<p>An investigation into a 250-million-year-old environmental apocalypse that predated the age of the dinosaurs describes an event that caused the annihilation of ninety percent of all plant and animal species on Earth, taking a close up look at the prehistoric world of the gorgons, the causes of mass extinctions, and their implications for the future of humankind. Reprint.</p>

Gorgon: The Monsters That Ruled the Planet Before Dinosaurs and How They Died in the Greatest Catastrophe in Earth's History

Peter D. Ward

History

Penguin??Books

The 59 Second Employee

Business & Money

Rae André

Management & Leadership

Panther

This is the first real biography of the Earth - not only a brilliant portrait of the emergence and evolution of life on this planet, but a vivid and frightening look at Earth's remote future. Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee combine storytelling power with extreme scientific care, and their narrative is as transfixing as any of H.G. Wells's fantasies, but more enthralling, for Ward and Brownlee have real power to prognosticate. This is a book that makes one shiver, but also inspires one to wonder how humanity (if we survive in the short term) will fare in the distant future." Oliver Sachs. Peter Ward and Don Brownlee, a geologist and an astronomer respectively, are in the vanguard of the new field of astrobiology. Combining their knowledge of the evolution of life on our planet with their understanding of the life cycles of stars and solar systems, the author's tell the awe-inspiring story of the second half of Earth's life. The process of planetary evolution will essentially reverse itself; life as we know it will subside until only the simplest forms remain. The oceans will evaporate, and as the sun slowly expands, Earth itself will eventually meet a fiery end.

The Life and Death of Planet Earth : How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World

Self-Help

Death & Grief

Piatkus Hb/Tpb

In a landmark work of science two distinguished scientists offer a vivid narrative describing the second half of the life of our planet Planet Earth is middle-aged. Science has worked hard to piece together the story of the evolution of our world up to this point, but only recently have we developed the understanding and the tools to describe the entire life cycle of a planet-of our planet. Peter Ward and Don Brownlee, a geologist and an astronomer respectively, are in the vanguard of the new field of astrobiology. Combining their knowledge of how the critical sustaining systems of our planet evolve through time with their understanding of how stars and solar systems grow and change throughout their own life cycles, the authors tell the story of the second half of Earth's life. The process of planetary evolution will essentially reverse itself; life as we know it will subside until only the simplest forms remain. Eventually, they too will disappear. The oceans will evaporate, the atmosphere will degrade, and, as the sun slowly expands, Earth itself will eventually meet a fiery end. In this masterful melding of groundbreaking research and captivating, eloquent science writing, Ward and Brownlee provide a comprehensive portrait of Earth's life cycle that allows us to understand and appreciate how the planet sustains itself today, and offers us a glimpse of our place in the cosmic order.

The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World

Science & Math

Don Brownlee

Astronomy & Space Science

Piatkus Books

There have been two great mass extinctions in world history. The first took place 250 million years ago, and its causes, relating to the drift of the continents, are largely unresolved. The second, at 65 million years ago, brought to an end the Age of Dinosaurs. Again, the book argues, the causes were complex, but the culminating factor was one or more asteroids crasing into the Earth, unleashing fires, tidal waves and poisonous gases. Now it seems that a third mass extinction is under way, which will bring to an end the third great era of life on Earth, the Age of Mammals. The global ecology was already under stress from the rapid climate changes of the Ice Ages, when another great asteroid hit the Earth: that asteroid is Homo sapiens. The book maintains that we could now be witnessing the end of evolution. Worse still, it argues, a fair amount of the damage is now being caused by well-intentioned "scientific" intervention. However, Ward does offer some suggestions that could make the outcome slightly less bad than it otherwise might be.

The End of Evolution (Phoenix Giants S.)

Biological Sciences

WEIDENFELD NICHOLSON HISTORY

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Books by Peter D. Ward