From the acclaimed author of "Life and "Trilobite!, a fascinating geological exploration of the earth's distant history as revealed by its natural wonders.
The face of the earth, crisscrossed by chains of mountains like the scars of old wounds, has changed and changed again over billions of years, and the testament of the remote past is all around us. In this book Richard Fortey teaches us how to read its character, laying out the dominions of the world before us. He shows how human culture and natural history-even the shape of cities-are rooted in this deep geological past.
In search of this past, Fortey takes us through the Alps, into Icelandic hot springs, down to the ocean floor, over the barren rocks of Newfoundland, into the lush ecosystems of Hawai'i, across the salt flats of Oman, and along the San Andreas Fault. On the slopes of Vesuvius, he tracks the history of the region down through the centuries?to volcanic eruptions seen by fifteenth-century Italians, the Romans, and, from striking geological evidence, even Neolithic man. As story adds to story, the recent past connects with forgotten ages long ago, then much longer ago, as he describes the movement of plates and the development of ancient continents and seas. Nothing in this book is at rest. The surface of the earth dilates and collapses; seas and mountains rise and fall; continents move.
Fortey again proves himself the ideal guide, with his superb descriptions of natural beauty, his gripping narratives, and his crystal-clear, always fascinating scientific explanations.
Here is a book to change the way we see the world.
"From the Hardcover edition.
Show moreFrom the acclaimed author of "Life and "Trilobite!, a fascinating geological exploration of the earth's distant history as revealed by its natural wonders.
The face of the earth, crisscrossed by chains of mountains like the scars of old wounds, has changed and changed again over billions of years, and the testament of the remote past is all around us. In this book Richard Fortey teaches us how to read its character, laying out the dominions of the world before us. He shows how human culture and natural history-even the shape of cities-are rooted in this deep geological past.
In search of this past, Fortey takes us through the Alps, into Icelandic hot springs, down to the ocean floor, over the barren rocks of Newfoundland, into the lush ecosystems of Hawai'i, across the salt flats of Oman, and along the San Andreas Fault. On the slopes of Vesuvius, he tracks the history of the region down through the centuries?to volcanic eruptions seen by fifteenth-century Italians, the Romans, and, from striking geological evidence, even Neolithic man. As story adds to story, the recent past connects with forgotten ages long ago, then much longer ago, as he describes the movement of plates and the development of ancient continents and seas. Nothing in this book is at rest. The surface of the earth dilates and collapses; seas and mountains rise and fall; continents move.
Fortey again proves himself the ideal guide, with his superb descriptions of natural beauty, his gripping narratives, and his crystal-clear, always fascinating scientific explanations.
Here is a book to change the way we see the world.
"From the Hardcover edition.
Show moreRICHARD FORTEY is a senior paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London. Life was short-listed for the Rh™ne-Poulenc Prize in 1998, Trilobite! was short-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2001, and The Hidden Landscape was awarded the Natural World Book of the Year in 1993. He was awarded the Lewis Thomas Prize for science writing by Rockefeller University in 2004. He was Collier Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Bristol in 2002 and is now a Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in London.
"Absorbing. . . . Cinematic. . . . The ultimate travel book, a
guidebook that should be read by every person who wants to really
know and understand the place we live on. . . . This enticing book
deserves to be read many times over." --The New York Times
"Riveting. . . . Wonderfully engaging . . . tackles the biggest
rock of all and how its geology has affected the lives of those who
inhabit it. . . . In Fortey's hands, geology is a tale of high
drama and action." --Chicago Tribune
"Crammed with interesting material, vividly and colorfully
conveyed. . . . Fortey is a writer with a gift for making natural
history come alive. . . . A delightful book to dip into, a
treasure-house of mind-expanding lore." --Los Angeles Times
"Spectacular. . . . A tour de force. . . . For the science it
covers, the human stories and the leisurely style in which it
conveys vast amounts of information, Earth deserves to be a
bestseller." --New Scientist
"Enthralling. . . . Fortey's writing is lovely. There's poetry in
[his] words. . . . His gift for description is both intellectual
and imaginative." --The Village Voice
"A whopping read even if you are scientifically and geologically
impaired." --The New York Post
"[Fortey] takes the reader on a journey around the world including
Mount Vesuvius, the Alps, Newfoundland, Los Angeles and the Deccan
Traps in India. He is an eloquent guide."
