Mariner A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters

livre petit format en anglais mais bref et bien fait, se lit facilement, et on apprend plein de choses sur l'histoire de la terre, jadore

Very useful book

This is perhaps the best popular science book I have read in the past 5 years. The topic, the links between the evolution of earth's geology and biosphere, is one that has not been often covered, the writing is clear and the style (for me, at least) is very congenial. Some might regard this as very basic, while others find it dense and overladen with facts. However, the author, an expert in this subject (with a long career at Harvard to his credit), does a remarkable job in presenting a complex series of topics. He does so with great brevity with only the minimum of detail needed to construct a coherent picture. The organization of the book, "4 billion years in eight chapters," takes the the form of an elegant sequence of chapters entitled "Chemical Earth," "Physical Earth," "Biological Earth," "Oxygen Earth," "Animal Earth," "Green Earth," "Catastrophic Earth," and "Human Earth." These develop the motivating theme, our existence on earth and the biosphere we depend on is in critical danger. Perhaps to many this message has become dull with repetition, but Andrew Knoll's treatment of it is fresh and convincing. As he quotes Baba Dioum in the Prologue, ""we will conserve only what we love, and we will love only what we understand." "A Brief History of Earth" is a heroic effort by Dr. Knoll to promote a more complete understanding of the planet we live on.

Quick read, short and to the point. It is a very high level summary of all the geological knowledge digested for the non initiated. Written by a top expert. This book is for you if you want to learn how the Earth formed, what forces are at play defining how the Earth behaves, it’s climate, it’s past and it’s future, without going into too much detail. This book is not for you if are looking for in-depth analysis backed by equations, detailed lab test results and experiments .

An excellent choice for anyone looking to understand environmental changes throughout Earth’s history. It pairs particularly well with works on the history of life and the origins of life on Earth, complementing and enriching that broader context.