The Earth: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

By Martin Redfern

Book Overview

Around 30 years ago, two things happened that were to revolutionize the understanding of our home planet. First, geologists realized that the continents themselves were drifting across the surface of the globe and that oceans were being created and destroyed. Secondly, pictures of the entire planet were returned from space. Suddenly, the Earth began to be viewed as a single entity; a dynamic, interacting whole, controlled by complex processes we scarcely understood.

This Introduction explores emerging geological research and explains how new advances in the understanding of plate tectonics, seismology, and satellite imagery have enabled us to begin to see the Earth as it actually is: dynamic and ever changing.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0192803077
• ISBN13: 9780192803078
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.4" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

The Earth

Written with great clarity and being up to date, The Earth is indeed a very good introduction to this subject and a truly pleasant reading.

A gem

This book has a lot going against it: First, it's about geology :-). Second, the producer isn't providing a flashy picture-book format-- it has more text than figures. But I found it constantly interesting! The text reads like a rapid sequence of one interesting fact after another. Many of the facts are surprisingly modern, and some even speculative. But they are all *interesting*. These mini descriptions form a story that puts the Earth in its cosmic context, and visits each significant aspect of its nature. If you have a scientific curiosity but do not know geology, I think you will find it a quick and engaging invitation into some new knowledge.