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375th out of 596 books
—
1,318 voters
The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national bestselling author Robert M. Hazen reveals how the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere—of rocks and living...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
April 26th 2012
by Viking Press
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I never liked geology in school. Learning about rocks and how they formed was a series of exercises in memorization.
It's hard to say what made me pick this book up at the library. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I did. Hazen has a way of making a topic I had always found dreadfully boring fascinating, interesting and exciting.
My layman's description is the book covers a bit of astronomy, geology, oceanography, meteorology, physics, biology, and even a little history. Not too much of any one, usu...more
It's hard to say what made me pick this book up at the library. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I did. Hazen has a way of making a topic I had always found dreadfully boring fascinating, interesting and exciting.
My layman's description is the book covers a bit of astronomy, geology, oceanography, meteorology, physics, biology, and even a little history. Not too much of any one, usu...more
I'm one of those guys who passed high school chemistry comfortably but who was really glad that was over with for good. So imagine my surprise in reading Hazen's amazing book that I was able to easily follow his clear as glass (admittedly not very complex) chemical explanation for why certain basic and then more complicated physical things happened since The Big Bang. This is an essential text for understanding current thinking of how everything is supposed to have happened since the beginning....more
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Earth history, or Earth's future. My background: I'm a 2nd year master's student in geochemistry. I've been taking geology classes for 5+ years and I've never had the story of Earth explained in such a captivating way. I'm the type of person who doesn't claim to know a subject unless I could describe its processes from the ground up, without using much jargon. That's all you get in Hazen's book.
My reading pace and enthusiasm decelerated...more
My reading pace and enthusiasm decelerated...more
Well constructed review of consensus earth science by one practicing in the field.
Embarrassingly I was halfway through “The Story of Earth” before recalling that I had only recently read Hazen’s “Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origins,” a volume covering recent experimental science in origins-of-life research, including, or rather emphasizing, Hazen’s own.
While in “The Story of Earth” Hazen largely resists the technical (though, appropriately for a practitioner, he can’t resist it a...more
In The Story of Earth, noted exobiologist and minerals expert Robert Hazen weaves a passionate narrative about our planet’s past and the implications for its future. The account contains a smattering of some already well-known facts, such as the realization that for more than 99.9 percent of Earth’s existence, there were no humans, but it is also littered with many surprises drawn from recent scientific research. Perhaps the most interesting premise in this book is Hazen’s contention that the so...more
I really enjoy Hazen's style of science writing. He presents the factual information and ideas and sprinkles in anecdotes about himself and other scientists. He presents the ideas and the evidence that supports them but is also careful to point out when there are competing ideas and things we just don't know.
The book does its job as an overview of the entire 4.5 billion year history of the Earth. As a short, easy read it doesn't get bogged down in a lot of details but focuses on the big picture...more
The book does its job as an overview of the entire 4.5 billion year history of the Earth. As a short, easy read it doesn't get bogged down in a lot of details but focuses on the big picture...more
Great read! It felt more like I was watching a NOVA special than reading a book. I particularly found the presentation of debunked theories interesting. Who knew that Charles Darwin's son thought the moon was created by a fast spinning Earth flinging magma into space? Clearly wrong now that we have been to the moon and studied the rocks, but it was interesting to read how this was one of the contending theories up until we went to the moon.
A very readable and enthralling account of the life history of our planet, plus some thoughts on its future. The chapters on its early history including the formation of the moon are particularly engaging. A few too many Americanisms for a book published in the UK (and don't assume readers will know what a BB is or how big) but they are minor quibbles.
Hazen studies the earliest life from the Proterozoic. When he writes about this eon, he is interesting and informative. His treatment of other time periods is pretty mundane, though, with little new added. He should have called his book "The first 4 billion years," and stopped there.
This is a thorough, up-to-date look at the history of the Earth and the science that has been used to discover it. As I was finishing it, Nat Geo TV cam out with a nice cg special telling pretty much the same story in overview. Now I know more than I used to about the world we live on.
A must read if you want to find out all about the formation of the earth to the present. Sounds dull? Hazen makes it fascinating.
I listened to this as an audio book from audible.com. Interesting!
Great and interesting read even if you have limited knowledge of geology. Hazen spends most of the book talking about the lesser-known Pre-Phanerozoic Eon (the first 4 billion years of Earths history). Fascinating read!
I really enjoyed this book. Hazen does a good job telling an integrated story of the earth. I think what I liked best was how it merged physics, chemistry, biology, the geological sciences, and geography to pull together a cohesive story. What made it such a strong read for me was that I found the book to be very satisfying itself and yet it made me want to learn even. So, I got not only the enjoyment of this book but also the inspiration to pursue the subjects further.
Good - a bit more geology then my biology biased mine could handle at times - but overall an enjoyable read.
Apr 05, 2013
Mills College Library
added it
550 H4299 2012
One of the most fascinating and captivating books I've ever read.
Excellent survey of Earth's geological and biological history, with emphasis on their interrelationship. A good introduction for the general reader.
Well written documentation of the formation and evolution of the Earth and Solar System. As far as text book go, definitely an engaging read.
Great read of the history of Earth. The writing style clearly showed how the author knew and loved the topic. He managed to put so much information into one small book without talking over the reader's head.
Great book if you're into science and how the natural world evolved. The author is a mineralogist and devotes a lot of time to "rocks", which may not appeal to some. However, that did not take away from the book.
I can't say I understand geology all that much more comprehensively than I did before I read this, but it was a fascinating and informative book.
Really enjoyed the epilogue
May 23, 2013
Bonnie Rogers
marked it as to-read
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“The lessons of rocks, stars,and life are clear. To understand Earth, you must divorce yourself for the inconsequential temporal or spacial scale of human life. We live on a single tiny world in a cosmos of a hundred billion galaxies, each with a hundred billion stars. Similarly, we live day by day in a cosmos aged hundreds of billions of days. If you seek meaning and purpose in the cosmos, you will not find it in any privileged moment or place tied to human existence.”
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