Book Review: Nature Got There First

Nature Got There First is a book that will grab the attention of that rambunctious, easily distracted, eight to thirteen year old boy. You know the one? The little guy that runs up to everything and anything with wheels or a motor and looks underneath it to try and figure out what’s making it tick? This book is perfect for the young boy that plays outside for hours coming up with all sorts of make-shift uses for sticks, rocks, and insects.

What do earthworms and elevators have in common? What about leaves and shoes, or your knees and engines? This book explores these things as well as many others. Take the example of squid for instance: what invention could have resulted in the study of the way squid drive themselves through the oceans? Phil Gates says it's jet propulsion. And what about armadillos? Is it possible that man’s idea of the armored car or a knight’s medieval armor was first formed after observing the suitably attired armadillo? How about a tropical tree? Could man have really got the idea of building mighty cathedrals based on their knowledge of how these trees are rooted and stabilized?

When Nature Got There First will cause your guys to look out of doors through a completely different lens. It draws upon the similarities between modern day inventions and those things found in nature, designed by a Creative Genius. While I wouldn’t say this book is necessarily written from a Christian perspective, I will say that it draws the Christian reader in and causes his or her gaze to fall upon the Master Designer. It will reinforce the fact that man’s ideas and creativity is not original to man. It all begins with the Maker of all things, the Inventor of all things, and the Giver of every creative thought. Who knows what other inventions can be inspired by further study and investigation of God’s amazing world?

Furthermore, who needs a boring biology textbook when there is something like this available? In fact, if more boys were allowed to read books like this one, they may find themselves a lot more interested when that biology class finally rolls around.

"Nature is but a name for an effect,
Whose cause is God."
~ WILLIAM COWPER