Deep Time: A Journey through 4.5 Billion Years of Our Planet

by Riley Black

Deep time is the timescale of the geological events that have shaped our planet. Whilst so immense as to challenge human understanding, its evidence is nonetheless visible all around us.

Through explanations of the latest research and over 200 fascinating images, Deep Time explores this evidence, from the visible layers in ancient rock to the hiss of static on the radio, and from fossilized shark's teeth to underwater forests. These relics of ancient epochs, many of which we can see and touch today, connect our present to the distant past and answer broader questions about our place in the timeline of the Earth.

Charting 4.5 billion years of geological history, this is the story of our world, from its birth to the dawn of civilization.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Palaeontology, Geology, Natural History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2021

About the author

Riley 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.

Reviews

[Laura Madsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

13.77 billion years of history, broken up into manageable small pieces. Each chapter is only a few pages long and covers some aspect of deep time that gives us insight, including neutrinos, mitochondria, and coelacanths. Full color photographs and diagrams accompany each chapter.

[Richard Archambault · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 bump down to 3. Great pictures and concept but I don’t know, it just couldn’t hold my interest even though this is the exact thing that normally does interest me and even though it’s in the same vein as the sci-fi novel I just read, Evolution.

[Kyri Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The coffee table book format wasn't quite successful for me... the pictures are gorgeous but no one topic gets enough detail to really learn a lot about it or get that sense of wonder that comes with the concept of deep time. YMMV

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fascinating informative read from one of my new favourite science writers.