...[an] extraordinary book ... Dartnell understands geology, geography, anthropology, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and history. That’s quite an achievement, but what makes him really special is the way he communicates the interconnectedness of these disciplines in a clear, logical and entertaining way. Origins is one of those rare books that dissolves mystery through the steady application of sublime lucidity. While reading it, I kept thinking: 'Oh, that makes sense' ... Perhaps the most profound lesson of this superb book is that nothing is permanent, or predictable.
It is stimulating, entertaining stuff. Dartnell has an easy, light touch that mixes well with his considerable knowledge of our planet’s geological history. The result is a first-class read – and an important one, for we should never forget we are still beholden to the rocks below us.
Lewis Dartnell’s new study of how geology and geography have shaped human history is a kind of Big History book, but it is better than many in the genre. This is partly because he is an academic who specialises in communicating science and is very good at what he does .. What marks Origins out, though, is Dartnell’s love for geography itself — for tracing the deep connections between the physical planet and the human world ... What emerges is an excitingly grand argument driven by delight in detail. And they are delightful details. My next dinner-party monologue will chiefly involve things I discovered from Dartnell ...
Dartnell is an eloquent, conversational guide to these daunting aeons of time. He writes of land masses swelling and bursting 'like a huge zit', and global warming 'triggered by a great methane flatulence of the oceans'... He adds, in one of many maddeningly intriguing, throwaway footnotes, that humanmade global warming might prevent the next ice age, which sounds perversely hopeful, in a way. I’d like to read a whole book by Dartnell on that subject. All in good time …
Origins is a Big History, a grand synthesis that draws from many fields ... Mr. Dartnell’s breezy style is full of word play, setting him far from the plodding crowd of many science writers ...Though Mr. Dartnell’s style is light, extensive footnotes offer delightful expansions of specific topics ...
Dartnell’s approach is encyclopedic, marked by both a broad sweep and a passion for details. In the section on wind and ocean currents, this style backfires because the pages become clogged with highly technical terms more suited to textbooks. At other times, though, the facts Dartnell loves to embed are pure fun and may lead a reader to rush up to the nearest person and ask: Did you realize that cinnamon comes from tree bark? ... A problem with Origins is Dartnell’s tendency to make exaggerated claims for the power of geological forces over human lives ... There’s a certain insensitivity to Dartnell’s language when he alludes to painful parts of the American past...Systemic patterns of racist oppression are absent from this account ... No doubt the drift of the continents and the dramatic ripping and tearing of the Earth have influenced our lives. Dartnell is to be credited with demonstrating just how much. But when he elevates geological forces to the near-exclusion of social and political ones, he diminishes the credibility of his argument.
Dartnell discerns the effects of the plate-tectonic geology that created environments favorable to such innovation ... To Dartnell’s acute eye, later periods of human history likewise reflect the geodynamics of an evolving planet ... Penetrating geoscience delivers the surprising backstory of human history.
A thoughtful history of our species ... Readers will encounter plenty of intriguing surprises ... Despite the inevitable gloomy conclusion, Dartnell is an engaging guide through millions of years of history ... An expert chronicle of the Earth that culminates in human civilization.
His writing in places seems aimed at younger readers ... Science mavens may also be taken aback that he provides primers on some fairly basic concepts, such as ice ages and human genetics. However, the central project of this book—providing a geological take on human history—is well illustrated and at moments, surprising.
