025 at time of writing.
December 10, 2024
nk you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this arc.
When the earth was green was an amazing and fascinating read. Told in a story of vignettes about flora and fauna throughout the history of earth, it was fun and formative without feeling too smart for me to understand. I am a huge nerd for plants and life on earth and I truly enjoyed this read. This book was engaging as a novel while also being deeply interesting and informative and I’ll be thinking about it a lot in the future.
5⭐️
When the earth was green was an amazing and fascinating read. Told in a story of vignettes about flora and fauna throughout the history of earth, it was fun and formative without feeling too smart for me to understand. I am a huge nerd for plants and life on earth and I truly enjoyed this read. This book was engaging as a novel while also being deeply interesting and informative and I’ll be thinking about it a lot in the future.
5⭐️
February 21, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.
I can totally picture this as a BBC documentary with a soothing voice describing each of the scenarios in this book. The way Black not only explains the relationship between plant and animal evolution over billions of years, but prescribes vivid images of what it could have been like back then, based on the fossil records we are left with today. My one gripe is that the descriptions are almost too much like a soothing narrator of a nature documentary because I was putting myself to sleep at times.
I can totally picture this as a BBC documentary with a soothing voice describing each of the scenarios in this book. The way Black not only explains the relationship between plant and animal evolution over billions of years, but prescribes vivid images of what it could have been like back then, based on the fossil records we are left with today. My one gripe is that the descriptions are almost too much like a soothing narrator of a nature documentary because I was putting myself to sleep at times.
July 1, 2025
I had to enjoy the audio in small chunks as there was a LOT to absorb, but it was really rather fascinating to hear the author’s research and findings about our planet.
January 16, 2025
4/5
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In When the Earth Was Green, paleontologist and science personality Riley Black returns for a breathtaking new look on the relationship between plants and animals over hundreds of millions of years in fifteen short essay-length snippets. Once again, Black’s narrative flare shines. I’m not sure I would have ever thought about the first plants to have sex or the relationship between foliage and hooves until now. At its best, reading When the Earth Was Green is like watching a nature documentary. Your mind fills in the blanks of the past with vivid images of lush forests and the animals shaped by them. Here, the fifteen brief snippets of the world through the intersection of plants and animals is greater than the sum of their parts. By the end, you will gain a new appreciation for what Black calls “evolution’s greatest romance,” and I’m certain a few new facts will wiggle their way into your brain along the way.
On the topic of narrative appeal, When the Earth Was Green necessarily requires more buy-in than The Last Days of the Dinosaurs. It spans a far greater length of time, and it jumps between subjects with reckless abandonment. This can sometimes lead to a sense of vertigo. Where are you in the narrative? How does it connect to the bigger picture? Not to mention that, as Black herself notes, there’s just something about how our brains are wired that makes us more naturally inclined to appreciating animals, especially big, charismatic megafauna like the dinosaurs and the mammoths. It’s hard enough for us to empathize with plants, much less see them as subjects worthy of their own inclusion in the history books. That’s why I continue to appreciate the inclusion of a lengthy appendix to Black’s work, a sort-of bookend to the narrative pieces that gives Black a chance to discuss her thought process as well as dig deeper into the scientific and social-political background behind each discovery.
When I read scientific non-fiction, I love discovering how scientists know the things they know. In this case, the appendix more than filled my appetite. On the other hand, the narrative chapters scratched another itch in my brain. The part of me that’s still a child obsessed with paleontology and breathing life into long-dead things. When the Earth Was Green, like The Last Days of the Dinosaurs , toes the line between narrative conjecture and scientific knowledge. Which is doubly more impressive now that we are entering the realm of plants. Grounding us are the introduction and conclusion, which are set during our current time and situated in Black’s own life. They also, fittingly, remind me of the brief cuts to the speaking host we see in some nature documentaries. When the Earth Was Green is not a scientific textbook. It’s not trying to be. It’s a reconstruction of the past using our current knowledge. And inevitably, it will get some things wrong. But the spirit will remain unchanged: Satiating our great curiosity about the planet that we happen to call home with ethical science.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In When the Earth Was Green, paleontologist and science personality Riley Black returns for a breathtaking new look on the relationship between plants and animals over hundreds of millions of years in fifteen short essay-length snippets. Once again, Black’s narrative flare shines. I’m not sure I would have ever thought about the first plants to have sex or the relationship between foliage and hooves until now. At its best, reading When the Earth Was Green is like watching a nature documentary. Your mind fills in the blanks of the past with vivid images of lush forests and the animals shaped by them. Here, the fifteen brief snippets of the world through the intersection of plants and animals is greater than the sum of their parts. By the end, you will gain a new appreciation for what Black calls “evolution’s greatest romance,” and I’m certain a few new facts will wiggle their way into your brain along the way.
