Riley Black – författare

Some 66 million years ago, an asteroid some seven miles across slammed into the Earth, leaving a geologic wound over 50 miles in diameter. In the terrible mass extinction that followed, more than half of known species vanish seemingly overnight. But this worst single day in the history of life of Earth was as critical for us as it was for the dinosaurs, as it allowed for evolutionary opportunities that were closed for the previous 100 million years. In The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Riley Black walks readers through what happened in the days, the years, the centuries and the million years after the impact. Life’s losses were sharp and deeply felt, but the hope carried by the beings that survived sets the stage for the world as we know it now.

Fossils plants allow us to touch the lost worlds from billions of years of evolutionary backstory. Each petrified leaf and root show us that dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and even humans would not exist without the evolutionary efforts of their leafy counterparts. It has been the constant growth of plants that have allowed so many of our favourite, fascinating prehistoric creatures to evolve, oxygenating the atmosphere, coaxing animals onto land, and forming the forests that shaped our ancestors’ anatomy. It is impossible to understand our history without them. Or, our future.Using the same scientifically-informed narrative technique that readers loved in the award-winning The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, in When the Earth Was Green, Riley Black brings readers back in time to prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas where critical moments in plant evolution unfolded. Each chapter stars plants and animals alike, underscoring how the interactions between species have helped shape the world we call home. As the chapters move upwards in time, Black guides readers along the burgeoning trunk of the Tree of Life, stopping to appreciate branches of an evolutionary story that links the world we know with one we can only just perceive now through the silent stone, from ancient roots to the present.

Fossils plants allow us to touch the lost worlds from billions of years of evolutionary backstory. Each petrified leaf and root shows us that dinosaurs, sabre-toothed cats, and even humans would not exist without the evolutionary efforts of their leafy counterparts. It has been the constant growth of plants that have allowed so many of our favourite, fascinating prehistoric creatures to evolve, oxygenating the atmosphere, coaxing animals onto land, and forming the forests that shaped our ancestors’ anatomy. It is impossible to understand our history without them. Or our future.Using the same scientifically-informed narrative technique that readers loved in the award-winning The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, in When the Earth Was Green, Riley Black brings readers back in time to prehistoric seas, swamps, forests, and savannas where critical moments in plant evolution unfolded. Each chapter stars plants and animals alike, underscoring how the interactions between species have helped shape the world we call home. As the chapters move upwards in time, Black guides readers along the burgeoning trunk of the Tree of Life, stopping to appreciate branches of an evolutionary story that links the world we know with one we can only just perceive now through the silent stone, from ancient roots to the present.

Deep time is the timescale of the geological events that have shaped our planet. Whilst so immense as to challenge human understanding, its evidence is nonetheless visible all around us. Through explanations of the latest research and over 200 fascinating images, Deep Time explores this evidence, from the visible layers in ancient rock to the hiss of static on the radio, and from fossilized shark's teeth to underwater forests. These relics of ancient epochs, many of which we can see and touch today, connect our present to the distant past and answer broader questions about our place in the timeline of the Earth.Charting 4.5 billion years of geological history, this is the story of our world, from its birth to the dawn of civilization.

What lies beneath the surface of the ocean has mystified humankind for millennia.We have explored more of the surface of the Moon than we have of the deep sea. From vampire squid to giant spider crabs, and from hydrothermal vents to bioluminescence, its watery depths are both fascinating and terrifying.Deep Water explores, through spectacular images and expert text, how this unique habitat came into being, what lives there and why, how it has evolved and what the future will bring for this dark and mysterious environment.

Get ready to dig your claws into this deck of 54 dinosaur cards!Escape to a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth with The Dinosaur Deck, featuring fascinating facts about 52 dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles. From the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex and Brachiosaurus to the more obscure and lesser-known Stegoceras validum and Aquilops americanus, discover where and when they lived, what they ate and how big they grew.Written by science writer and natural history expert, Riley Black, this card deck is full of expert knowledge on these remarkable prehistoric creatures.Whether you are a seasoned dino nerd or a curious newcomer, these cards are sure to provide hours of entertainment and education of our prehistoric predecessors.