The Life and Death of Planet Earth by Peter Douglas Ward

The Life and Death of Planet Earth by Peter Douglas Ward

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.

Peter Ward is Professor of Geological Sciences and Zoology at the University of Washington in Seattle; he is also the author of nine science books, including On Methuselah's Trail: Living Fossils and the Great Extinctions, and The End of Evolution. - David Brownlee is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington, and co-author with Peter Ward of the acclaimed and bestselling Rare Earth.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780749924256
ISBN 10	074992425X
Title	The Life and Death of Planet Earth
Author	Peter Douglas Ward
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Little, Brown Book Group
Year published	2003-05-22
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.