I enjoyed many aspects of this book. The topic is fascinating and the chronological structure is interesting. Some of the wording is very clever and there is some humor in the book. The best aspect of the book are the stories Black tells to bring life to the book. However I found the attempts at literary writing interfered with the rhythm of my reading. It was as if these nuggets of great information were surrounded by masses of excess verbiage that I had to dig through. I also found the conclusion did not add anything to the story. I did not find that I had developed a relationship with the writer, as I have in many other non-fiction books, until the appendices where Black revealed more of herself and were well worth reading. Overall though, this book was a good read. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy.

She's done it again! Riley Black has written a marvelous book that feels more like having a conversation with a friend, than absorbing words from a page. When the Earth Was Green is a deeply personal look at the most prolific "background" character of life on Earth. As someone who lives and works in a field dominated by Fiction, it is always refreshing when a good piece of refreshing nonfiction finds its way to me. Even more so when the book is an easy, smart read that doesn't insult you or presume that you are arriving with a strong background in paleontology. It is because of this easy going, conversational writing style and her talent for infusing such a powerful personal message to her prose that I believe Riley Black is one of the strongest science writers today.

Thank you to Riley Black, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for advanced access to this book. Expected date of publication is February 25, 2025 at time of writing.

This is a very informative book about a gorgeously composed look at the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth. I am very fond at reading this book.

One of my favorite books of the year. Beautifully laid out and expertly written, this book will be a physical copy purchase that I will read again.

From back when Earth was just a bunch of rock and water and life had barely begun, plants have been there, changing the landscape one little tendril at a time and providing food and habitat as life evolved. This book travels from the first sexually-reproducing organism all the way to modern day, stopping to view remarkable plant life along the way.

For the most part, this book felt like I was in a biology lab and the professor kept showing the same slide of a simple organism, saying, "Look at this! Really look at it! Wow, look!" And although I can appreciate the poetry and enthusiasm, I also kind of don't get it? I'd like to say I learned something, but a lot of the content was lost in the effusive delight that permeated each page. Some of the visualization was helpful and gave me the chance to imagine myself looking around when Earth was much different. But this book also took a lot of energy to decipher, so it's not really my idea of a coffee table book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. I have read some early Earth non-fiction about dinosaurs and mammals so learning more about the interaction between plants and early animals seemed like it would be interesting too. The writing is done in a way that kept my interest. The book was divided into different sections of the Earth which made me think of each area in a new way. I definitely learned lots of good information.

This fascinating book is a lyrical story of the symbiotic relationship of plants and animals in easily read and easily understood language.
The green world materialized slowly in prehistoric times, and its growth is beautifully told by Riley Black. Each paragraph paints an emerging portrait of modern earth.
Plants shape our earth’s past, our human present and our future more than I realized. Scenes of life and death struggles between animals in prehistoric forests are vividly described while providing science based facts.
I liked the scenarios explaining, for example, how a mosquito became encased in tree resin: not just factually presented, text book style. Rather, science woven into a story I can visualize, illustrating significant moments in the long relationship between plants and animals. I didn’t realize how much floral evolution encouraged animal evolution.
The 15 appendices are not to be missed, as they are a book in themselves.
I think this nonfiction book has changed my theories of paleobotany. Recommended

Thanks to St Martins Press and Net Galley for this wonderful complimentary copy.

An easily readable, understandable look at the world and how prehistoric plants and animals interacted with each other, evolved together. Riley Black does an amazing job making this information interesting and accessible to the non-science-minded reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this arc.

When the earth was green was an amazing and fascinating read. Told in a story of vignettes about flora and fauna throughout the history of earth, it was fun and formative without feeling too smart for me to understand. I am a huge nerd for plants and life on earth and I truly enjoyed this read. This book was engaging as a novel while also being deeply interesting and informative and I’ll be thinking about it a lot in the future.

5⭐️

This was an interesting and informative book to read! While not what I expected, it was more enjoyable than I had initially thought it would be. Initially I thought this would be good for my kids in homeschool and while the information provided is informative, the first chapter title does not suggest suitable for younger viewers. This read to me very much like a documentary would be presented and I fully enjoyed it. This book dives back millions of years and takes an in depth look at how our Earth could’ve been as well as how the animals and plant life at the time affected one another.

Yet again, Riley Black has written a book that is simultaneously engaging and informative. "When the Earth was Green" is a worldwide view of plants (and animals) evolution throughout time. Black's novel takes us on a journey, complete with textbook quality information, starting with the first land-going plant hundreds of millions of years ago. From there, she takes us on a tour of plants and the evolution of those critical to the development of plants we see every day. Sprinkled throughout her novel are fun fictional stories told from the viewpoints of those time-appropriate plants and animals that help the reader to feel as if they are actually there. Each chapter is short, and frankly, ! wish some of the information provided in the Appendices at the novel's conclusion were incorporated into each chapter, rather than added as an afterthought. However, short chapters do not indicate poor quality - rather, Black condenses so much information into a story-like section that provides you with enough information to pique your curiosity but not enough to overwhelm or bore you. My only critique of the book is that pictures of the many plants and animals referenced were not included (I know, I know-it's not a picture book), so I found myself Googling ancient plants and animals multiple times in every chapter.
Overall, "When the Earth was Green" is a solid 3.75 star book thanks in part to the conversational tone, textbook quality information and overall ease to read.
I received this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks to Riley Black, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the early copy.

I do love books that describe the earth that once was. This book travels back millions of years ago and describes numerous creatures and how vegetation had impacted them and via Versa. This book provided a lot of information that I was not aware of. It is well written and worth a read!

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book presents a unique narrative on how Earth's greenery has influenced life on the planet. The author transports us back millions of years and, through each chapter, reveals the impact of vegetation on the existence of all animals, including humans. I found the book captivating and an excellent read. I would recommend this book to all readers.