Earth Time: Exploring the Deep Past from Victorian England to the Grand Canyon

by Douglas Palmer (Editor)

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

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2005

About the author

Douglas Palmer is a science writer, academic, and author of many books on paleontology, including Life Before Man and Graptolites: Writing in the Rock. In addition to writing numerous articles for leading journals such as Science and New Scientist, he teaches Natural and Earth Sciences at Cambridge University, England.

Reviews

[Joyce]

I'm not sure I ever met a geology book I didn't like before, but this one consisted of endless iterations of "[British gentleman] went to [British place] and discovered rock formations (often with fossils) which led him to name a geological era." I'd expected something much more like a collection of very short Simon Winchester pieces, but this was a lot more like what you'd think of as an old-school history of geology. It was quite effective for helping me fall asleep, but honestly I still don't know much about more about the geological eras that are the ostensible narrative skeleton here.

[Julieanne Thompson]

It was too much like a textbook to be readable but some excellent research, i would use it as a reference book on ym shelf. I loved the London history, fascinating stuff.