The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet

The author told the story of the begining of the earth and every thing on it in a fascinating way. I havs physics and astrnomy background, I had many questions, doubts, missing links in my mind regarding the process of formation of the earth. Many of these queries are answered with ease (using scientific explanation but easy to understand) by the geologist author, which a physicist would/could not have think from their area of knowledge.

I was looking for such book for long. Started reading and enjoying the story of our planet.Paper quality is not very good.

Book is infact written as a story of the Earth (there is not even a single picture), how it evolved and also gives the background information on topics covered. Gives you a fair idea of different forces and processes responsible for formation and transformation of Earth into its present familiar state. Discussions on evidences related to the facts discussed and stories related to developmemt of theories and evidences will make you to appreciate the complex EARTH SCIENCE and how it is related to other natural sciences.

The story of earth is fascinating indeed. Although I can't say anything about the truth of the facts, story has been woven intricately. Picturesque imagery it projects is lovely. Helps develop appreciation for earth sciences. Also helps one to see the interdisciplinary nature of the field.

It's all good

A remarkable book but still not in the league of the origin Story

Good for casual read on the subject.

Very instructive, well written. Learned a lot of details from this book.

Excellent purchase. Fast deliver, Highly readable.Is a perfect summary of the geological accounts since the cretaion of Erath until to day.

I read this fascinating book for a book club we belong to, and I highly recommend it. Written to be accessible to the average reader (scientific terms aside), it is a crash course in geology, chemistry, astronomy, biology, cosmology, mineralogy, meteorology, paleontology, geophysics and other scientific disciplines. Hazen cites case after case where the "settled science" was overturned by new discoveries and new theories, saying, "It's a funny thing about conventional wisdom, though. Eventually, someone will challenge what everyone knows to be true, and once in a while something fairly interesting will be found." (p-87) He describes a theory he and colleagues were working on that went against the settled science: "Stanley Miller and his followers did what they could to squelch our conclusions and abort our research program. ... 'The vent hypothesis is a real loser,' Miller complained in a 1998 interview. 'I don't understand why we have to even discuss it.'" (P-136) Sounds like the way the efforts of any scientist who questions Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is treated today. Hazen and his colleagues theory is now the "settled science." He cites the "settled science" that the continents had never been together...until they had. And the "settled science" that there was almost no water on Mars...until there was. He notes that there have been six ice ages in the last three million years, and that both hot and cold cycles have ruled the Earth and will certainly come again. "Change is the central theme of Earth's story. The oceans and atmosphere, the surface and deep interior, the geosphere and biosphere--all aspects of our planet have changed incessantly over the aeons." (P-193) "As in the past, Earth will continue to be a planet of incessant flip-flop patterns of change. The climate will become warmer, then cooler, over and over again." He cites the hopefully-far-away certainty of a massive asteroid strike or a mega-volcano eruption, which if massive enough would exterminate the higher life forms--like us. (I have read elsewhere of the possible mega-eruption of the Yellowstone Caldara, which would release hundreds of tons of ash in the air, making much of the US uninhabitable, and doing the world no good. Apparently theses "super-eruptions" happen every 600,000 to 800,000 years. The last one was 630,000 years ago.) Though he couches his statements carefully, Hazen clearly believes that AGW is the "settled science." That may be sincerely held belief, or reflective that any academic who wishes to study the subject without being already firmly committed to an outcome demonstrating AGW will find that he is shunned, his research funding dried up, and tenure or promotion unlikely. Earlier he states that most of the carbon in the atmosphere is put there by volcanoes. Maybe we need an executive order against volcanoes. As the US has cut back in carbon, China and India have doubled down, building new coal-fired electric plants at a terrific rate. I personally think free, unbiased research should be allowed, but if GW is man made, what the US does, even destroying the middleclass and beggaring the poor, won't help. The Third World will sign agreements hoping for a cash transfer, but won't keep them when it is inconvenient. As John Kery said, "If all the industrial nations went down to zero emissions – remember what I just said, all the industrial emissions went down to zero emissions – it wouldn’t be enough, not when more than 65 percent of the world’s carbon pollution comes from the developing world." In my view, we not only need more research, but preparation for dealing with warming if it comes. But I remember the 70s, when a new ice age was the "settled science," and also all my professors telling me the "Population Bomb" was settled science and there would be mass famine in the US by the 1990, plus a depletion of all the important minerals. I decided not to have kids, and it was all as false as Al Gore's prediction of an ice-free arctic by the summer of 2013. Still, despite the obligatory PC Kowtow to AGW, required on pain of getting a job in the private sector of all academics today, I think Hazen is an honest scientist, and this book well-worth reading.Robert A. HallAuthor: The Coming Collapse of the American Republic

A beautiful book, full with information and scientifically sound, but at the same time a pleasant reading. In no other place have I found geological processes explained so clearly.

This book describes comprehensively the evolution of the earth, from the time of the big bang to the present, and in the final chapter there are short and long term forecasts of the future and what we can do to influence it (2 billion years on, whatever we do, the earth will be swallowed by an expanding sun).The writing style is highly readable. In particular, the chapters describing early continent formation by coalescence of multiple islands of granite floating in molten basalt, the formation of the moon after a cataclysmic collision between the earth and another planet, and theories of the emergence of life, are thoughtfully presented and informative. In the section on mineral formation the basic concepts are clearly explained, although some knowledge of elementary chemistry would help. Conditions at the earth’s surface at the different geological periods are vividly described, including, for instance, tidal movements of molten rocks moving backwards and forwards under the influence of the moon, and huge explosions following asteroid hits. The author emphasises the importance of the interface between geology and biology, describing how interactions between the rocks and the animals and plants that live here have shaped the world we know today. The book also includes some history of the discoveries and the relationships and conflicts of the scientists involved. I liked this book very much for both the completeness of the content and for its easy readability. I highly recommend it for anyone without previous knowledge wanting to learn about Earth’s formation and evolution.