[1][2][3] Reviews were largely positive although some criticized Rudwick's minimalism in relation to the conflict between science and religion and the rejection of evolution by religious groups.

[5][8] Professor and lecturer in Earth and Environmental Science Education Alison Stokes wrote for Times Higher Education magazine: "[Rudwick] succeeds in weaving together a compelling account of how Earth's timescale expanded to magnitudes far beyond those imagined by early scholars, and of the individuals responsible for advancing scientific thinking through their ideas and actions."

She added "Although dismissed by Rudwick as a 'bizarre sideshow', the re-emergence of Young Earth creationism in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary is nonetheless a frustrating state of affairs.

"[6][9] Christian apologetic group The BioLogos Foundation[10] republished a review by paleontologist Ralph Stearley with a foreword by its vice-president Jim Stump.

Along the way, the geological time-scale develops until it reaches its current scope and detail ... Rudwick cleanly narrates the step-by-step realization that Earth was an object with a long history".