Did the Earth once undergo a super ice age, one that froze the entire planet? Paul Hoffman claims that the Earth experienced just such a climate cataclysm 700 million years ago. The consequences of this idea are far-reaching. For Hoffman believes that this global deep freeze triggered the great Cambrian Explosion, the so-far unexplained moment in geological time when a glorious profusion of complex life forms first sprang from the primordial soup. In her account, Gabrielle Walker takes us on a journey to some of the most picturesque and formidable places on Earth - from the polar ice cap to the Australian outback and the African desert - as Hoffman and his fellow geologists travel the earth to find supporting evidence for their theories.
I had this book on my to-read shelf for years, after I read about another book by the same author. The other book is on my to-read shelf, too, but I am now not sure I want to start it - ever...
It's not that I hated the book but I just got bored with about a third way in. I am not a geologist and have no special interest in the details of how a theory was attempted, then disproved, then proved again over time - had hoped the story would be about the phenomenon of "snowball earth" rather than the personal life stories of the geologists involved in proving and disproving different theories in connection with snowball earth. Also the tone of the book grated on me - every story seemed to be told with overly dramatic effect - like a bad TV documentary.
