A (very) short history of life on Earth : 4.6 billion years in 12 pithy chapters / Henry Gee.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gee, Henry, 1962- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution (Biology)--History.

Evolution (Biology).

History.

Earth (Planet)--Age.

Earth (Planet).

Age.

Earth (Planet)--Origin.

Life sciences.

Life--Origin.

Life.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

vi, 280 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Other Title:

4.6 billion years in 12 pithy chapters

Four point six billion years in twelve pithy chapters

Place of Publication:

New York : St. Martin's Press, 2021.

Summary:

"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"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. A Song of Fire and Ice

2. Animals Assemble

3. The Backbone Begins

4. Running Aground

5. Arise, Amniotes

6. Triassic Park

7. Dinosaurs in Flight

8. Those Magnificent Mammals

9. Planet of the Apes

10. Across the World

11. The End of Prehistory

12. The Past of the Future.

Notes:

"Originally published in the United Kingdom by Picador."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-272) and index.

ISBN:

9781250276650

1250276659

OCLC:

1227086367