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Peter Douglas Ward

Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth's Ancient Atmosphere Hardcover – International Edition, September 26, 2006

by Peter Ward (Author)

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For 65 million years dinosaurs ruled the Earth-until a deadly asteroid forced their extinction. But what accounts for the incredible longevity of dinosaurs? A renowned scientist now provides a startling explanation that is rewriting the history of the Age of Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were pretty amazing creatures-real-life monsters that have the power to fascinate us. And their fiery Hollywood ending only serves to make the story that much more dramatic. But fossil evidence demonstrates that dinosaurs survived several mass extinctions, and were seemingly unaffected by catastrophes that decimated most other life on Earth. What could explain their uncanny ability to endure through the ages? Biologist and earth scientist Peter Ward now accounts for the remarkable indestructibility of dinosaurs by connecting their unusual respiration system with their ability to adapt to Earth's changing environment-a system that was ultimately bequeathed to their descendants, birds. By tracing the evolutionary path back through time and carefully connecting the dots from birds to dinosaurs, Ward describes the unique form of breathing shared by these two distant relatives and demonstrates how this simple but remarkable characteristic provides the elusive explanation to a question that has thus far stumped scientists. Nothing short of revolutionary in its bold presentation of an astonishing theory, Out of Thin Air is a story of science at the edge of discovery. Ward is an outstanding guide to the process of scientific detection. Audacious and innovative in his thinking, meticulous and thoroughly detailed in his research, only a scientist of his caliber is capable of telling this surprising story.

Print length

296 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Joseph Henry Press
Publication date

September 26, 2006
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0309100615
ISBN-13

978-0309100618
See all details

Peter Ward

38

Hardcover

52 offers from $2.99
Sébastien Steyer

77

Paperback

45 offers from $18.87

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

University of Washington paleontologist Ward (Rare Earth) clearly sets forth the premise of his provocative book: "changing atmospheric oxygen levels over the last 600 million years have caused significant evolutionary change in animals." He argues that, for extended periods, there was less than half the amount of oxygen present today in the atmosphere, and a need to develop respiratory systems to deal effectively with ambient oxygen levels has been the dominant factor in creating species diversity, extinctions and basic animal body plans. Ward takes readers on a tour from the Cambrian through the Permian to the Jurassic, examining the dominant life forms in each period and arguing that oxygen availability, or lack thereof, is responsible for the evolution of endothermy, egg shells, live births and most of the major extinctions in Earth's history. He also claims that dinosaurs were successful for so long because they were able to make use of primitive air sacs (that became fine-tuned in modern birds), thus enabling them to outcompete all others in their oxygen-depleted environment. Ward's ideas deserve careful scrutiny and are likely to be discussed broadly, although his often awkward writing gets in the way of his message. Illus. (Oct. 11)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Peter Ward is professor of biology, professor of earth and space studies, and adjunct professor of astronomy at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Astrobiology at the University of Washington and principal investigator of the University of Washingtons node of the NASA Astrobiology Institute. He has published twelve books, including The End of Evolution, which was short-listed for the Los Angeles Times book award, and the bestselling Rare Earth.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joseph Henry Press; First Edition (September 26, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 296 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0309100615
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0309100618
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #714,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #541 in Genetics (Books)
- #1,461 in Environmental Science (Books)
- #2,431 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 57 ratings

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Jonathan Ursin

Excellent but challenging

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2014

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Excellent writing. The author writes about the evolutionary history of animals in the past 540 million years and how varying oxygen levels, he believes, was a driving force of evolution. When I started this book I knew very little about the topic however after reading the book I learned a great deal on this topic and I am motivated to find other books on evolutionary biology.

I found the book challenging to read. The author assumes the reader is knowledgeable on various topics. Using wikipedia as a tutor throughout the book was a must for me.

One person found this helpful

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Patrick J. Callahan

Provocative -- New ideas on paleobiology

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2007

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Ward's book is really quite interesting to explain the "logic" of life's development on the earth, starting with the first animals (540 MA). Everything is linked to a timeline showing the rise and fall of oxygen levels over the geologic eras. It would be fatal to the book's premise, I believe, if subsequent research drastically revises this timeline.

As for criticism of Ward's writing style, there were creative forays in his writing that I most enjoyed. On a number of occasions, he takes us on an imaginary trip to visit Earth at a particular era. We are in some sort of conveyance that is boat, submarine, and plane. Like a tour guide, he explains what we are seeing -- bare rocks covered with moss and lichens, the faint haze of hydrogen sulphide in the air, the first primitive pre-phyla of the Burgess shale slowly moving across the sea bottom.

There is some repetition -- this can be criticized, but can also be helpful if one does not whiz through the book rapidly, but goes back every few days for another bite. This is not a thriller, but a rather challenging book of lay science. It is filled with mouthfilling Latinate words. A little extra help by way of some selective repetion is not that objectionable, I think.

