The Earth Machine: The Science of a Dynamic Planet - Hardcover

This companion volume to the American Museum of Natural History's award-winning Hall of Planet Earth exhibit by Mathez and Webster, the original co-curators, offers readers an accessible guided tour of how our planet works from interdisciplinary and scientific perspectives. Library Journal A handsome and well-written book, in full colour and jammed full of geological information about the earth... I commend the authors for the thoroughness, accuracy and detail they give to so many parts of the Earth Sciences.New Scientist -- Simon Lamb New Scientist This book is your engaging and scientific tour guide. Natural History This informative book... explores the major forces and factors that shaped and continue to shape our planet. Rotunda A highly recommended text for any who would wonder what climates were like in past times. Bookwatch This book...is outstanding among the many fine books on the subject available today...A book of unusually widespread appeal. Highly recommended. -- T. L. T. Gross Choice By means of well-chosen examples taken from nature as we find it, they provide the best of contemporary approaches to, and conclusions about, the major issues. Science Books & Films A thorough and yet easy-to-understand account of the origins of Earth... The authors definitely know their stuff... But true to their vocations as educators, as well as scientists, they do more than just educate in this volume; they also thoroughly entertain. -- Beth Norton Science Editor

From the scorching center of Earth's core to the outer limits of its atmosphere, from the gradual process of erosion that carved the Grand Canyon to the earth-shaking fury of volcanoes and earthquakes, this fascinating book-inspired by the award-winning Hall of Planet Earth at New York City's American Museum of Natural History-tells the story of the evolution of our planet and of the science that makes it work. With the same exuberance and expertise they brought to the creation of the Hall of Planet Earth, co-curators Edmond A. Mathez and James D. Webster offer a guided tour of Earth's dynamic, 4.6-billion-year history. Including numerous full-color photographs of the innovative exhibit and helpful, easy-to-understand illustrations, the authors explore the major factors in our planet's evolution: how Earth emerged from the swirling dusts of a nascent solar system; how an oxygen-rich, life-sustaining atmosphere developed; how continents, mountain ranges, and oceans formed; and how earthquakes and volcanic eruptions alter Earth's surface. Traversing geologic time and delving into the depths of the planet--beginning with meteorites containing minuscule particles that are the solar system's oldest known objects, and concluding with the unusual microbial life that lives on the chemical and thermal energy produced by sulfide vents in the ocean floor-The Earth Machine provides an up-to-date overview of the central theories and discoveries in earth science today. By incorporating stories of real-life fieldwork, Mathez and Webster explain how Earth is capable of supporting life, how even the smallest rocks can hold the key to explaining the formation of mountains, and how scientists have learned to read nature's subtle clues and interpret Earth's ever-evolving narrative.