Earth Story:
The Forces That Have Shaped Our Planet
Simon Lamb & David Sington

Winner of the 1999 Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, presented by the American Geophysical Union
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Books of 1999

Paper | 2003 | $28.95
240 pp. | 9 x 11 | 200 color illus.

Shopping Cart | Reviews | Table of Contents

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By describing the remarkable forces that formed and shaped our ever-changing world, Earth Story gives us a new understanding of the planet and our place within its evolution.

When and how was Earth formed? What is the link between earthquakes, volcanoes, and the creation of continents? How do mountains affect our climate? What triggers ice ages? Earth Story answers these and many other questions as it tells the amazing story of our planet and its constantly changing nature.

Two centuries ago, scientists began to investigate the history of Earth by examining the rocks beneath its surface and began to formulate the astonishing concept of geological time. Using this discovery as their starting point, Simon Lamb and David Sington unravel the fascinating history of Earth from its earliest beginnings to the dawn of human civilization, using full-color illustrations, stunning photography, and the latest scientific thinking.

Reviews:

"With clear prose, vivid images, and enlightening illustrations . . . [Lamb and Sington] lay out the current scientific understanding of Earth's history. . . . This compelling and accessible account merits sustained attention."--Publishers Weekly

"A visual feast through which our planet speaks to us, a true bridge between Science and Art. . . . Lamb and Singleton have produced an exciting book that is very useful for the layperson interested in Earth sciences. It will also be treasured as a celebration of the beauties of the science by those already familiar with the various issues."--K. Bernhard Sporli, Meteorite

Endorsement:

"This book is a wonderful introduction to a new discipline, the geosciences, which integrates diverse fields to explain the intimate connections between fascinating and seemingly unrelated phenomena--the shapes of continents, earthquakes, the locations of mountains and volcanoes, weather and climate, and the evolution of life."--S. George Philander, Princeton University; author of Is the Temperature Rising?

Table of Contents:

Introduction 7
Chapter One: The Time Travelers 11
Chapter Two: The Deep 33
Chapter Three: Ring of Fire 63
Chapter Four: A Volcanic Imagination 91
Chapter Five: The Flow of the Continents 115
Chapter Six: The Ice Age 141
Chapter Seven: The Living Planet 173
Chapter Eight: A World Apart 207
Select Bibliography 234
References 234
Glossary 235
Acknowledgements 236
Picture Credits 236
Index 237

Another Princeton book by Simon Lamb:

• Devil in the Mountain: A Search for the Origin of the Andes.

Subject Areas:

• Biological Sciences
• Earth Sciences

VISIT OUR EARTH SCIENCES WEBSITE

Cloth: For sale only in the United States and Canada
Paper: For sale only in the United States and Canada

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Paper: $28.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-11662-4

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File created: 9/3/2008

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