When the Earth Was Green

Praise for When the Earth was Green“Often evocative…Also enjoyable are the entertaining descriptions of plant and animal interactions similar to those we’ve witnessed in our own lives.” –Christian Science Monitor“Black masterfully uses science to breathe life into ancient worlds in which some of our favorite prehistoric animals lived.” –Science News“Black masterfully transforms 15 fossil sites into vibrant, living landscapes …an exercise in empathy that left me hopeful about humanity’s ability to consider other perspectives, whether those of ancient, exotic organisms or members of our own species.” –Science Magazine“Black thrusts readers into almost dreamlike landscapes with her vivid descriptions of long-vanished worlds. She uses her imagination and knowledge to help you experience deep time.” –High Country News

“Black’s creative writing style and vivid descriptions, paired with well-chosen scientific facts, transport readers to verdant, sometimes violent scenes from our planet’s past.” –Booklist“Striking… weaving illuminating natural history into sparkling descriptions of what the Earth was like millions of years ago. This is another triumph from Black.” –Publishers Weekly, starred

“BLACK IS A POET OF PREHISTORY, narrating the final moments of a gooey mosquito or the accidental, tree-bound voyage of a monkey with the detail of someone who was there and saw it all, millions of years ago…. This is a book steeped with vegetal beauty, one that unfurls like a flower, blooming.” –Sabrina Imbler, author of How Far the Light Reaches and staff writer at Defector

“BRILLIANT, BRIMMING WITH INSIGHT, and boundlessly entertaining. Black launches a grand tour of deep time, surveying the influence of plant life on animal evolution (and vice versa). It’s a 1.2 billion-year fandango, masterfully chronicled.” –Jason Roberts, author of Every Living Thing and A Sense of the World

“AN ESSENTIAL, EXTRAORDINARY STORY…Black shows us how the natural world has always been a splendid, entangled scrum of interactions and transactions.” –Daniel Lewis, author of Twelve Trees, Dibner Senior Curator for the History of Science and Technology, Huntington Library

“WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BOOK! I couldn’t put it down. Black has crafted a prose so vivid and precise that it feels more like watching a film. Through Black’s “vignettes,” the reader is taken on a breathtaking exploration of life’s interconnectedness.” –Paco Calvo, author of Planta Sapiens

Praise for The Last Days of the Dinosaurs

Winner 2023 AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Writing “Black blends the intricacies of science with masterful storytelling for a cracking, enchanting read.” –Newsweek

“This is top-drawer science writing.” –Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Exquisitely written.” –Booklist

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.