When I found out we had to read this novel on top of the thick textbook, I thought that it would be another book filled with boring and useless information that teachers wanted to assign in hopes of interrupting our relaxing summer. But, as I began to read the newly ordered novel from Amazon, I realized this book was rather interesting and enthralling.
As many others have said, Neil Shubin does a great job at allowing his readers to visualize his findings through diction that is easy for people to grasp and comprehend. His use of several pictures also allows people to easily visualize the places they go to and things Shubin and his crew discover. For example, the map portraying North America allows me to keep track of where he is working (16). The pictures also allow readers to feel like they are also on this journey with him, facing the same obstacles he experiences. The diagrams of "Tikaalik" depict how it looks like and what Shubin means by a creature between fish and a primitive land-living animal.
The most interesting aspect of chapter 1 was definitely the discovery of Tikaalik. It is simply amazing how an old, extinct creature could be found hundreds of years later. Shubin's description of this newly found fish represents the evolution of fish to amphibian. Although I do have many doubts in the idea of evolution, the finding of Tikaalik is extremely fascinating.
So far, this book has been impressive and I look forward to reading chapter 2; Getting a Grip.
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