1
of
1
When the Earth Was Green
Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
Brief Description
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, saber-toothed cats, and even humans would not exist without the evolutionary efforts of their leafy counterparts. It has been the constant...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5100
Unit price
/
Unavailable
International Supplier
This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
When the Earth Was Green
$5100
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Latest News
Meet Serena: The Month I Finally Started Reading Again
After months of being stuck in a reading slump, Serena set herself one simple goal...
I'm spending book money on puzzles (and it's all Amelia's fault)
Lizzy is sharing her current plight, struggling with having money left over for books when...
New Rolife Just Arrived 😍
Our Rolife range just got even bigger! Discover heaps of new DIY miniature houses, book...
Everyone is reading Dungeon Crawler Carl - And you should too!
Dungeon Crawler Carl is the latest series that everyone has been reading and talking about....
Tiny Books, Big Adventures: Meet Bookcessories!
We are so excited to introduce to you our mini Bookcessories range! These are super cute...
See moreA gorgeously composed look at the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth.
A gorgeously composed look at the longstanding relationship between prehistoric plants and life on Earth
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
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, 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.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781250905574
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 22 June 2026
Country: United States
Imprint: Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
Illustration: Includes 30 black-and-white illustrations throughout
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 135.0mm
Height: 208.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 304
About the Author
RILEY BLACK(she/they) has been heralded as "one of our premier gifted young science writers" and is the award-winning author of Skeleton Keys, My Beloved Brontosaurus, Written in Stone, When Dinosaurs Ruled, and The Last Days of the Dinosaurs. A science correspondent for Smithsonian and regular contributor to publications like National Geographic and Slate, Riley is a widely-recognized expert on paleontology. She won the 2024 Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education.
Also by Riley Black
View all-
The Dinosaur Deck
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...Set$3999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs
The Shortest History of the Dinosaurs tells the 230-million-year epic of these staggeringly fascinating prehistoric creatures, covering their small beginnings, spectacular golden periods, and stunning evolutionary success—before an unthinkable asteroid event brought everything to a screeching halt. But this history digs deeper, using numerous recent fossil discoveries and fresh understandings of genetics and evolution to show how we’ve gleaned so...Paperback$3199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Deep Time
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...Hardback$7000Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
When the Earth Was Green
Fossils of plants allow us to touch the lost worlds from billions of years of evolutionary backstory. Each petrified leaf and root shows 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...Hardback$6800Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Deep Water
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,...HardbackSold Out -
Dinosaurs
Who isn't fascinated by dinosaurs? These strange reptiles have awed us ever since their fossils were first identified as the bones of creatures from the distant past. For millions of years, dinosaurs ruled the prehistoric world. And now, millions of years after their mass extinction, they continue to rule our imaginations. But how did dinosaurs live, what did they eat,...HardbackSold Out
More from Science & Nature
View all-
Raising Hare
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND iNEWS 'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE 'I...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' — BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' — TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' — NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...Hardback$4200Elsewhere:$5000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Anxious Generation
A powerful argument for reclaiming childhood—and all human relationships—from the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spaces—communities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...Paperback$2299Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
16% offUltra-Processed People
Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Kitchen Confidential
The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. ‘Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ — A.A. Gill ‘Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ — Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Sapiens
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari is an extraordinary exploration of humanity's history from the dawn of our species to the present day. Harari delves into our evolution, offering insights into the cognitive revolutions that allowed Homo sapiens to rise above other animal species. Traversing through various stages of human development, he examines the Agricultural Revolution, the unification of humankind through...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Invisible Women
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez is a groundbreaking and meticulously researched exploration into the pervasive gender bias that infiltrates every aspect of our society. Through compelling case studies and thorough analysis, this book unveils the hidden ways women are systematically disadvantaged in a world predominantly designed by and for men. Perez's revelations stretch across various sectors including government policy,...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Talk
A Harvard professor shows how we can become better talkers - and why effective conversation will help us all thrive. Conversation is at the heart of our relationships and decision-making, but the science behind our everyday interactions, and how to improve them, is little known. In Talk, Harvard Professor Alison Wood Brooks provides fascinating insights into the power of effective...Paperback$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
20% offClean & Green
Simple swaps and innovative ideas for cleaning and maintaining your home that won't cost the Earth. Learn how easy it is to make simple swaps in your cleaning and tidying methods for a more eco-friendly home. This beautifully illustrated black and white guide with 101 hints and sustainable, natural cleaning tips and hacks will help you take small steps that...Paperback$2400Usually:$2999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Genetic Book of the Dead
From one of the world’s great science writers, a book that explores the deepest principles of evolutionary history. In this groundbreaking new approach to the evolution of all life, Richard Dawkins shows how the body, behaviour, and genes of every living creature can be read as a book – an archive of the worlds of its ancestors. A perfectly camouflaged...Hardback$4900Elsewhere:$5499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Coming Wave
The instant Sunday Times bestseller from the ultimate AI insider - the only book you need to read on this subject. An Economist, Financial Times, Guardian, Prospect and Sunday Times Book of the Year Shortlisted for the FT and Schroders Business Book of the Year This is the only book you need to understand our new world - from the...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Breath
Discover the transformative power of breathing in Breath by esteemed journalist James Nestor. This revolutionary book delves into the science and history of one of the most fundamental human activities - breathing. From the bustling streets of São Paulo to the serene temples of India, Nestor embarks on a global journey to uncover the secrets of ancient breathing techniques such...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
Science & Nature lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
