A New History of Life
Language: English
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, US, 2016
- Softcover
- New

Seller: Rarewaves.com USA, London, London, United KingdomRarewaves.com USA
AbeBooks seller since June 11, 2025
Condition: New
£ 14.04
Quantity: 5 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
The history of life on Earth is, in some form or another, known to us all--or so we think. A New History of Life offers a provocative new account, based on the latest scientific research, of how life on our planet evolved--the first major new synthesis for general readers in two decades.Charles Darwin's theories, first published more than 150 years ago, still set the paradigm of how we understand the evolution of life--but scientific advances of recent decades have radically altered that. Now two pioneering scientists draw on their years of experience in paleontology, biology, chemistry, and astrobiology to deliver an eye-opening narrative using a generation's worth of insights culled from new research. Writing with zest, humor, and clarity, Ward and Kirschvink show that many of our long-held beliefs about the history of life are wrong. Three central themes emerge. First, Ward and Kirschvink argue that catastrophe shaped life's history more than all other forces combined--from notorious events like the sudden extinction of dinosaurs to the recently discovered "Snowball Earth" and the "Great Oxygenation Event." Second, life consists of carbon, but oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide determined how it evolved. Third, ever since Darwin we have thought of evolution in terms of species. Yet it is the evolution of ecosystems--from deep-ocean vents to rainforests--that has formed the living world as we know it. Ward and Kirschvink tell a story of life on Earth that is at once fabulous and familiar. And in a provocative coda, they assemble discoveries from the latest cutting-edge research to imagine how the history of life might unfold deep into the future.…
Seller Inventory # LU-9781608199105
- Title
- A New History of Life
- Author
- Peter Ward, Joe Kirschvink
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, US
- Publication year
- 2016
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 160819910X
- ISBN 13
- 9781608199105
- Item weight
- 386 grams
Two leading scientists offer a provocative account, based on the latest scientific research, on how life on our planet evolved--the first major new synthesis for general readers in two decades.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Joe Kirschvink is the Nico and Marilyn Van Wingen professor of geobiology at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. His pioneering work in earth science includes formulating and naming the "Snowball Earth" hypothesis. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lives in Pasadena, California.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Rarewaves.com USA
London, London, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since June 11, 2025
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