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

by Andrew H. Knoll

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Book cover for A Brief History of Earth

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Harvard’s acclaimed geologist “charts Earth’s history in accessible style” (AP)

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

How well do you know the ground beneath your feet? 

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.

Features original illustrations depicting Earth history and nearly 50 figures (maps, tables, photographs, graphs).

  • ISBN10 0062853910
  • ISBN13 9780062853912
  • Publish Date 27 May 2021 (first published 27 April 2021)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country US
  • Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
  • Imprint Custom House
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 272
  • Language English