Planet Earth: Cosmology, Geology, and the Evolution of Life and Environment

by Cesare Emiliani

The next few decades are likely to witness deep environmental crises, crises we will be able to cope with only through a clear understanding of the complex, delicate system of which we are part. Fortunately, the great advances made in all fields of science since World War II make it possible to reconstruct the entire life history of the world we live in, from the Big Bang to the present, and thus to understand how the system works. This book presents a global picture of our world - how it originated, how it evolved, how it works - and provides the background necessary to assess ways to stabilize it. Although the science is rigorous and quantitative, the book is written in an informal style and is readily accessible to anyone with a knowledge of high-school algebra.

Genres: Geology, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Science

Paperback

First published August 28, 1992

About the author

Cesare Emiliani was an Italian-American scientist, considered one of the greatest geologists and micropaleontologists of the 20th century and the founder of paleoceanography.
He established that the ice ages of the last half million years or so are a cyclic phenomenon, which gave strong support to the hypothesis of Milankovitch and revolutionized ideas about the history of the oceans and of the glaciations. He was also the proponent of Project "LOCO" (for Long Cores) to the U.S. National Science Foundation. The project was a success providing evidence of the history of the oceans and also serving to test the hypotheses of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.
Cesare Emiliani was honored by having the genus Emiliania erected as home for the taxon huxleyi, which had previousiy been assigned to Coccolithus. He was further honored by receiving the Vega Medal of the Swedish Royal Geographic Society in 1983, and the Alexander Agassiz Medal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1989 for his isotopic studies on Pleistocene and Holocene planktic foraminifera.
Emiliani was close to a Renaissance man, familiar with classical literature, fluent in many languages, and a valiant opponent of dogmatic attitudes and mental rigidity wherever found. In his later years he dedicated much time to introduce a calendar reform based on the Holocene calendar (HE) concept to eliminate the BC-AD chronology gap caused by the lack of a Year Zero.

Reviews

[Brennan De · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intro Earth Science textbook for people who are actually interested in learning more about fundamental Earth science concepts. Doesn't fall into the "dumbification" trap of all too many intro books in the subject & I'd love to see an updated modern edition.

I've never used this textbook as the 'assigned text' for a class, but I've read it often to help me better frame and explain ideas while teaching introductory college courses in intro earth science.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

great! covers everything! I skipped chapters on the evolution of life. I can't be an expert at everything.

[David Haffner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kicks ass.

[Scott Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily the best "big picture" science book that I've ever read; simply a masterpiece.