From the Beginning
Revised reprint
Katie Edwards and Brian Rosen
From the Beginning describes the history of Earth from its very beginnings to the planet we know today. It travels an amazing journey through time, starting at the unimaginably hot dense speck from which the universe itself originated, eons before the Earth began. Hurtling through time to the formation of the solar system, the book explores the planet's past in detail, describing the development of land, sea, atmosphere, climate and life, until we reach the planet that we inhabit today. Tackling the most fundamental issues of our day, the book discusses the development of our understanding of the origin of the universe, of the solar system and the beginnings and evolution of life on Earth.
This epic journey, as vast as time itself, covers all of the main events of the Earth's turbulent history, pausing fleetingly every million or so years to consider the Earth's progress. It considers some of the landmark events such as the formation of the Earth's crust and oceans, the beginnings of life, enormous changes to climate, rising and falling sea levels, moving continents and mass extinctions. Describing current scientific understanding in a highly accessible style, the book is a fascinating read revealing the secrets of our past.
Published by the Natural History Museum, London.
Key features
- Fascinating story of the development of the Earth
- Concise, readable treatment
- Informative illustrations and diagrams in colour throughout
Contents
Introduction; The Big Bang - birth of the universe; The Solar System Forms; Meteorites; Early Earth, Crust and water; Life evolves; Life shapes atmosphere; Simple to complex cells; Atmosphere shapes life; Time in the rocks; Dating the past; What are fossils?; Reconstructing the past; Perfectly preserved; The lost ocean; Life moves on to land; Coal forests and carbon cycles; Amphibians and reptiles; Boom and bust; What causes mass extinctions?; Soaring the skies; Into bloom; Dinosaur death; Mammals diversify; On the move; Shell thermometer; What are the effects of ice ages?; Humans evolve; Humans shape the environment; Earth's future; Earth through time; Glossary; Index; Further reading and credits.
About the authors
Katie Edwards is an exhibition interpretation
manager at the Natural History Museum, and has developed the content for exhibitions
covering the life and earth sciences. She scripted the From
the Beginning exhibition which this book complements.
Brian Rosen is a Scientific Associate in the Department of Zoology at the Natural History Museum, and a former research scientist in the Department of Palaeontology. He works on living and fossil corals and reefs, with a general interest in biogeography and ecology.
About the Earth Series
The Natural History Museum's Earth Series explores the physical aspects of the natural world, from the processes that have shaped our planet since its formation, to the outcome of those natural processes.
Reviews
"...a title that is long overdue. The market has been crying out for a popular treatment of the history of the Earth and this well written, beautifully illustrated work, exactly fits the bill." Down to Earth
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Specifications
ISBN: 0 565 09142 5
Price: £7.95
Format: Paperback
Size: 200 x 210 mm
Extent: 72 pp
Illustrated in colour throughout
Published: November 1999, reprinted April 2004
Subject classification: Popular science; earth science
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