The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks

Tales of Important Geological Puzzles and the People Who Solved Them

De: Donald R. Prothero

Narrado por: Tom Parks

The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks tells the fascinating stories behind the discoveries that shook the foundations of geology. In 25 chapters, Donald R. Prothero recounts the scientific detective work that shaped our understanding of geology, from the unearthing of exemplary specimens to tectonic shifts in how we view the inner workings of our planet.

Prothero follows in the footsteps of the scientists who asked - and answered - geology's biggest questions: How do we know how old the earth is? What happened to the supercontinent Pangea? How did ocean rocks end up at the top of Mount Everest? What can we learn about our planet from meteorites and moon rocks? He answers these questions through expertly chosen case studies, such as Pliny the Younger's firsthand account of the eruption of Vesuvius; the granite outcrops that led a Scottish scientist to theorize that the landscapes he witnessed were far older than Noah's Flood; the salt and gypsum deposits under the Mediterranean Sea that indicate that it was once a desert; and how trying to date the age of meteorites revealed the dangers of lead poisoning.

Each of these breakthroughs filled in a piece of the greater puzzle that is the earth, with scientific discoveries dovetailing with each other to offer an increasingly coherent image of the geologic past.

©2018 Donald R. Prothero (P)2020 Tantor

Amazing book

I Billy geology taking this is a great boat to jumpstart that it is engaging and easy read enjoyed it thoroughly cannot recommend it enough

Fascinating Tour Through The Ages

Every chapter of this book tells a gripping story. There were so many geologic and human nature stories that I bought the hard copy to keep as a reference. If you like science, especially earth science, this book is for you.

One of the best Evolution Scientist

His books fill anyone's mind with scientific fact. If you have any doubts about Evolutionary Theory (wich is a fact) read Protheros "Evolution" book. Donald teaches us Decades of his expertise.

Great for students or enthusiasts!

This book was thorough and very informative. Great for students or enthusiasts of geology, paleontology and biology. The Narration was done well and easy to listen to.

Main Title is Inadequate for Scope of Book

The subtitle says it all: this not a book just about rocks. It is a comprehensive, fascinating, well done history of modern geology. Highly recommended, even for those like myself who lived through and participated in this revolution.

Enthralling!

It _is_ a history of (geological) science and the story of those who made it happen. The full arc _is_ a history of our planet. If you keep this in mind, you will enjoy the book immensely.

Don’t hesitate

Loved this book! Parks narration was phenomenal and Prothero is so invested in understanding geology!

Very entertaining and educational

Well written and entertaining. California born and raised in the imperial valley it was interesting learning more about the movements of the pacific and North American plates.

Loved it!

I borrowed the audio book from Audible Plus, finished it in 3 days at higher speed, and enjoyed it so much I bought a hardbound book of it. The writer gives an interesting and concise history of geology which is fun to read. In fact, it explained so many missing gaps in my education as a high school science teacher that I was excited. The science overlapped into many other disciplines and explained the puzzles that scientists had to overcome to come up with a theory.

I enjoyed the book and the author so much I bought two more of his books and I would highly recommend him.

Good History of the Field

And you will learn some geology, too. The book is the best up to date book out there, presenting recent findings not found in older books. The author put a lot of work into weaveimg in fascinating related history (the book begins with the account of Pliny the Elder and the Mt. Vesuvius eruption), lending entertainment and depth to the subject, as opposed to a dry lecture which would make a listener hate geology, and I've run into those, feelimg like I was scraping the bottom of the barrel on the subject. This book is the cream of the crop by comparison.