Otherlands

A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds

By: Thomas Halliday

Narrated by: Adetomiwa Edun

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

2022 James Cropper Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing, Short-listed

“Immersive . . . bracingly ambitious . . . rewinds the story of life on Earth—from the mammoth steppe of the last Ice Age to the dawn of multicellular creatures over 500 million years ago.”—The Economist

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE • “One of those rare books that’s both deeply informative and daringly imaginative.”—Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, Prospect (UK)

The past is past, but it does leave clues, and Thomas Halliday has used cutting-edge science to decipher them more completely than ever before. In Otherlands, Halliday makes sixteen fossil sites burst to life.

This book is an exploration of the Earth as it used to exist, the changes that have occurred during its history, and the ways that life has found to adapt―or not. It takes us from the savannahs of Pliocene Kenya to watch a python chase a group of australopithecines into an acacia tree; to a cliff overlooking the salt pans of the empty basin of what will be the Mediterranean Sea just as water from the Miocene Atlantic Ocean spills in; into the tropical forests of Eocene Antarctica; and under the shallow pools of Ediacaran Australia, where we glimpse the first microbial life.

Otherlands also offers us a vast perspective on the current state of the planet. The thought that something as vast as the Great Barrier Reef, for example, with all its vibrant diversity, might one day soon be gone sounds improbable. But the fossil record shows us that this sort of wholesale change is not only possible but has repeatedly happened throughout Earth history.

Even as he operates on this broad canvas, Halliday brings us up close to the intricate relationships that defined these lost worlds. In novelistic prose that belies the breadth of his research, he illustrates how ecosystems are formed; how species die out and are replaced; and how species migrate, adapt, and collaborate. It is a breathtaking achievement: a surprisingly emotional narrative about the persistence of life, the fragility of seemingly permanent ecosystems, and the scope of deep time, all of which have something to tell us about our current crisis.

©2022 Thomas Halliday (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A poet among paleontologists . . . Think of a series of immense and immersive museum dioramas, with no glass separating you from the action. . . . The narrative becomes shockingly real and immediate, as individual dramas and entire, vibrant panoramas unfold in what feels like real time.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Written with gusto and bravado . . . Otherlands is a verbal feast. You feel like you are there on the Mammoth Steppe, some 20,000 years ago, as frigid winds blow off the glacial front.”—Steve Brusatte, Scientific American

“Halliday’s brilliantly imaginative reconstructions, his deft marshalling of complex science, offers a thrilling experience of deep-time nature for pop-science buffs.”—Library Journal (starred review)

I Hope That I Was Up To The Challenge

I adored the work. I call books such as this a “Neutron Star.” The author packs almost an inconceivable-amount of information into 10 hours, or so.

The narrator was clear, engaging, and quite pleasant to hear.

Good but dense

Great premise for a book on ancient ecosystems, and well written. Pretty dense for an audiobook, however.

Great writing. A wonderful listen.

This is a great work. Great writing and storytelling. The selection of a narrator with a Indian accent is questionable. The voice of narrator doesn't seem to fit the story and is often a distraction.

Powerful, beautifully written, and incredibly relevant for today

I have never read a book that so brilliantly connects previous mass extinction events throughout our planet’s history with the major environmental challenges the earth is facing today. While that alone would make this an incredibly topical book that everyone should read, its incredibly evocative depictions of bygone worlds is truly a pleasure to read in its own right. While not mincing any words on the tremendous challenges that the world currently faces, the comparison to previous epochs provides a powerful anecdote to the despair and fatalism that many have embraced in response to present climate change and mass extinction crises - unlike every other mass extinction event in the planet’s history, this is the first where the driver of mass extinction (us) has the capacity to recognize and change its actions in time to prevent the even more catastrophic events to come if we don’t change our relationship with the planet. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in past who also cares about our present and the potential futures yet to come.

Fantastic for all readers

I was worried this book would be way too niche for me to keep up with, but it was a great introduction (and very thoroughly researched) to the world of our planet’s yesteryear.

perceived enthusiasm of both author and reader. Convergence of prehistoric science with current state of the planet.

as a visually impaired retired USACE Wetlands Ecologist with wide ranging scientific interests, I found the story well written and detailed. Some clarification of terms and pronunciation would have been useful for listeners not used to UK accents.

Great Read

I really liked the snapshots of life played out by the author, really puts you there back in time.

Extinction freaks read up!

This is a unique book in that travels back in time from current to past...well organized and full of fun facts, I enjoyed the travel past through long gone worlds that impact us today... well written and very useful in comprehension of past world environments... loved this book!!

Stunning descriptions of life and landscapes long gone

It’s tough to find hopeful words in much of the literature covering climate change these days, but this beautifully written and read audiobook sprinkles hope throughout many long-dead worlds as if seeding the foundation that would eventually allow for the evolution of humankind. And even though we’re staring out over the precipice of our own specie’s demise, there is a thread that runs throughout all of the iterations of earth’s worlds that is at the very least positive for the continuation of life if not full of solutions for changing our current trajectory.

Block off time

I thought this book was ok on my morning commute. But really enjoyed it when the internet bricked one night and I was able to listen long enough to really get into it. So you might want to listen in longer stretches instead of quick bites.