Natural History

Natural History PDF Author: Kathryn Hennessy
Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
ISBN: 9780756667528
Category : Natural history
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
A landmark in reference publishing and overseen and authenticated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Natural History presents an unrivaled visual survey of Earth's natural history. Giving a clear overview of the classification of our natural world-over 6,000 species-Natural History looks at every kingdom of life, from bacteria, minerals, and rocks to fossils to plants and animals. Featuring a remarkable array of specially commissioned photographs, Natural History looks at thousands of specimens and species displayed in visual galleries that take the reader on an incredible journey from the most fundamental building blocks of the world's landscapes, through the simplest of life forms, to plants, fungi, and animals.

A Brief History of Earth

A Brief History of Earth PDF Author: Andrew H. Knoll
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062853937
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book Here

Book Description
Harvard’s acclaimed geologist “charts Earth’s history in accessible style” (AP) “A sublime chronicle of our planet." –Booklist, STARRED review How well do you know the ground beneath your feet? Odds are, where you’re standing was once cooking under a roiling sea of lava, crushed by a towering sheet of ice, rocked by a nearby meteor strike, or perhaps choked by poison gases, drowned beneath ocean, perched atop a mountain range, or roamed by fearsome monsters. Probably most or even all of the above. The story of our home planet and the organisms spread across its surface is far more spectacular than any Hollywood blockbuster, filled with enough plot twists to rival a bestselling thriller. But only recently have we begun to piece together the whole mystery into a coherent narrative. Drawing on his decades of field research and up-to-the-minute understanding of the latest science, renowned geologist Andrew H. Knoll delivers a rigorous yet accessible biography of Earth, charting our home planet's epic 4.6 billion-year story. Placing twenty first-century climate change in deep context, A Brief History of Earth is an indispensable look at where we’ve been and where we’re going. Features original illustrations depicting Earth history and nearly 50 figures (maps, tables, photographs, graphs).

Natural History

Natural History PDF Author: Kathryn Hennessy
Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
ISBN: 9780756667528
Category : Natural history
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
A landmark in reference publishing and overseen and authenticated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Natural History presents an unrivaled visual survey of Earth's natural history. Giving a clear overview of the classification of our natural world-over 6,000 species-Natural History looks at every kingdom of life, from bacteria, minerals, and rocks to fossils to plants and animals. Featuring a remarkable array of specially commissioned photographs, Natural History looks at thousands of specimens and species displayed in visual galleries that take the reader on an incredible journey from the most fundamental building blocks of the world's landscapes, through the simplest of life forms, to plants, fungi, and animals.

Life

Life PDF Author: Richard Fortey
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307761185
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 567

Get Book Here

Book Description
By one of Britain's most gifted scientists: a magnificently daring and compulsively readable account of life on Earth (from the "big bang" to the advent of man), based entirely on the most original of all sources--the evidence of fossils. With excitement and driving intelligence, Richard Fortey guides us from the barren globe spinning in space, through the very earliest signs of life in the sulphurous hot springs and volcanic vents of the young planet, the appearance of cells, the slow creation of an atmosphere and the evolution of myriad forms of plants and animals that could then be sustained, including the magnificent era of the dinosaurs, and on to the last moment before the debut of Homo sapiens. Ranging across multiple scientific disciplines, explicating in wonderfully clear and refreshing prose their findings and arguments--about the origins of life, the causes of species extinctions and the first appearance of man--Fortey weaves this history out of the most delicate traceries left in rock, stone and earth. He also explains how, on each aspect of nature and life, scientists have reached the understanding we have today, who made the key discoveries, who their opponents were and why certain ideas won. Brimful of wit, fascinating personal experience and high scholarship, this book may well be our best introduction yet to the complex history of life on Earth. A Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection With 32 pages of photographs

The Natural History Book

The Natural History Book PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780241393345
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 664

Get Book Here

Book Description


Poetics of the Earth

Poetics of the Earth PDF Author: Augustin Berque
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429521596
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Get Book Here

Book Description
Poetics of the Earth is a work of environmental philosophy, based on a synthesis of eastern and western thought on natural and human history. It draws on recent biological research to show how the processes of evolution and history both function according to the same principles. Augustin Berque rejects the separation of nature and culture which he believes lies at the root of the environmental crisis. This book proposes a three stage process of "re-worlding" (moving away from the individualized self to become a part of the common world), "re-concretizing" (understanding the meaning and historical development of words and things) and "re-engaging" (reconsidering the relationship between history and subjectivity at every level of being) in order to bring western thought on nature and culture into sustainable harmony and alignment. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental studies, environmental philosophy, Asian studies and the natural sciences.

