The Story of Earth
The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
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4.3 • 39 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Hailed by The New York Times for writing “with wonderful clarity about science . . . that effortlessly teaches as it zips along,” nationally bestselling author Robert M. Hazen offers a radical new approach to Earth history in this intertwined tale of the planet’s living and nonliving spheres.
With an astrobiologist’s imagination, a historian’s perspective, and a naturalist’s eye, Hazen calls upon twenty-first-century discoveries that have revolutionized geology and enabled scientists to envision Earth’s many iterations in vivid detail—from the mile-high lava tides of its infancy to the early organisms responsible for more than two-thirds of the mineral varieties beneath our feet. Lucid, controversial, and on the cutting edge of its field, The Story of Earth is popular science of the highest order.
"A sweeping rip-roaring yarn of immense scope, from the birth of the elements in the stars to meditations on the future habitability of our world." —Science
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With a blend of storytelling and science (from mineralogy and geology to biochemistry), Hazen (Science Matters) illuminates the origins of Earth and the origins of life. Hazen begins some 4.5 billion years ago, when the solar system coalesced from a cloud of cosmic debris. Hazen, a professor of earth science at George Mason University, describes the "Big Thwack" from a wandering asteroid that knocked off a piece of molten Earth to make the Moon. The creation of oceans and continents fed by Earth's "inner heat"; a celebrated 1953 experiment to recreate the Earth's "primordial soup"; and the discovery of strange creatures living on volcanic vents deep underwater show that life probably began in the water. Hazen moves on to photosynthetic organisms and their impact on the atmosphere, and on the explosive growth of algae in shallow coastal waters. Fossils show that the first primitive animal life evolved at least 545 million years ago and endured despite the threats of natural disaster, mass extinctions, and the extreme cold of the Ice Ages. Hazen enriches his story with details about pioneering researchers like continental drift theorist Alfred Wegener, and his own experiences hunting for meteorites, handling moon rocks, and collecting trilobytes. This is a thoroughly accessible book, deftly mixing a variety of scientific disciplines to tell an unforgettable story.
Customer Reviews
Equal parts fascinating & informative
Reads like an informal textbook. Easy enough to follow along and extremely interesting. Thorough deep dive into the story of Earth’s birth up to now.
Robert Hazen
Great book!
From fireball to now ... And beyond. Wow.
This is an amazing, readable, interesting, important book. You will gain insights into how a particular fireball from an exploding star happened to cool in a certain way ... And our world came to be. Hazen shows how life didn't just come from the mineral earth, but that the rocks' evolution is always influenced by life. After explaining billions of years of earth history and climate cycles he uses the last section to project what will happen in the future. His prognosis: the planet doesn't need to be saved. It will go on, but we are surely tipping earth's climate to a point where we will destroy ourselves, and bring many species down with us. The story of earth will continue, just not with us. Highly recommended book.