On the topic of narrative appeal, When the Earth Was Green necessarily requires more buy-in than The Last Days of the Dinosaurs. It spans a far greater length of time, and it jumps between subjects with reckless abandonment. This can sometimes lead to a sense of vertigo. Where are you in the narrative? How does it connect to the bigger picture? Not to mention that, as Black herself notes, there’s just something about how our brains are wired that makes us more naturally inclined to appreciating animals, especially big, charismatic megafauna like the dinosaurs and the mammoths. It’s hard enough for us to empathize with plants, much less see them as subjects worthy of their own inclusion in the history books. That’s why I continue to appreciate the inclusion of a lengthy appendix to Black’s work, a sort-of bookend to the narrative pieces that gives Black a chance to discuss her thought process as well as dig deeper into the scientific and social-political background behind each discovery.
When I read scientific non-fiction, I love discovering how scientists know the things they know. In this case, the appendix more than filled my appetite. On the other hand, the narrative chapters scratched another itch in my brain. The part of me that’s still a child obsessed with paleontology and breathing life into long-dead things. When the Earth Was Green, like The Last Days of the Dinosaurs , toes the line between narrative conjecture and scientific knowledge. Which is doubly more impressive now that we are entering the realm of plants. Grounding us are the introduction and conclusion, which are set during our current time and situated in Black’s own life. They also, fittingly, remind me of the brief cuts to the speaking host we see in some nature documentaries. When the Earth Was Green is not a scientific textbook. It’s not trying to be. It’s a reconstruction of the past using our current knowledge. And inevitably, it will get some things wrong. But the spirit will remain unchanged: Satiating our great curiosity about the planet that we happen to call home with ethical science.
February 6, 2025
When the Earth Was Green offers a refreshingly unique exploration into the ancient world of plants—a perspective that is too often overlooked in favor of animal stories. I was immediately captivated by the narrator’s wonderful performance, which brought clarity and warmth to a narrative rich in scientific detail. It was a delight to delve into how plants evolved, changed, and ultimately shaped the world around us.
The book takes you on a journey through prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas, revealing the crucial role that plants played in oxygenating our atmosphere and enabling the rise of diverse life forms. While the scientific elements are robust, they only serve to deepen the appreciation for the intricate interplay between plants and the world they helped create.
Overall, When the Earth Was Green is a captivating and thought-provoking read that challenges the traditional focus on animals by shining a light on the often-overlooked wonders of plant evolution. It’s a celebration of the natural world that will leave you with a newfound respect for the silent architects of our planet’s past—and future.
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian audio for providing me with the ARC of When the Earth was Green.
The book takes you on a journey through prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas, revealing the crucial role that plants played in oxygenating our atmosphere and enabling the rise of diverse life forms. While the scientific elements are robust, they only serve to deepen the appreciation for the intricate interplay between plants and the world they helped create.
Overall, When the Earth Was Green is a captivating and thought-provoking read that challenges the traditional focus on animals by shining a light on the often-overlooked wonders of plant evolution. It’s a celebration of the natural world that will leave you with a newfound respect for the silent architects of our planet’s past—and future.
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian audio for providing me with the ARC of When the Earth was Green.
January 23, 2025
Riley Black's writing is gorgeous and this book is no exception! If you love plants or dinosaurs or both, then this book that interweaves the history of mostly-land animal and plant life is for you!
The book starts out in our present to set up the story whi begins in the farthest distant past. I adored how each chapter was a time unit in a specific place that came closer and closer to our present and visited locales all around the globe. Through this, Black elicited an emotional response from me about individual animals who show up in our fossil record with examples of thier world and lives during the points of time. She made me care about a mosquito 100 million years ago in Myannmar! Each chapter is a bite from that time and place, putting us on the path to where we are today.
Black's Conclusion has a bit about hope that was especially pertinent to me at the time that I read it and likely will still be necessary. Ultimately, this is a book about hope. We see how all these lives converged to give us what we have now and how it will change and we are contributing to a future.
The appendixes was extremely fun to read to see how and what Black chose for the topic of each chapter.
I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the audiobook when it's released.
