Here on Earth (eBook)

A Natural History of the Planet

Tim Flannery (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2011 | Enhanced Ebook
336 Seiten
Grove/Atlantic, Inc. (Verlag)
978-0-8021-9523-4 (ISBN)

Infos

Credited with discovering more species than Darwin, praised for his ability to take complex ideas andseemingly effortlessly make them accessible (Sydney Morning Herald), Tim Flannery is one of the worlds most influential scientists, head of Australias Climate Change Commission, and a best-selling author. In his newest book, Here on Earthan immediate best seller in Australiahe has written a captivating and dramatic narrative about the origins of life and the history of our planet.Beginning at the moment of creation with the Big Bang, Here on Earth explores the evolution of Earth from a galactic cloud of dust and gas to a planet with a metallic core and early signs of life within a billion years of being created. In a compelling narrative, Flannery describes the formation of the Earths crust and atmosphere, as well as the transformation of the planets oceans from toxic brews of metals (such as iron, copper, and lead) to life-sustaining bodies covering 70 percent of the planets surface. Life, Flannery shows, first appeared in these oceans in the form of microscopic plants and bacteria, and these metals served as catalysts for the earliest biological processes known to exist. From this starting point, Flannery tells the story of the evolution of our own species, exploring several early human speciesfrom the diminutive creatures (the famed hobbits) who lives in Africa around two million years ago, to Homo erectusbefore durning his attention to Homo sapiens, who first started leaving Africa some fifty thousand years ago. Drawing on Charles Darwins and Alfred Russell Wallaces theories of evolution and Lovelocks Gaia hypothesis, Tim Flannerys Here on Earth is a dazzling account of life on our planet. Also available:The Eternal Frontier Throwim Way LegThe Future Easters The Weather Makers

Autor

Born in Melbourne in 1956, Tim Flannery is a writer, scientist and explorer. The former director of the South Australian Museum, Flannery spent a year as a professor of Australian studies at Harvard. In 2007 he was named Australian of the Year and in 2011 he was appointed to head the Climate Change Commission established by the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.4.2011
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Evolution
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• ISBN-10: 0-8021-9523-7 / 0802195237
• ISBN-13: 978-0-8021-9523-4 / 9780802195234