A rich geological history and an overdue examination of the costs and benefits of what humans have built with our extravagant use of a chemical compound. A thrilling exploration of Earth’s tumultuous history, its tenuous present, and a future in grave doubt.” — Kirkus
“Peter Brannen delivers a moving and magisterial tribute to the magic-seeming chemical interplay of air and rock, plant kingdom and ocean expanse, which scientists dryly call the ‘carbon cycle.’ Upon it, he shows, absolutely all life rests—with growing, and unnerving, precarity.” — David Wallace-Wells, New York Times bestselling author of The Uninhabitable Earth
“In this urgent and astounding book, Brannen weaves together the entire history of Earth, and the origins and tribulations of life over billions of years, with the predicament we find ourselves in today. With the lyricism of John McPhee and scientific bona fides rivalling any academic geologist, Brannen is in a class of his own as the preeminent scribe of Earth science today. This is the book that I want all of my Earth science students to read, and every policymaker and politician too.”
— Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh paleontologist and New York Times/Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
“As with everything Peter Brannen writes, this is fascinating; deep history brought vividly to life. But it's also crucial—our ability to understand and act on it will determine how the next period in earth's history unfolds.”
— Bill McKibben, author Here Comes the Sun
“Peter Brannen offers a completely new vision of Earth and human history that will change your perspective forever. One vital, misunderstood molecule is revealed as the animating force behind everything that has ever happened on this planet—from the assembly of microscopic plankton seashells to the rise and fall of human empires. If we are smart, this impressive, beautifully written book will be a lodestar for the current generation’s most important decisions.”
— Rebecca Boyle, author of Our Moon
“What a brilliant and epic book this is! From the magical transformation of CO2 into the first life to our current flailing attempts to pump less of it into our atmosphere, Brannen gives us a sweeping history of the planet in a single molecule. I study this stuff for a living and still learned so much—how coal nearly froze the planet, why the rocks beneath our feet allow us to breathe, and the origins of our modern industrial world. This book is a collection of wonderful things woven together into a fascinating, terrifying whole.”
— Kate Marvel, author of Human Nature