--Scientific American
"Engaging. . . . With a naturalist's view of the land and a
geologist's understanding of gradual change, Fortey does an
admirable job of bringing the field to life." --Science News
“A dazzling voyage of discovery showing how our ancient, battered
planet endlessly recycles itself.” --The Sunday Times
“Fortey illuminates the world we know, and enriches our
understanding of its past and future. Enjoy this remarkable book.”
--Financial Times
“Dazzling . . . Important and timely. We now look at the world in a
different way, and Fortey provides a tour of the high ground and
the hot spots. This book could be classed as history, or as
science, or science history, or even travel. Forget all categories:
it is simply a splendid book.” --The Guardian
“A winning combination of bouncy prose and authoritative science
has made Richard Fortey’s previous natural history books best
sellers. His latest offering deserves the same success.” --Literary
Review
“Richard Fortey is the Raymond Chandler of science writing. His
prose is angelic, his phrases well-turned. . . . And though Earth
is no murder story, it is a mystery book and, in its own way, a
thriller.” --The Economist
Though few of the leaf peepers driving through the Smokies this fall will know it, the Appalachians used to extend all the way to Scotland. In this sprawling geological survey, British paleontologist Fortey (Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution) tells readers that millions of years ago, before the land masses broke apart, the Caledonide Mountains formed the northernmost end of an enormous mountain range. Starting in the shadow of Vesuvius, Fortey's global tour moves to the Hawaiian islands, which, he explains, are falling back into the sea from northwest to southeast. Readers trek with him through the Alps and learn how rock folds and stretches. Fortey doesn't restrict himself to current geological time: he says the continents have broken apart and reformed more than once and will likely crunch together again in a few million years; the Pacific Ocean is gradually closing up because the lighter-weight continents are slowly drifting over the underlying basalt. Some readers may wish for more discussion of desert areas, though there is a beautiful account of a descent through Earth's history via burro into the Grand Canyon. Fortey's writing is wonderfully descriptive, but once in a while one wishes he'd kept to his main path and not wandered off into tangential topics. Geology and earth sciences buffs will eat this up. 32 pages of color illus. not seen by PW; 58 b&w illus. Agent, Witherspoon Assoc. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
"Absorbing. . . . Cinematic. . . . The ultimate travel book, a
guidebook that should be read by every person who wants to really
know and understand the place we live on. . . . This enticing book
deserves to be read many times over." --The New York
Times
"Riveting. . . . Wonderfully engaging . . . tackles the biggest
rock of all and how its geology has affected the lives of those who
inhabit it. . . . In Fortey's hands, geology is a tale of high
drama and action." --Chicago Tribune
"Crammed with interesting material, vividly and colorfully
conveyed. . . . Fortey is a writer with a gift for making natural
history come alive. . . . A delightful book to dip into, a
treasure-house of mind-expanding lore." --Los Angeles
Times
"Spectacular. . . . A tour de force. . . . For the science it
covers, the human stories and the leisurely style in which it
conveys vast amounts of information, Earth deserves to be a
bestseller." --New Scientist
"Enthralling. . . . Fortey's writing is lovely. There's poetry in
[his] words. . . . His gift for description is both intellectual
and imaginative." --The Village Voice
"A whopping read even if you are scientifically and geologically
impaired." --The New York Post
"[Fortey] takes the reader on a journey around the world including
Mount Vesuvius, the Alps, Newfoundland, Los Angeles and the Deccan
Traps in India. He is an eloquent guide."
--Scientific American
"Engaging. . . . With a naturalist's view of the land and a
geologist's understanding of gradual change, Fortey does an
admirable job of bringing the field to life." --Science
News
"A dazzling voyage of discovery showing how our ancient, battered
planet endlessly recycles itself." --The Sunday Times
"Fortey illuminates the world we know, and enriches our
understanding of its past and future. Enjoy this remarkable book."
--Financial Times
"Dazzling . . . Important and timely. We now look at the world in a
different way, and Fortey provides a tour of the high ground and
the hot spots. This book could be classed as history, or as
science, or science history, or even travel. Forget all categories:
it is simply a splendid book." --The Guardian
"A winning combination of bouncy prose and authoritative science
has made Richard Fortey's previous natural history books best
sellers. His latest offering deserves the same success."
--Literary Review
"Richard Fortey is the Raymond Chandler of science writing. His
prose is angelic, his phrases well-turned. . . . And though
Earth is no murder story, it is a mystery book and, in its
own way, a thriller." --The Economist
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