Chapter 1: Your Inner Fish

Being a book with a focus on biology, I entered this book believing it would be a bland informational book. I can now say, I was completely wrong. Neil Shubin definitely made the book feel more like an adventurous journey with a plot structure rather than an encyclopedia. Of course, he also adds in enriching information about biology, paleontology, and geology. However, Shubin even makes this information seem more like a side story that gives background information and explains and flows with the "plot" of the story keeping the interest in the book alive. His exposition on his experiences in anatomy and paleontology definitely feels like the beginning of a great adventure. As I continued reading, I reviewed things I already knew like rock layers, but also learned of new things like the time period and appearance a transition animal would assume. When Shubin clearly pointed out that paleontologist aren't always lucky and have to work with what they can, the plot became more suspenseful with Shubin's hopes for the Artic. The anxiety of what could be found made me more attracted with the discovery of a transition animal. The proof of an animal that showed a clear mix between land animals and sea animals was exciting to say the least. This could give us an amazing visual of the Earth's ancestral species gradually changing appearances little by little until they looked like what they do today. With this baffling thought and the adventurous suspense by Neil Shubin, I can say that I would like to know what happens in the next chapter.