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A Brief History of Earth

Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters

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A Brief History of Earth

By: Andrew H. Knoll
Narrated by: Tom Parks
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How well do you know the ground beneath your feet? A primer for every Earth resident, by Harvard’s acclaimed geologist.

“A sublime chronicle of our planet."" –Booklist, STARRED review

Odds are, where you’re standing was once cooking under a roiling sea of lava, crushed by a towering sheet of ice, rocked by a nearby meteor strike, or perhaps choked by poison gases, drowned beneath ocean, perched atop a mountain range, or roamed by fearsome monsters. Probably most or even all of the above.

The story of our home planet and the organisms spread across its surface is far more spectacular than any Hollywood blockbuster, filled with enough plot twists to rival a bestselling thriller. But only recently have we begun to piece together the whole mystery into a coherent narrative. Drawing on his decades of field research and up-to-the-minute understanding of the latest science, renowned geologist Andrew H. Knoll delivers a rigorous yet accessible biography of Earth, charting our home planet's epic 4.6 billion-year story. Placing twenty first-century climate change in deep context, A Brief History of Earth is an indispensable look at where we’ve been and where we’re going.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

 Earth Sciences Ecology History History & Philosophy Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Science Solar System Natural History Polar Region
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yes it started and ended with preachy climate control talk, but mostly interesting. Just a note to editors though, I believe Jules Verne wrote "Journey to the center of the Earth" , not HG Wells - chapter 1.

on whole good

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I learned so much from this book. The book is short, but so much knowledge is condensed in it.

Nicely written and informative

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An excellent informative book marred slightly by lumpy and awkward narration. It sounds like AI narration, which probably would have been comparable.

Great content, lumpy narration

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A whirlwind tour through 4 billion years of history and an excellent distillation of knowledge.

Whirlwind tour

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A critical overview of the interaction between physics and biology in shaping the Earth (and life on Earth). In each chapter, Knoll delivers a collection of the main hypothesis in contention, his critical take and some of the relevant limitations.
The book is great, and the last chapter packs a powerful message of responsibility for us all to worry about (a must read for anyone still wondering whether climate change is real).

Amazing overview of how the physical and biological Earth interact

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