A probing account of the history of the earth and an
introduction to the many eccentric characters that have attempted
to understand its origins.
Full of fascinating anecdotes about 19th century explorers and
natural philosophers who first carved up Earth's history just as
others were carving up the globe.
Unravels the fascinating history of rock strata and the
implications they have had on accepted theories on the Earth's
life.
Considers the future of the earth, and what a repeat of some of
the catastrophic events of the earth's past, such as major
earthquakes and asteroid collisions, could mean for life
today.

Autorentext
Douglas Palmer is an academic, lecturer and popular science writer. He is author or co-author of a wide range of books on prehistoric life and fossils, including the best selling Earth. He teaches for the Cambridge University Natural Science Tripos and the International Summer School. A former earth sciences lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin, he also spent two years as an exhibition coordinator at the National Museum of Wales.

Klappentext
Walk from London to North Wales, as a certain William Smith did, or from the top of the Grand Canyon to the river bed and you will walk through history from the present time to the deepest and most secret time in the history of the Earth. In this fascinating tale Douglas Palmer explores mankindâ??s quest to understand the history of the planet on which we live. As nineteenth century explorers delved deeper into the hidden parts of the visible world, so scientists of the time explored the hidden depths of the Earthâ??s past. Douglas Palmer reveals the story of humankindâ??s search for a better understanding of the Earthâ??s story from the biblical view through to the most up-to-date rock sampling methods available to science today.

Zusammenfassung
The dramatic history of planet Earth and the rocky road to understanding the past

A probing account of the history of the earth and an introduction to the many eccentric characters that have attempted to understand its origins.
Full of fascinating anecdotes about 19th century explorers and natural philosophers who first carved up Earth's history just as others were carving up the globe.
Unravels the fascinating history of rock strata and the implications they have had on accepted theories on the Earth's life.
Considers the future of the earth, and what a repeat of some of the catastrophic events of the earth's past, such as major earthquakes and asteroid collisions, could mean for life today.

Inhalt
Acknowledgements. Introduction.

PART I: CUTTING THROUGH EARTH TIMEMR. SMITH'S SECTION FROM LONDON TO SNOWDON.