A highly entertaining and accessible introduction to our planet from the bestselling author of In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, The Scientists, and In Search of the Multiverse

The result, Planet Earth: A Beginner’s Guide, is an expedition into the origins, evolution, and workings of our home planet in which John Gribbin does what he does best: takes 4.5 billion years of geological history and digs out the essential bits, from the physics of Newton and the geology of Wegener to the environmentalism of Lovelock. Along the journey, he uses stories from history and more current events to bring the science to a human level. Gribbin's introductory guidebook — very much a first step into geology and geography for the uninitiated — is filled with his lively voice and unique view, as he takes on the subject of the Earth from an astronomer's perspective.In this lively expedition into the origins, evolution, and workings of our planet, John Gribbin does what he does best: gathers 4.5 billion years of geological history and shares the best bits. Taking an astronomer's perspective, Gribbin follows Earth's development from its beginnings in cosmic gas and dust to the explosion of human life after the last ice age, combining stories of scientific discovery with gripping accounts of geological activity - earthquakes, volcanoes, and climate change. Along the journey we consider Lord Kelvin's time-scale for the life of the sun; the meteorologist who first championed the idea of continental drift; and an intriguing proposal that Earth has expanded substantially in recent millennia. Told in Gribbin's dynamic and beloved voice, this is the perfect introduction to geology and an essential guidebook for anyone wanting to better appreciate the wonders of our shared home.