Thank you Riley Black and St. Martin's Press for an ARC through NetGalley.
The book starts out in our present to set up the story whi begins in the farthest distant past. I adored how each chapter was a time unit in a specific place that came closer and closer to our present and visited locales all around the globe. Through this, Black elicited an emotional response from me about individual animals who show up in our fossil record with examples of thier world and lives during the points of time. She made me care about a mosquito 100 million years ago in Myannmar! Each chapter is a bite from that time and place, putting us on the path to where we are today.
Black's Conclusion has a bit about hope that was especially pertinent to me at the time that I read it and likely will still be necessary. Ultimately, this is a book about hope. We see how all these lives converged to give us what we have now and how it will change and we are contributing to a future.
The appendixes was extremely fun to read to see how and what Black chose for the topic of each chapter.
I highly recommend this book and can't wait to read the audiobook when it's released.
Thank you Riley Black and St. Martin's Press for an ARC through NetGalley.
February 2, 2025
Most of us who read popular science are at least vaguely aware of the intertwining biology and natural history of plants and earth’s atmosphere. But this thoroughly enjoyable book illuminates the way plants have made animal life on our planet possible.
January 26, 2025
As someone who loves plants and evolution I absolutely ate this one up. Being transported back to the very beginning and learning about how certain changes totally changed the trajectory of certain plant and animal species was truly exceptional. I loved learning about how things use to be compared to how things are now.
thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this ARC!
thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this ARC!
December 31, 2024
This is a 3.5, but that concluding essay REALLY persuaded me to round up rather than down.
I won't lie, I took a bit of a gamble picking this one up; I will admit to being a basic bitch who largely only cares about the "charismatic" fossils as the author calls them: dinosaurs and other large megafauna. Frankly, exigent plants don't much fascinate me beyond the vague, distant desire to love and appreciate "nature" so it was a safe bet that ancient extinct plants would do little more for me. Still, I hold to the belief that anything can be interesting if you give it a chance and so, I gave it the old college try.
Black is clearly incredibly passionate about the subject, so if you're one of those people who can appreciate anything if the one telling you about it is in love with the subject, you'll be right at home. The book is structured as a series of ancient vignettes; stories told through what can be learned from appropriate plant fossils of various geological epochs. From the primordial soup to several hundred years ago, we learn how plant fossils can tell us about the state of the earth at various times, the way animals lived, and the methods by which present life on our planet came to be. Much of it is incredibly fascinating though I found myself getting bored with some of the narratives the author constructed as a vehicle for delivering what might otherwise be some fairly dry science. This method of hiding our science pills in a roll of short story style narrative cheese might be very much to many people's liking, so on this point I will concede I am likely in the minority.
The book ends with a personal essay that is passionate, revelatory, and caused me to genuinely look at everything I had previously read with a new context that was simply put - beautiful. What I'm left with is a decently informative, well-told nonfiction series of short stories that are good but not great and a fantastic little essay that elevated the whole experience. I can't tell you to pick this book up if ancient plants don't pique your interest, but if you take the chance and give it a try like I did, you might learn something - whether it be about science, life, or gaining perspective.
Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for advanced access to this audiobook. Expected date of publication is February 25, 2025 at time of writing.
I won't lie, I took a bit of a gamble picking this one up; I will admit to being a basic bitch who largely only cares about the "charismatic" fossils as the author calls them: dinosaurs and other large megafauna. Frankly, exigent plants don't much fascinate me beyond the vague, distant desire to love and appreciate "nature" so it was a safe bet that ancient extinct plants would do little more for me. Still, I hold to the belief that anything can be interesting if you give it a chance and so, I gave it the old college try.
Black is clearly incredibly passionate about the subject, so if you're one of those people who can appreciate anything if the one telling you about it is in love with the subject, you'll be right at home. The book is structured as a series of ancient vignettes; stories told through what can be learned from appropriate plant fossils of various geological epochs. From the primordial soup to several hundred years ago, we learn how plant fossils can tell us about the state of the earth at various times, the way animals lived, and the methods by which present life on our planet came to be. Much of it is incredibly fascinating though I found myself getting bored with some of the narratives the author constructed as a vehicle for delivering what might otherwise be some fairly dry science. This method of hiding our science pills in a roll of short story style narrative cheese might be very much to many people's liking, so on this point I will concede I am likely in the minority.
