"If we could only peek out of our windows and see how the world would be 200 million years from now!"

How wonderful it would be if we could only peek out of our windows and see how the world would be 200 million years from now! What kind of creatures, birds, mammals, flowers, organisms, and humans, would inhabit planet earth?

Authors Dougal Dixon and John Adams with the support of several scientists specializing in Geology, Zoology, Paleontology, Biology, Marine Biology, Herpetology, and other inter-related disciplines, have authored a fascinating book entitled THE FUTURE IS WILD.

Testing our imagination to its limits, the authors have been able to give us a glimpse into what life will be on planet earth 200 million years from now. As indicated in the introduction, "the organisms you'll encounter in this book are based on fundamental biological and evolutionary principles. They could, and may yet, exist."

The organization of this magnificent book is divided into five sections each giving the reader a broad perspective of what has transpired in the past and what can be expected in millions of years from today.

In order to imagine how the future of planet earth will appear, it is necessary to have some basic knowledge of what transpired during the past millions of years. The first section of the book presents a brief resumé of earth's history illustrating the recurring patterns of evolution. The next three sections devote themselves to showing earth 5, 100 and 200 million years from today.

If we were to return 5 million years from now we would notice that Earth is at the peak of an Ice Age that has been going on for millions of years. According to the authors, the glacial cycle of an Ice age lasts somewhere in the order of 100,000 years. During this time frame, 90,000 years consists of a cold spell while 10,000 years consists of a warm spell, known as interglacial.

Our era, or as it is termed in the book, the Human era, took place during one of these warm spells. As a result of the destruction of habitats and ecosystems, as well as the extinction of so many plants and animals, various new animals take over. Among them would be rodents called shagrats filling the ecological niches left vacant. They are the largest animals in the North European region.

One hundred million years from now earth is seen as moist and warm; the average temperatures would be four or five degrees higher than what they are today. The ice has melted, sea levels have risen and the world is a global hothouse. Organisms begin to diversify and adapting to their stable environment. The ecosystem will be very vigorous and dynamic.

Two hundred million years we can visualize a changing planet. There is a single, huge super continent that shares Earth with a vast, warm ocean. A globe of extremes has been created. One million years have elapsed since 95 percent of species on Earth were extinguished.

Science- fiction you might say-however, did we not say the same about the space age, or many of the other inventions during the past century?

This is an extraordinary, imaginative book that is all the more convincing when you view 100 breath taking computer- generated color photographs of such creatures as ocean fish that fly, grim worms emerging from bumble beetles, forest fish and birds with four wings.

Upon examining these spectacular images, we can easily be convinced that the authors have presented a very credible and convincing scenario. Unfortunately, I do not think we will be around to see if their predictions were accurate! Not only is this book educational, it is also a fun read.

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted January 13, 2003