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Title: The Life and Death of Planet Earth : How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World by Donald Brownlee, Peter D. Ward ISBN: 0-8050-7512-7 Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.17 (12 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Readable, enjoyable, made me think
Comment: Maybe enjoyable is a strange word to use when the book's subject is the end of all life and of our pretty blue planet but the book was easy to read as it charted its way to the hypothetical end. The author mixed information with description and I was drawn in as a spectator through the narrative as the earth was formed and became habitable.
Chapter by chapter the earth came to resemble the planet I know, then continued to change until I saw the final bleak lifeless landscape waiting to be vaporized by the Sun's final burnout.
The subject, coined astrobiology, is the study of a planet's life cycle, from birth to death, the conditions each stage offers and the kind of life it is likely to support. The duration of the phase of planetary life supportive of human-type life is a relatively short part of the whole, and may be already on the decline. But that is geologic time, our great grandchildren are unlikely to be affected.
The author's freely offer that this is a baby science and the theories are likely to be challenged and overturned as it becomes recognized. I found it a fast read that drew me into the story like a detective novel, I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.
Maybe not a great book but a good one I feel was worth the time.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very Interesting!
Comment: I tend to judge non-fiction by what I learn. "The Life and Death of Planet Earth" tells the story about the un-glamorous end of our planet by analyzing the past. The book did this magnificently. In short, I learned a lot.
In some respects, the book is depressing. I wanted to imagine that we are part of the beginning. The book illustrates that perhaps we are closer to the end. I put myself in the next ice age, which could arrive any time, according to the authors, and in the inferno of the distant future. Of course, I won't be there, but the descriptions of these future times made them easy to visualize. By piecing together accepted scientific principles and knowledge, the story of the future of planet Earth is convincing. The only question is what impact we, humans, will have; probably small.
I have recommended this to all my friends. I find myself pulling little tidbits from the book and beginning conversations with "Did you know that....?" "The Life and Death of Planet Earth" is just packed with interesting science. For those that have not read "Rare Earth", this book stands by itself, so it is not necessary to read the predecessor first.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Objective Scientific Look at the Earth¿s Future¿ And Ours
Comment: I have read a number of books by Ward, either as single author or as co-author, and I have never been disappointed. This book is certainly no exception. Using up-to-date information, the authors discuss the evolution of life on earth as a function of evolving environmental, geological and astrophysical conditions. Then, they project the further evolution of these conditions into the distant future - from climate changes and future ice ages to the sun's transformation into a white dwarf - and discuss the anticipated effects on all forms of life on earth and on the earth itself. The book's only possible shortcoming that I can think of is that, in these forecasts, not enough credit has been given to the human element. Humans are well known to have the ability to modify their environment to their satisfaction. Based on the tremendous advances in science and technology over the past few centuries, one would expect a (possibly exponential) continuation of these advances well into the next few centuries, if not millennia - assuming, of course, there are no major setbacks. Consequently, humans may be able to delay, or prevent, at least some of the anticipated catastrophes. As is usual in Ward's books, the writing is clear, authoritative, friendly and engaging. An excellent read! The ultimate fate of humanity, as painted by the authors, does indeed look rather grim; but time will tell how well humanity makes out. Fortunately, we, as individuals, will not be here to find out.
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Title: Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter Ward, Donald Brownlee ISBN: 0387952896 Publisher: Copernicus Books Pub. Date: 03 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Our Final Hour: A Scientist's Warning: How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind's Future In This Century--On Earth and Beyond by Martin J. Rees ISBN: 0465068626 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 18 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: If the Universe Is Teeming with Aliens... Where Is Everybody? Fifty Solutions to Fermi's Paradox and the Problem of Extraterrestrial Life by Stephen Webb ISBN: 0387955011 Publisher: Copernicus Books Pub. Date: 04 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Future Evolution by Peter Ward ISBN: 0716734966 Publisher: W H Freeman & Co. Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Life on a Young Planet : The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth by Andrew H. Knoll ISBN: 0691009783 Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr Pub. Date: 17 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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