The book ends with a personal essay that is passionate, revelatory, and caused me to genuinely look at everything I had previously read with a new context that was simply put - beautiful. What I'm left with is a decently informative, well-told nonfiction series of short stories that are good but not great and a fantastic little essay that elevated the whole experience. I can't tell you to pick this book up if ancient plants don't pique your interest, but if you take the chance and give it a try like I did, you might learn something - whether it be about science, life, or gaining perspective.
Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for advanced access to this audiobook. Expected date of publication is February 25, 2025 at time of writing.
October 17, 2024
Yet again, Riley Black has written a book that is simultaneously engaging and informative. "When the Earth was Green" is a worldwide view of plants (and animals) evolution throughout time. Black's novel takes us on a journey, complete with textbook quality information, starting with the first land-going plant hundreds of millions of years ago. From there, she takes us on a tour of plants and the evolution of those critical to the development of plants we see every day. Sprinkled throughout her novel are fun fictional stories told from the viewpoints of those time-appropriate plants and animals that help the reader to feel as if they are actually there. Each chapter is short, and frankly, ! wish some of the information provided in the Appendices at the novel's conclusion were incorporated into each chapter, rather than added as an afterthought. However, short chapters do not indicate poor quality - rather, Black condenses so much information into a story-like section that provides you with enough information to pique your curiosity but not enough to overwhelm or bore you. My only critique of the book is that pictures of the many plants and animals referenced were not included (I know, I know-it's not a picture book), so I found myself Googling ancient plants and animals multiple times in every chapter.
Overall, "When the Earth was Green" is a solid 3.75 star book thanks in part to the conversational tone, textbook quality information and overall ease to read.
I received this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks to Riley Black, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the early copy.
Overall, "When the Earth was Green" is a solid 3.75 star book thanks in part to the conversational tone, textbook quality information and overall ease to read.
I received this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks to Riley Black, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the early copy.
January 5, 2025
A gorgeous book, an enriching experience. Nominally it’s the story of plant life on earth from the very very earliest beginnings to today. There’s no illustrations in the ARC that was given me by Netscape in exchange for an unbiased review. I suppose if there were, they’d mostly be black and white photos of fossils but Riley Black’s descriptions are so vibrant and lively that photos would be superfluous. One of the enchanting things about the writing is that all the critters are described as female, which makes perfect sense because who after all gives birth and does most of the nurturing? And of course the life cycle is part of the tale that is to be told in this saga of things eating and things being eaten. An extensive appendix reviews the paleontology behind this riveting story.
April 14, 2025
5-
I love the way Riley Black is able to make nonfiction as accessible as even the best books of fiction. In addition, Wren Mac, the audiobook narrator, was enthusiastic and clear, making this an exceptional listening experience for me. I also accessed the ebook version in order to revisit text and access the drawings of the plants and animals in each of Black's chapters. The author explains at the outset that plants are too often overlooked in discussions of the natural world, but she counters this by showing the relationships that connect living things of all kinds. Each organism influences the history, present, and future of the others within its domain.
I thoroughly enjoyed Black's previous book, The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and was curious to know if she could write another as compelling which featured plants. I feel that she succeeded, assisted by a talented narrator. Black grounds her material on research and field work, but she also utilizes imagination and vivid language to transport her readers into distant places and and times impossible to physically reach. She takes some creative license to accomplish this, but points these details out in the appendices which correspond to each of her chapters.
Another reviewer suggested that placing each appendix directly after its chapter might be more effective. I see the point, but I also wonder if doing so might interrupt the compelling flow of the book itself. There was something riviting in the rhythm of this narrative, as if readers were traveling from a far distant time to the present, observing a series of vignettes created by Black's vivid words and phrases. I appreciate that the appendices were included; they gave credence to this book of science for a general audience.
I look forward to more of Riley Black's work.
I love the way Riley Black is able to make nonfiction as accessible as even the best books of fiction. In addition, Wren Mac, the audiobook narrator, was enthusiastic and clear, making this an exceptional listening experience for me. I also accessed the ebook version in order to revisit text and access the drawings of the plants and animals in each of Black's chapters. The author explains at the outset that plants are too often overlooked in discussions of the natural world, but she counters this by showing the relationships that connect living things of all kinds. Each organism influences the history, present, and future of the others within its domain.
I thoroughly enjoyed Black's previous book, The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and was curious to know if she could write another as compelling which featured plants. I feel that she succeeded, assisted by a talented narrator. Black grounds her material on research and field work, but she also utilizes imagination and vivid language to transport her readers into distant places and and times impossible to physically reach. She takes some creative license to accomplish this, but points these details out in the appendices which correspond to each of her chapters.
