A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters

by Henry Gee

Hardcover, 2021

Status

Available

Call number

576.8

Publication

Picador (2021), Edition: Main Market, 336 pages

Description

"In the tradition of E.H. Gombrich, Stephen Hawking, and Alan Weisman-an entertaining and uniquely informed narration of Life's life story. In the beginning, Earth was an inhospitably alien place-in constant chemical flux, covered with churning seas, crafting its landscape through incessant volcanic eruptions. Amid all this tumult and disaster, life began. The earliest living things were no more than membranes stretched across microscopic gaps in rocks, where boiling hot jets of mineral-rich water gushed out from cracks in the ocean floor. Although these membranes were leaky, the environment within them became different from the raging maelstrom beyond. These havens of order slowly refined the generation of energy, using it to form membrane-bound bubbles that were mostly-faithful copies of their parents-a foamy lather of soap-bubble cells standing as tiny clenched fists, defiant against the lifeless world. Life on this planet has continued in much the same way for millennia, adapting to literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter and thriving, from these humblest beginnings to the thrilling and unlikely story of ourselves. In A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, Henry Gee zips through the last 4.6 billion years with infectious enthusiasm and intellectual rigor. Drawing on the very latest scientific understanding and writing in a clear, accessible style, he tells an enlightening tale of survival and persistence that illuminates the delicate balance within which life has always existed"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member eduscapes
Timely Take-Aways for Life-Long Learning

Several new works of nonfiction explore the long history of planet Earth including the relatively recent impact of humans and other animals. Each provides a unique perspective and context for investigation.

....
A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth
Henry Gee,
Show More
Nov 2021, St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of Macmillan
Themes: Natural history, Life science, Evolution

A (VERY) SHORT HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH provides a quick overview of how life evolved on Earth in a dozen short chapters. The first seven chapters explore early life, to dinosaurs leaving five chapters for mammals, primates and human evolution.
Take-aways: This primer on evolution would be of particular interest to science students and teachers seeking an engaging work of nonfiction for leisure reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member wrjensen382
Earth science,Geology,Biology,Evolution

Awards

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2021

Physical description

336 p.; 8.82 inches

ISBN

1529060567 / 9781529060560
Page: 0.7402 seconds