One aspect of the book that is radically new is the analysis of the physiology of various prehistoric families of creatures. Their livers, their lungs, their feathers, their bone structure. Only in fairly recent times has this sort of discussion even been possible, and the field is sort of a "terra incognita."

Because the book covers new ground, it will remain to be seen how will the findings hold up in decades to come.

I found it intelligent, lively, and filled with new assertions and new insights. I do NOT agree with one reviewer that the book is too expensive. I got my copy from Amazon for a considerable discount from the nominal price.

Buy it if you think you will enjoy it.

69 people found this helpful

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virginia langford

I love this book

Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2016

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I love this book! I learned so many new things from it! I got it from the library and read it, and liked it so much I had to buy a copy so I could pass it on to others. The whole subject of paleo-atmosphereic science was entirely new to me and exciting! The book is clearly written and easy to understand. Everyone should read it as it explains our present global warming crisis.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

I loved it. It was fascinating without being too technical

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2018

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Ironically, I bought this book because it was a required textbook in one of Ward's classes. No one ENJOYS their textbooks, right? Wrong (at least in this case). Despite having 4 other classes with reading to do, I finished this book in a week. I won't bore you with another summary, just know that even being forced to read it, I loved it. It was fascinating without being too technical, and technical without being dry. This book was my introduction to prehistoric life, and I've been hooked ever since.

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P. G. Wickberg

An Evolutionary Unified Field Theory?

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2008

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Several previous reviewers have mentioned the awkwardness of Ward's prose, so I'll simply associate myself with their comments in that regard. What for me makes this book a "must" read in comparison to Ward's other books (and most books in the field of palaeontology, for that matter) is that while it may be weak in specific parts of its technical argument, overall the pieces fit together so well that I, like a well-known cartoon character, found myself smiting my forehead and going, "D'oh! Why didn't I ever think of that?" And I've been reading palaeontology on and off for over fifty years... The major flaw to Ward's 'unified field' theory of evolutionary development is that, as one reviewer noted, it's subject to being totally unravelled if only a few of the twenty-two major hypotheses he posits in the book are disproved by later research (and some of those whose arguments he takes on in a rather combative manner are probably not happy -- palaeontologists are always not the most even-tempered group anyway). But I strongly recommend this as a good, fairly quick read that left me making lots of connections in my own mind that had never have occured to me before.

14 people found this helpful

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Marco Polo

Much of the story of life on Earth has been a story of adaptations to oxygen levels high and low.

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2018

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The fraction of oxygen in our atmosphere has varied over time. The advent of photosynthetic life caused oxygen levels to soar from earlier near zero levels, and much of the subsequent history of life may have been driven by later changes in this level. Ward advances both rock solid points, such as that there must have been more O2 in the days of giant insects, and intriguing but more speculative points such as that dinosaurs probably had lung anatomy much like birds of today and that in low oxygen conditions this would have been a huge advantage. He’s careful to buttress this with recently discovered fossil evidence.

3 people found this helpful

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Catamaran'78

Analyzes Berner's Atmospheric Oxygen over Phanerozoic Time, Relates it To Evolution

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2010

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Uses the recently postulated changes in oxygen levels by Robert Berner, et. al., over the last 500 million years to postulate on how the extinction and expansion of various life forms, including dinosaurs, may have resulted. For instance, Ward notes that mammals may have only been able to develop placental birth as oxygen levels increased towards the end of the Cretaceous period. Marsupial reproduction is less dependent on higher oxygen. How else could the giant dragon flies and insects of the Carboniferous be explained unless you believe oxygen was at much higher levels than today? Insect respiration is limited by their physical size as they have passive respiration. Berner postulates oxygen levels near 30% in the Carboniferous, before a crash that gave rise to the efficient respiratory system of the dinosaurs which Ward discusses in this book.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Jacek

Excellent

Reviewed in Canada on March 25, 2017

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The history of oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere and it's profound importance on life. Very educational, well written and entertaining.

djb

not just hot air

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2009

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This is a very very good book on evolution. In a way it is a companion volume to Beerling's highly regarded 'Emerald Planet'. Beerling looked at the changing atmosphere and the relationship with plant life. This book considers the potential selection pressures pertaining to periods of low atmospheric oxygen in particular, and makes a strong correlation between atmospheric cause and evolutionary effect from the Cambrian to the Cretaceous.Mercifully it lacks the hot air, waffle and padding which have blighted other output by the same author. This is certainly the best book I've read on the history of evolution in a while. In time it might even be regarded as an important book. Possibly even a classic ? The argument certainly seems very compelling.

4 people found this helpful

Rambling Man

A Fascinating Tale

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2012

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A fascinating tale of how life on Earth has risen and fallen, and possible reasons why, with the dinosaurs as a grand finale. You may not agree with the general hypothesis but it should at least make you think.

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