A History of Earth in 100 Groundbreaking Discoveries

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Overview

An illustrated survey of 100 key events in Earth's dramatic history.

A History of Earth in 100 Groundbreaking Discoveries is a fascinating account of the discoveries that reveal why Earth is the one planet in our solar system that can support life. It surveys 100 key events in the evolutionary history of our planet, from its origins and geological formation 4.5 billion years ago to the astonishing diversity of flora and fauna in the present ...

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More About This Book

Overview

An illustrated survey of 100 key events in Earth's dramatic history.

A History of Earth in 100 Groundbreaking Discoveries is a fascinating account of the discoveries that reveal why Earth is the one planet in our solar system that can support life. It surveys 100 key events in the evolutionary history of our planet, from its origins and geological formation 4.5 billion years ago to the astonishing diversity of flora and fauna in the present day.

More than 200 computer-generated images, photographs and illustrations highlight concise text that describes critical developments and junctures in Earth's evolution. The book covers:

  • The material world, including rocks, mud, desert, crystals, water, clouds, ice and gases
  • Earth's engine -- the core and magnetic field, fault zones, mountains and volcanoes
  • Earth's changing face, including marine rocks, iron formations, glacial deposits and coal deposits
  • The earliest life forms, simple and complex plants, domesticated plants and animals, 3.2 billion-year-old spores, sexual reproduction and the first true land plant
  • How life evolves, including rapid development in mammals, insects and plants and the emergence of humans
  • Computer simulations of future tectonic plate positions and changing sea levels
  • The scientists who developed theories of change from observations, exploration and tests.

A History of Earth in 100 Groundbreaking Discoveries is a journey back through the life of our planet, and it also explores what the future may hold. The book will be of interest to general readers as well as those interested in earth sciences, evolution and botany.

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Editorial Reviews

American Reference Books Annual 2012 - Denise A. Garofalo
This title is written for a high school or general audience interested in the earth sciences, evolution, and botany.
Winnipeg Free Press - Gail Marchessault
This is the kind of book high school biology students need. It makes learning about how the world crawled out of the primordial soup heaps of fun.
Booklist - Gilbert Taylor
Sporting the same book design as Paul Parsons' Science, Palmer's work performs the same function, here sparking interest in the earth sciences. Their dynamic pace of discovery over the past 50 years emphatically emerges both in Palmer's 100 selected topics and in his summaries of their significance.... Palmer will provoke the inquisitiveness of his readers, setting them an agenda for further exploration of the evolution of the earth.
Leading Edge (Society of Exploration Geophysicists - Robert Avakian
Accurate, well written, and enjoyable... It would be an excellent gift for a youngster whose interest in the geosciences is stronger than a passing infatuation with dinosaurs. Interested adults will find this book very interesting and it should be an enjoyable read for the earth professional as well.
National Science Teachers Association
This collection of vignettes is definitely not a textbook. In fact, Douglas Palmer has written something more like a coffee table book for casual appreciation than a science narrative; and it is for this reason that it succeeds so well. Seeing science taken out of the cold, mundane forms in which it is usually found, opens up the possibilities not only of what science books could be, it also expands the potential reading audience.... Libraries and the casual enthusiast will find it a treasure-trove of information.
Science Teacher - Marc Zucker
Libraries and the casual enthusiast will find this book a treasure trove of information... [it] should please almost any reader.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781554078073
  • Publisher: Firefly Books, Limited
  • Publication date: 8/4/2011
  • Pages: 416
  • Sales rank: 493,979
  • Product dimensions: 7.40 (w) x 9.60 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

Douglas Palmer is a science writer and lecturer on earth sciences for the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. His most recent books include The Complete Earth and Seven Million Years.

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