Earth in 100 Groundbreaking Discoveries

By Douglas Palmer

Nowadays, people don’t do geology – they do ‘earth sciences’ – and this book is very much in that mould. That’s not to say this is a problem. Expanding the study of the world to take on a more holistic view of how things work – the rocks, life forms, climate and atmosphere, for example, and how these factors have interacted and changed over the 4.5 billion years our earth has existed – is fascinating. It is also now clear from this book, just how much man has begun to understand and benefit from this new way of looking at geological science.

Earth in 100 Groundbreaking Discoveries looks at this growing body of knowledge by way of 100 examples. It’s a chunky volume, but beautifully illustrated, as one has come to expect in earth science publishing.

However, I wouldn’t just sit down and read it. You can if you like, but there’s a lot to get through. Rather, I would randomly open the pages and read whatever short section appears. I have done this and it is well worthwhile. Each little nugget (obviously, there are 100 of them) is a fascinating read and the book is extremely up-to-date.

The author, Dr Douglas Palmer, is a science writer and journalist, with a background in the history of Earth’s environments. Therefore, it’s not surprising that both the science and the writing are good. The illustrations also make for an enjoyable perusal. This is altogether a good book. In fact, if you want an encyclopaedia of earth sciences, this is very good. Have a look at it and read a short chapter before you go to sleep.