How to Build a Habitable Planet

A classic introduction to the story of Earth's origin and evolution—revised and expanded for the twenty-first century

Since its first publication more than twenty-five years ago, How to Build a Habitable Planet has established a legendary reputation as an accessible yet scientifically impeccable introduction to the origin and evolution of Earth, from the Big Bang through the rise of human civilization. This classic account of how our habitable planet was assembled from the stuff of stars introduced readers to planetary, Earth, and climate science by way of a fascinating narrative. Now this great book has been made even better. Harvard geochemist Charles Langmuir has worked closely with the original author, Wally Broecker, one of the world's leading Earth scientists, to revise and expand the book for a new generation of readers for whom active planetary stewardship is becoming imperative.

Interweaving physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, and biology, this sweeping account tells Earth’s complete story, from the synthesis of chemical elements in stars, to the formation of the Solar System, to the evolution of a habitable climate on Earth, to the origin of life and humankind. The book also addresses the search for other habitable worlds in the Milky Way and contemplates whether Earth will remain habitable as our influence on global climate grows. It concludes by considering the ways in which humankind can sustain Earth’s habitability and perhaps even participate in further planetary evolution.

Like no other book, How to Build a Habitable Planet provides an understanding of Earth in its broadest context, as well as a greater appreciation of its possibly rare ability to sustain life over geologic time.

Leading schools that have ordered, recommended for reading, or adopted this book for course use:
Arizona State University
Brooklyn College CUNY
Columbia University
Cornell University
ETH Zurich
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
Luther College
Northwestern University
Ohio State University
Oxford Brookes University
Pan American University
Rutgers University
State University of New York at Binghamton
Texas A&M University
Trinity College Dublin
University of Bristol
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Cambridge
University Of Chicago
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Glasgow
University of Leicester
University of Maine, Farmington
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Georgia
University of Nottingham
University of Oregon
University of Oxford
University of Portsmouth
University of Southampton
University of Ulster
University of Victoria
University of Wyoming
Western Kentucky University
Yale University