THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE MARINE LIFE

by Giuseppe Minelli ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1987

Part of a six-volume series on the evolution of vertebrates, with more than 1,000 illustrations in vivid color. In 56 pages, The Evolution of Life discusses the earth from 4.6 billion years ago to the present. Topics such as ""The Origin of the Universe,"" ""The Age of Fish,"" and ""Hominoids and Homo sapiens"" are treated in two-page spreads. And because topics are so briefly presented, and the format so crowded with illustrations and special boxes, the book is often confusing. Marine Life suffers from lurid writing, with a ferocious predator that ""snatches unfortunate victims from the bottom and tears them to pieces,"" fish sucking prey into the ""awful (mouth) cavity and death,"" and sharks using wild threshing movements to capture ""bewildered and terrified small fish."" Elsewhere, fish are described as being ""incredibly greedy,"" ""innocent,"" ""terribly aggressive,"" ""affectionate parents,"" ""abysmal swimmers,"" and having ""bizarre sex habits."" Lacking either a glossary or index, these titles are colorful but of limited use for school assignments or reference.

Pub Date: April 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Facts on File

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S