Another reviewer suggested that placing each appendix directly after its chapter might be more effective. I see the point, but I also wonder if doing so might interrupt the compelling flow of the book itself. There was something riviting in the rhythm of this narrative, as if readers were traveling from a far distant time to the present, observing a series of vignettes created by Black's vivid words and phrases. I appreciate that the appendices were included; they gave credence to this book of science for a general audience.
I look forward to more of Riley Black's work.
February 6, 2025
4.25⭐️
Who knew a book about the Earth’s history could be so humorous and beautiful at the same time? I am obsessed with the way Riley Black chose to craft this story of our planet’s history and showcase the connectivity between all things inhabiting the earth, both plants and creatures big and small.
I adore how Black shifted the narrative that is so often told of the terrific, hulking dinosaurs of the past to the fauna and flora that are often forgotten and depicted as simple scenery when we peer into what use to be. This book truly show “you are what you eat”, and our environments play a massive role in shaping us -
“It’s not a matter of life on Earth so much as life enmeshed with Earth, and plants have taken an ever-greater role in shaping the planet’s history.”
There are endless quotes throughout the book where Black so eloquently illustrated this long ago composition of our planet -
“What seemed so straightforward, even elegant, is beginning to erupt in a cacophony of evolution and extinction, a ceaseless tune in which new players will imperceptibly, fundamentally change the melody with each passing moment.”
What surprised me most about this work was the beautiful conclusion Black included at the end of the book. I never would have expected a text about our prehistoric planet to bring tears to my eyes, but this one absolutely did. Thank you, Riley, for your vulnerability and sharing this beautiful story.
This beautiful quote from the conclusion -
“The world we meet today is the foundation for tomorrow. If we are the plants, then our ideas and actions are the seeds and spores. We might not live to see them grow or even flower as we have. Nevertheless, the variety we embody and bring to the world forms a base from which new communities will grow and respond to the shifting world around them.”
- left me in awe of the way Black articulated how our unique traits and differences help to shape the abundantly beautiful world we are lucky enough to inhabit, and left me to consider what seeds and spores I am sowing and sharing in my daily life.
My two wants that lowered this book’s rating from a 5⭐️ to 4.25⭐️ are selfish:
1. I would have loved illustrations to coincide with all the plant and animal life we encountered throughout the book. I found myself wanting to pause my reading to look up various things but also not wanting to set the book down to do so.
2. I was literally shocked when I read the header “Conclusion” on the last chapter of the book - I was so immersed in Black’s writing and retelling of Earth’s history and I just wanted MORE! I could have read several hundred more pages about Earth and her diverse life, and I was jarred to find I had reached the end of what the book had to offer.
Overall, a lovely read that I would revisit again.
Who knew a book about the Earth’s history could be so humorous and beautiful at the same time? I am obsessed with the way Riley Black chose to craft this story of our planet’s history and showcase the connectivity between all things inhabiting the earth, both plants and creatures big and small.
I adore how Black shifted the narrative that is so often told of the terrific, hulking dinosaurs of the past to the fauna and flora that are often forgotten and depicted as simple scenery when we peer into what use to be. This book truly show “you are what you eat”, and our environments play a massive role in shaping us -
“It’s not a matter of life on Earth so much as life enmeshed with Earth, and plants have taken an ever-greater role in shaping the planet’s history.”
There are endless quotes throughout the book where Black so eloquently illustrated this long ago composition of our planet -
“What seemed so straightforward, even elegant, is beginning to erupt in a cacophony of evolution and extinction, a ceaseless tune in which new players will imperceptibly, fundamentally change the melody with each passing moment.”
What surprised me most about this work was the beautiful conclusion Black included at the end of the book. I never would have expected a text about our prehistoric planet to bring tears to my eyes, but this one absolutely did. Thank you, Riley, for your vulnerability and sharing this beautiful story.
This beautiful quote from the conclusion -
“The world we meet today is the foundation for tomorrow. If we are the plants, then our ideas and actions are the seeds and spores. We might not live to see them grow or even flower as we have. Nevertheless, the variety we embody and bring to the world forms a base from which new communities will grow and respond to the shifting world around them.”
- left me in awe of the way Black articulated how our unique traits and differences help to shape the abundantly beautiful world we are lucky enough to inhabit, and left me to consider what seeds and spores I am sowing and sharing in my daily life.