A Natural History of Time

A Natural History of Time PDF Author: Pascal Richet
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226712893
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 487

Get Book Here

Book Description
The quest to pinpoint the age of the Earth is nearly as old as humanity itself. For most of history, people trusted mythology or religion to provide the answer, even though nature abounds with clues to the past of the Earth and the stars. In A Natural History of Time, geophysicist Pascal Richet tells the fascinating story of how scientists and philosophers examined those clues and from them built a chronological scale that has made it possible to reconstruct the history of nature itself. Richet begins his story with mythological traditions, which were heavily influenced by the seasons and almost uniformly viewed time cyclically. The linear history promulgated by Judaism, with its story of creation, was an exception, and it was that tradition that drove early Christian attempts to date the Earth. For instance, in 169 CE, the bishop of Antioch, for instance declared that the world had been in existence for “5,698 years and the odd months and days.” Until the mid-eighteenth century, such natural timescales derived from biblical chronologies prevailed, but, Richet demonstrates, with the Scientific Revolution geological and astronomical evidence for much longer timescales began to accumulate. Fossils and the developing science of geology provided compelling evidence for periods of millions and millions of years—a scale that even scientists had difficulty grasping. By the end of the twentieth century, new tools such as radiometric dating had demonstrated that the solar system is four and a half billion years old, and the universe itself about twice that, though controversial questions remain. The quest for time is a story of ingenuity and determination, and like a geologist, Pascal Richet carefully peels back the strata of that history, giving us a chance to marvel at each layer and truly appreciate how far our knowledge—and our planet—have come.

Earth History and Palaeogeography

Earth History and Palaeogeography PDF Author: Trond H. Torsvik
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107105323
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 329

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book provides a complete Phanerozoic story of palaeogeography, using new and detailed full-colour maps, to link surface and deep-Earth processes.

Here on Earth

Here on Earth PDF Author: Tim Fridtjof Flannery
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0241950732
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 345

Get Book Here

Book Description
'Here on Earth' is a revolutionary dual biography of the planet and of our species. Tim Flannery reimagines the history of Earth, from its earliest origins as a chaotic ball of elemental dust and gases to the teeming landscape we currently call home.

A History of Life in 100 Fossils

A History of Life in 100 Fossils PDF Author: Paul D. Taylor
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution
ISBN: 1588345025
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Get Book Here

Book Description
A History of Life in 100 Fossils showcases 100 key fossils that together illustrate the evolution of life on earth. Iconic specimens have been selected from the renowned collections of the two premier natural history museums in the world, the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, and the Natural History Museum, London. The fossils ahve been chosen not only for their importance in the history of life, but also because of the visual story they tell. This stunning book is perfect for all readers because its clear explanations and beautiful photographs illuminate the significance of these amazing pieces, including 500 million-year-old Burgess Shale fossils that provide a window into early animal life in the sea, insects encapsulated by amber, the first fossil bird Archaeopteryx, and the remains of our own ancestors.

Natural History

Natural History PDF Author: DK
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0744055873
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 664

Get Book Here

Book Description
A monumental and beautiful guide to Earth's wildlife and natural history--its rocks, minerals, animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms--this landmark of reference publishing has been extended and updated. In the 11 years since this book was released, thousands of new species have been identified, and new revelations have redrawn the tree of life. Already featuring galleries of more than 5,000 species, The Natural History Book now includes discoveries such as the olinguito (the "kitty bear" of the Andean cloud forest) and the painted mannakin of Peru. It takes advantage of the first living observations of the giant squid and the deep-sea anglerfish. And it has reorganized the groups of living things to reflect the latest scientific understanding. All this ensures that this, the only ebook to offer a complete visual survey of all kingdoms of life, remains the benchmark of illustrated natural history references. Written by a worldwide team of natural history experts, The Natural History Book is the perfect addition to every family bookshelf, as well as an ideal gift for any nature lover. From granites to grapevines, from microbes to mammals, The Natural History Book is the ultimate celebration of the diversity of the natural world.