Earth: An Intimate History

Richard Fortey

nov 2009 · Distribuido por Vintage

Acerca de este libro electrónico

The acclaimed author of Trilobite! and Life takes us on a grand tour of the earth’s physical past, showing how the history of plate tectonics is etched in the landscape around us. • "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." —The New York Times

Beginning with Mt. Vesuvius, whose eruption in Roman times helped spark the science of geology, and ending in a lab in the West of England where mathematical models and lab experiments replace direct observation, Richard Fortey tells us what the present says about ancient geologic processes. He shows how plate tectonics came to rule the geophysical landscape and how the evidence is written in the hills and in the stones. And in the process, he takes us on a wonderful journey around the globe to visit some of the most fascinating and intriguing spots on the planet.

Calificaciones y opiniones

Extraordinario relato sobre la formación y deformación de nuestra Tierra. Es importante seguir cada detalle y capitulo para unir todas las piezas de este rompecabezas llamado Tierra, descrita en placas, continentes y átomos. Una vez finalizado, el libro parece sencillo de comprender pero en realidad ha movido muchas concepciones internas a lo largo de la lectura completa. Fortey explica el rol de la ciencia en su máxima luminosidad creativa.

Acerca del autor

RICHARD 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.