| List of Figures | |
| List of Plates | |
| Preface to the American Edition | |
| Preface to the Chinese Edition | |
| Preface to the German Edition | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| Pt. 1 | The Eve of a Revolution, 1963-1968 | |
| Ch. 1 | Moho and Mohole | 3 |
| Ch. 2 | Ice Age and LOCO | 21 |
| Ch. 3 | The Challenger Goes to Sea: The Inauguration of Glomar Challenger | 35 |
| Ch. 4 | The Earth Science Revolution | 46 |
| Pt. 2 | The Breakthrough, 1968-1973 | |
| Ch. 5 | A Game of Numbers | 75 |
| Ch. 6 | Atlantic and Tethys | 95 |
| Ch. 7 | Arc and Trench in the Mediterranean | 108 |
| Ch. 8 | Swallowing Up of the Ocean Floor | 130 |
| Ch. 9 | Marginal Seas | 146 |
| Ch. 10 | Hope and Frustration in Nauru | 162 |
| Ch. 11 | Hawaiian Hot-Spot | 184 |
| Ch. 12 | India's Long March | 198 |
| Pt. 3 | Exploring New Territories, 1973-1975 | |
| Ch. 13 | Antarctic Adventures | 219 |
| Ch. 14 | Mid-Cretaceous Anoxia | 238 |
| Ch. 15 | When the Mediterranean Dried Up | 255 |
| Ch. 16 | The Black Sea Was Not Always Black | 274 |
| Pt. 4 | Seeding a New Revolution While Mopping Up, 1975-1983 | |
| Ch. 17 | Getting Stuck in Ocean Crust | 299 |
| Ch. 18 | Eating Peanuts on Ocean Margins | 317 |
| Ch. 19 | What Makes the Ocean Run | 338 |
| Ch. 20 | The Great Dying | 355 |
| Epilogue | 384 |
| Appendix A: Deep-Sea Drilling Legs | 393 |
| Appendix B: Bibliographical Notes | 403 |
| Index | 409 |