My two wants that lowered this book’s rating from a 5⭐️ to 4.25⭐️ are selfish:
1. I would have loved illustrations to coincide with all the plant and animal life we encountered throughout the book. I found myself wanting to pause my reading to look up various things but also not wanting to set the book down to do so.
2. I was literally shocked when I read the header “Conclusion” on the last chapter of the book - I was so immersed in Black’s writing and retelling of Earth’s history and I just wanted MORE! I could have read several hundred more pages about Earth and her diverse life, and I was jarred to find I had reached the end of what the book had to offer.
Overall, a lovely read that I would revisit again.
February 26, 2025
“Through and through plants embody hope that cannot be suppressed and had no choice but to try to thrive, even in the most hostile of places.”
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy of this book.
When the Earth Was Green by Riley Black is truly a love letter to evolution. By bringing the past to life in poetic short vignettes following plants and animals of a specific slice of time, Black explains how random mutations that give an advantage cause adaptations in both. These adaptations, however, are only good for the small scale timeline rather than the geologic in which the Earth has experienced a multitude of climate changes. Each slice of time jumps a few million years and Black reintroduces some of the cast in later timelines, showing just how changed they have become. The plants and animals here really could be any, but the dance remains the same. The push and pull of ecological stress and success is a wonder to behold over the timelines that Black gives us.
I really enjoyed this book, with extremely poetic descriptions of plant and animal life, the author really puts you into the time and place they are explaining. And in the conclusion, the parallels between the diversity of plants and the diversity of queerness is beautiful. I think my one critique of the book is that I would have liked pictures of the named species so I could imagine them better. I was furiously googling most of the time to really see what I was reading about. But really, this book is a must for any who are curious about the natural world and how much life plants really have.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy of this book.
When the Earth Was Green by Riley Black is truly a love letter to evolution. By bringing the past to life in poetic short vignettes following plants and animals of a specific slice of time, Black explains how random mutations that give an advantage cause adaptations in both. These adaptations, however, are only good for the small scale timeline rather than the geologic in which the Earth has experienced a multitude of climate changes. Each slice of time jumps a few million years and Black reintroduces some of the cast in later timelines, showing just how changed they have become. The plants and animals here really could be any, but the dance remains the same. The push and pull of ecological stress and success is a wonder to behold over the timelines that Black gives us.
I really enjoyed this book, with extremely poetic descriptions of plant and animal life, the author really puts you into the time and place they are explaining. And in the conclusion, the parallels between the diversity of plants and the diversity of queerness is beautiful. I think my one critique of the book is that I would have liked pictures of the named species so I could imagine them better. I was furiously googling most of the time to really see what I was reading about. But really, this book is a must for any who are curious about the natural world and how much life plants really have.
April 14, 2025
The author describes this book as a series of prehistoric vignettes showing how plants and animals influence each other's evolution. She recounts hypothetical scenarios of what may have happened to specific species that were found preserved. I found this book surprisingly funny and captivating. I think it is definitely best suited for self proclaimed bio-nerds.
I leave you with my favorite quote in the book.
"Alone a dinosaur is meaningless. We put them on literal pedestals in our museums, behind glass and railings as befits their place as the world's most ancient and long-standing celebrities. But what is a Tyrannosaurus, without a forest to conceal its shadow as it stalks? What is a Triceratops without a buffet of ferns and cycad fronds to eat? What is a Mesozoic world without the busy machinations of pollen collecting beetles and nectar drinking butterflies that assisted the innumerable vegetal lives and that set the basis for so many other living things to exist?"
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
I leave you with my favorite quote in the book.
"Alone a dinosaur is meaningless. We put them on literal pedestals in our museums, behind glass and railings as befits their place as the world's most ancient and long-standing celebrities. But what is a Tyrannosaurus, without a forest to conceal its shadow as it stalks? What is a Triceratops without a buffet of ferns and cycad fronds to eat? What is a Mesozoic world without the busy machinations of pollen collecting beetles and nectar drinking butterflies that assisted the innumerable vegetal lives and that set the basis for so many other living things to exist?"
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
April 9, 2025
This book is a brilliant combination of scientifically-backed information and imaginative narrative that gives you knowledge without you even really realizing that's what's happening. Black drops a ton of science facts and terms on you but they land softly because they're presented in the form of stories that ask you to imagine and visualize the things being discussed. You don't just read about ancient plants and the world they inhabited, you experience their world and the impact they have to this day.
Delighted thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the illuminating read!
Delighted thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the illuminating read!
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