Now the quest is to determine why the Cambrian Explosion occurred when it did. It is astounding to see the wide variety of body plans that "exploded" (over a few million years) after billions of years of mostly microscopic, bacterial forms of life. Then, after reading one or both of them, this book, which provides only a brief discussion of the history, impact and interpretation of the fossils, I would recommend as a follow-up because it provides photos and reconstructions of many more of the entire assemblage of fossil creatures than does the other two books. Gould or The Crucible of Creation: The Burgess Shale and the Rise of Animals by Simon Conway Morris, both very good, but latter a little more reflective of current thinking. For the reader really interested in the Burgess Shale fossils I would first recommend they read either Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen J.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |