Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our Planet

by Ted Nield

To understand continental drift and plate tectonics, the shifting and collisions that make and unmake continents, requires a long view. The Earth, after all, is 4.6 billion years old. This book extends our vision to take in the greatest geological cycle of all—one so vast that our species will probably be extinct long before the current one ends in about 250 million years. And yet this cycle, the grandest pattern in Nature, may well be the fundamental reason our species—or any complex life at all—exists. This book explores the Supercontinent Cycle from scientists' earliest inkling of the phenomenon to the geological discoveries of today—and from the most recent fusing of all of Earth's landmasses, Pangaea, on which dinosaurs evolved, to the next. Chronicling a 500-million-year cycle, Ted Nield introduces readers to some of the most exciting science of our time. He describes how, long before plate tectonics were understood, geologists first guessed at these vanishing landmasses and came to appreciate the significance of the fusing and fragmenting of supercontinents. He also uses the story of the supercontinents to consider how scientific ideas develop, and how they sometimes escape the confines of science. Nield takes the example of the recent Indian Ocean tsunami to explain how the whole endeavor of science is itself a supercontinent, whose usefulness in saving human lives, and life on Earth, depends crucially on a freedom to explore the unknown.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Geology, History, Earth Sciences, Popular Science, Ebooks

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Scot Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this book 5 stars, though I was tempted to only give 4 for a couple reasons. First, as other reviewers have said, this book doesn't really cover 10 billion years in the life of our planet. Nield doesn't really talk much about Earth's origins and the (brief) period up to the formation of the oceans, and he doesn't really talk much about the future beyond about 250 million years when the next supercontinent is projected to form. At best this book covers 4.5 billion years in the life of our planet, not 10. Nield also makes, in my opinion, a pretty egregious mistake towards the end of the book by stating that Earth's present atmosphere contains 16% oxygen. I tend to believe that this is a typo and not a true mistake because earlier in the book while discussing prehistoric trends in oxygen concentration in our atmosphere, he does imply the correct figure.

Those negatives aside, I found the book engrossing, though as a geoscientist myself I may be a bit biased. Nield gives a pretty solid overview of the history of modern geology, covering the (to me) riveting controversy that the theory of continental drift faced in the geologic community and fascinating microbiographies of notable geologists throughout history. He gives the lay reader a solid overview of our current knowledge of plate tectonics and of the supercontinent cycle. He discusses in a fair amount of detail the formation and breakup of Pangaea and Rodinia but discusses the older supercontinents in much less detail (in large part because not much is known about them.) He presents a lot of interesting information about the Earth's past climates and delves into some interesting modern theories of past climates, such as the snowball earth. He shows throughout the book how the geosphere is connected with the other components of the Earth system - the hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere.

The bottom line - if you're looking for a book that covers 10 billion years of Earth's past and future, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a great book that provides an overview of Earth's geologic history and of the history of geology as a field of study that's written in an engaging and accessible style, then absolutely give this one a go.

[Steve Van Slyke · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I think the subtitle "Ten Billion Years in the life of our Planet" is a bit misleading. From the main title I assumed it was about plate tectonics, which it is, but I then assumed from the subtitle that the story would take us from the formation of the earth almost 5 billion years ago, and then project what would happen in the next 5 billion years. That latter part never really happens although there is a brief section about what the likely scenarios are for the next collison of continents within the next 500 million years or so.

A better title-subtitle might have been: SupercontinentS, And the Scientists Who Built Them. A lot of the story is not so much about the theory of plate tectonics, which at times is a bit thin, but more so about the various scientists and personalities that came up with the ideas that continents could move, and eventually how they moved.

There were many interesting parts of the book, but if I had to choose another book on more less the same topic I would pick Richard Fortey's Earth: An Intimate History. Still, for plate tectonics geeks like myself I would recommend giving this one a look as well.

[Janta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like the subtitle of this book is a hair misleading; it's not precisely about the life of our planet, but more about how scientists developed the theory of continental drift and how they were able to gather the evidence to prove it. The author has a very readable style, and there is quite a bit of...not levity, exactly, but a way of making the scientists he discusses seem like actual people: we often get mentions of these scientists' personal lives and their abilities beyond analyzing data. I liked that about this book. There's a strong sense of the importance of science not just for its own sake or the sake of answering some esoteric question, but because it can, and does, provide real, tangible benefit to humanity.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and well researched geographical, geological, historical overview of the entire plate tectonic and supercontinent concept...

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I love science, geology does not usually draw my interest. Who wants to read about rocks? Not me. On the other hand, who can resist a Lost Continent? This book manages to imbue the subject of geology with Lost Continent levels of glamor. Only in a few instances does the author delve too far into rock talk for my taste. Each chapter is a well-written, entertaining essay on a topic related to continental drift. The author tackles the history of the theory's development, the geological mechanisms involved, and reconstructions of past incarnations of the Earth. He explores all the lore of lost continents -- both the real ones, like Pangea, and the imaginary ones like Mu, Lemuria, and Atlantis. One of the things I learned is why so many lost continents loom out of the mystical mists. Except for Atlantis, their origins lie in the nineteenth century. Before continental drift became an established theory, the notion of sunken continents was a scientifically respectable way to explain the geological and biological links between areas of the world now sundered by ocean. More planetology than geology, this book offers a lively and informative treatment of Earth's story and the scientists who dug it up.

[Herb Neumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this book relates various stories about the continents that existed before their current configuration. All stories in this first part are essentially myths, but they speak to humans’ desire to understand the world and to establish its prehistory. So, we read about Mu and Urantia, but also about continents that may have existed based on hypotheses advanced by scholars trying to make sense out of clues that they perceived. The very first story is about an alien visitor to Earth who arrives here 200 million years in the future. The Earth described is quite different from one we might recognize. Nield’s premise is that as the current tectonics play out over the intervening years, the alien will have landed on a new supercontinent, with numerous differences in geography and climate that he supposes. After the introductory stories, the author then works through the evolution of the theory of continental drift, tracing a geophysical history from earliest time. The Chapter titled Birth ties everything together. He addresses the various mechanisms at work, as well as how and when they are involved in the changes. His description of the snowball earth period is one of the clearest I’ve read. Underlying the whole book is an emphasis on what science is about and how it works, always as a collaborative effort. Along with Oreskes, he stresses that we are seekers of truth, but recognize that we can never know it completely. He quotes Douglas Adams’ “parable of the puddle,” for which I recommend a Wikipedia search. A very readable, if somewhat British-English book. His use of the word “winkle” to mean something other than a snail was clear only in context, so one is naturally inclined to look it up and then to do the same for periwinkle. A book that doesn’t lead one to ask questions is not worth reading. This book is definitely worth reading.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has become common knowledge that the solid ground beneath our feet is actually moving. Moving at the speed that our human fingernails grow (average 36 millimeters a year or about 1.5 inches), our human attention span can't visualize it. It took scientists until the 20th century, to even admit that plate tectonics was even a legitimate science.

Supercontinents are what happens when all the surface land aggregates into one large continent. It's happened several times in the long life of planet Earth - land masses fusing together and fragmenting again and again. Only one - the most recent Pangea formed from the two former supercontinents of Laurasia and Gondwana - do scientists have a firm idea of how it broke apart. The older ones - Pannotia; Rodinia, Columbia/Nuna; Ur and others - have only fragmental evidence of their existence.

Dr. Nield explains various varieties of the Earth (snowball Earth; rust Earth; 'lasagna world') and how the 'supercontinents' could have affected developing life as well as causing mass extinctions and climatic changes. He also introduces us to the many scientists/geologists whose work eventually developed into the science of plate tectonics. How an idea and need for an explanation - working even against the status quo - can eventually lead to answers. No matter how outlandish.

In the end, Dr. Nield does seem to have dug out the proverbial soapbox to say that the Earth does not belong to us humans but we are merely a part of the Earth's story.

2019-038

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best parts of this book are the vividly described scenes of potential past and future Earths and the fascinating and perhaps unrepeatable conditions they exhibit, from geology to climate. Unfortunately the greater part of the book is taken up with a description of the historical development of the idea of continental drift, and especially the key players in imagining and researching this idea. This is interesting in its own way, but it doesn't speak to me the same as an evocative description of something like southern Gondwanaland, dark for half the year, then lashed by mega-monsoons powered by wind and ocean currents spanning most of the globe, dumping rain onto forests of fern trees that are no longer to be seen; or of low, hot desert being flooded in a matter of months by an inrushing sea as distant land forms slowly and catastrophically rift apart. Just a map, or even just a vivid description, of these imagined geologies is somehow evocative to the imagination, and I wish there had been more of it in the book. Probably some bias in that I read this book on the recommendation of some blogs that sited exactly that description of mega-monsoons, and the idea of climate patterns and ecosystems that no longer exist, nor even can exist in the world as it is now. Still worth reading for those images though.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overall great book. I am glad I did not give up reading when I went through the first few, which felt a little boring. But chapters 6-10 are really good.
It might be the writing style for the whole book as he tends to tell a long long story (not a fan...) before he introduces the science part (which are actually more interesting. I think the depiction of those long passed supercontinents are so vivid that I felt like watching a 4k documentary while reading it. Kudos to that). If you feel the same way, try skipping to the science part. It's fun!

Spoilers below:
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Many science ideas introduced are extemely interesting, like how you can tell if a supercontinent is formed by extroversion or introversion by studying isotopes, how it's possible that the supercontinent cycle might gave life a first push from the bottom of ocean to the shallow sea and the land, how the earliest life changes the earth's environment forever, caused it to freeze into a snowball and doomed themselves....
Despite my critisism about the dull stories, there are some good ones that I enjoyed, e.g. Wegener's desparate search for evidence of continental movement(reminds me a lot of Robert Falcon Scott's tragedy); how the supercontinent cycle was discovered with contributions from three Johns etc.

[William Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great investigation into how scientists discovered supercontinents and how they form. A lot of the book is concerned with the scientists themselves, where I would rather read more about what they discovered, but especially toward the end, it focuses a lot more on the forces involved in the supercontinent cycle of tectonic plate drift.
I would have liked a few more pictures in the book, especially of the transitory stages between Rodinia, Pangaea, and now, but I think this is an excellent book, especially as used as a companion with the coffee table book "Origins: The Evolution of Continents, Oceans and Life," which has a bunch of great pictures, but only focuses on the western hemisphere.

[Mr. Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Occasionally too deep in the geologic trenches for me — some of the minutiae of chemistry and biography was overwhelming, and only as I finished chapter ten did I appreciate the organizational timeline he was employing — but, on the whole, Nield’s writing is accessible and fun, his metaphors illuminating and humbling.

And note the first entry under “Further Reading” — Douglas Adams! That alone promoted this book from
Three stars to four.

[Paleoanthro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting, entertaining, and enlightening look at supercontinents, the ideas, history, and the science behind how we came to discovery the Earth's continental drift and the collisions and separations of these continents over the course of Earth's history and how these have impacted the climate and evolution of life on Earth.

[Great Gracchus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected. It is less about theory and more about the scientists who developed the theory. It was a fascinating read though. Some parts of it were technical, but I was able to follow most of it

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many topics in not enough detail for me.

[Adam Nowicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of Supercontinent is an engaging read, that looks at the theories surrounding supercontinents before the idea that continents could move became common place. The misconceptions by early scientists (and some clearly crazy people) are fascinating. The second half of the book, however, is a bit too overwritten for my taste, resulting in interesting subject matter that is interspersed by quite a bit of droning.

Overwritten is probably the biggest criticism I have for this book, as unnecessary detail is put into describing geologists, or extended analogies. For me, I do not need to know how a certain geologist turned heads and commanded a room with his mere presence. Additionally, the ponderous beginning to the book with an extended spaceship story, with what amounts to an extraordinarily weak twist left me wondering why it was included at all.

I learned a lot about the Supercontinent cycle, as well as Pangea, Rodina, and Ur, plus the fake continents of Mu, Lemuria, and other lost worlds was fascinating. Describing the history of earth and the various ages and world-states and how they affected the continents was also interesting. Unfortunately, I found myself skimming more than once, and had to go back to reread just to make sure I was reading everything.

Overall, the content was great, and I feel more informed about the topic. I also feel that a solid 50-70 pages could have been scrapped and I would not have missed anything.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

After doing a fairly interesting and enjoyable substitute lesson on the age of the Earth, I was left wondering why we bother to teach things like plate tectonics to middle school kids; what's the usefulness of it?
This book peripherally addresses that issue in the introduction and conclusion with the specific example of tsunami preparedness and the more general argument that unguided science often comes to useful application in time.
The geologic history of the Earth in it's many supercontinent configurations, most of which were new to me, and the complimentary history of science of geology itself was very interesting and engaging. I did get just a little over my head in scientific terminology towards the end of the book, around the discussion of fractionation.
Separate from the merits of writing style and clear presentation of the science, I was a bit put off by the author's antagonism of religion. I'm not sure if it was solely New Earth Creationist Christians, or Christians in general, or all religion that the author had an issue with, but I think he overstepped his legitimate expression of dislike by characterizing his generally defined religious opposition as designed solely to enslave.
On the whole a nice book about the deep time history of Earth and geology, with a little bit of vitriol thrown in.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this were merely a book about the history of the always evolving Supercontinent theory, it would have been a competent history but little more. What Hield has done is cleverly used the history of Supercontinent theory as a framework within which to dive in to other fascinating Earth History/Geology discoveries and theories throughout the years. The Supercontinent idea is interesting on its face, but probably doesn't require ~250 pages to explain to an intelligent reader interested in Earth Science.

Nield apparently possess an ability to sense when the reader's attention will fade from one topic and desire another. Each time I was getting tired or bored with one sub-plot within the Supercontinent story the story quickly changed direction to another new yet relevant sub-plot.

As a 1st semester Geology graduate student I found this book very readable. I still believe that non-geologists would enjoy this book if they are at all interested in Earth History.

[Andrew Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction book addresses how our planet has evolved over the history of its lifetime. The author explains the geological cycle and in light of this vastness of earth’s history, it is difficult to feel significant as humans are most likely going to be extinct by the time the current one ends. I believe he does an excellent job educating his readers about supercontinents and plate tectonics. Alongside this, he explains everything needed to understand the ideas being shown. However, sometimes the explanations do get long and one can find him/herself a bit lost on what the main idea is. I would recommend this book to somebody who is willing and interested in learning about many different concepts that support one large concept.

[Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a topic that I can say truly, honestly interests me. I'm not big on geology. It just doesn't grab me. So because of this, I tuned out while reading some of this book, particularly when Nield was talking about various chemicals and chemical bonds. So for those of you looking for an analysis on the correctness of this book... uh, I'm sorry.

It was good, though, I'll give Nield that. For the most part I could understand what he was talking about. Would I read another one of Nield's works? Maybe, if there wasn't so much chemical analysis in it. But it was good to read, and I learnt a bit.

[PastAllReason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nield's book is directed towards the layperson interested in geology, the history and future of the planet. Not only does he cover his subject with easy expertise, he relates it to current happenings, i.e. the significance of the Boxing Day tsunami. As icing on the cake, the book is written with great humor. Douglas Adams' work makes a frequent appearance in the book. This is a great read for inquiring minds.

[Graham Tapper]

Neild delivers an engrossing history of the Earth and just how the bits on which we float happened to get to where they are today. He also discusses what might happen next and how long it will take for all the bits to join up once again, and in what order. His explanation of Continental Drift and Tectonic Plate activity is amusing, educating but very readable. He even manages to get a dig in at the Creationists and their wacky dogma.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent summary of how and why the continents have shifted and continue shifting, and how theories about supaercontinents emerged. Especially in the early parts of the book, however, the author's slightly flippant tone and penchant for telling stories about the lives of the scientists involved can be rather irritating, and I must admit to flicking through some of these sections. Verdict: far less learned than Richard Fortey's 'Earth: An intimate history', but also more accessible.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was very interesting, but at times scattered and ADD. The author would start to talk about a topic, then change to another with little to no warning. On top of that, he would weave random stories and suppositions into the mix. I would have rated this book much higher if it were organized better and a little less like what I imagine a geologic acid trip would be like.

[Stephen Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fascinating - and a story which is a great monument to humans' ingenuity in piecing bits of information together to reveal an ever-more-detailed history of the Earth.

A few more pictures would have been worthwhile, and the 10 billion of the title isn't really what it is about (5 billion would have been more accurate). But those are minor quibbles - a grand story, well told.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently become fascinated with plate tectonics and this fits the bill nicely. Largely traveling back in time in reverse order the book explores the discoveries of our planets mobile past both scientifically, and often, how it was interpreted creatively.

[Mark Edon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the mix of history of science and science.

There are also flashes of a soaring, poetic and moving sense of perspective.

I already know that I find geology fascinating, perhaps if you don't you won't enjoy this as much as I did.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read for science lover and lay person alike dealing with the science and history of plate tectonics from the dawn of the Earths beginning to it's possible future. Accessible and thoroughly enjoyable.

[Shane O'Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, entertaining and informal book about the evolution of Earth and the scientists and discoveries that pieced/are piecing it all together. Recommended.

[Marrije · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Deep time is mind-blowing.

[Nick Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating added for Rob Arnold
Very readable and informative discourse on plate tectonics