Fossils: The Key to the Past - Hardcover

Fortey, Richard A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0565092332 ISBN 13: 9780565092337

Publisher: The Natural History Museum, 2009

Synopsis

This is a clear and authoritative introduction to fossils, their study and their use in reconstructing the history of life on Earth. Paleontologist Richard Fortey explains in accessible language what fossils are, how they form, and how they help us to understand Earth's geological past and the emergence of life. Drawing on the latest information, he discusses evolution and extinction, the economic uses of fossils, such as oil and coal, as well as offering advice for making a fossil collection. Extensively illustrated throughout, Fossils is an up-to-date guide to our understanding of the fossil record and the significance of fossil finds. It will appeal to all those with an interest in our past and will encourage the reader to study further and enjoy our geological legacy.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Fortey is a celebrated popular science writer and former senior palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum, London. Richard spent more than 30 years working at the Museum, specialising in trilobites, the distant relatives of crabs and lobsters that lived 260-540 million years ago. His previous books include The Hidden Landscape, which won The Natural World Book of the Year in 1993, Life: An Unauthorised Biography which was shortlisted for the Rhone Poulenc Prize in 1998, Trilobite! Eyewitness to Evolution, which was short-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize, and Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum. He has won both the Lewis Thomas and Michael Faraday prizes for his science writing, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1997.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Natural History Museum
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0565092332
• ISBN 13: 9780565092337
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288