Earth and Life: A History of Four Billion Years

Telling the story of the four-billion-year history of Earth and life, this book attempts to answer some of our most fundamental questions: how did our Earth come to be? How did the Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and climate form? How did life begin?

Following the timeline of our planet, Earth and Life takes us from the creation of planet Earth to fluctuating global environments, from floods of lava and giant meteorites to great oceans and verdant landscapes. It takes us from the first life on our planet, to the evolution of various species, including the first humans, and explains how life has always changed the climate and environment on Earth.

Life originated as tiny microbes from the ocean depths, formed mysterious reefs, then the first algae, marine animals, and, finally, plants and vertebrates that invaded the continents. The vast oceans eventually started to separate, as plate tectonics built up, and broke supercontinents in an ever changing geography. Roughly two billion years ago, marine photosynthesizing bacteria began to oxygenate the oceans and atmosphere, changing the biological landscape forever, and producing giant mineral deposits. Colour burst into the continents, from grey to red due to oxidized tropical weathering, and finally to green due to the first land plants and forests.

Written with expertise and illustrated with clarity, this fascinating book is based on all the most recent scientific evidence and should be widely accessible. Whether you’re interested in geology, biology, or the wider natural world in general, if you are intent on understanding how Earth and life evolved, then this book explains it all.

Anne Nedelec

Anne Nédélec studied geology and biology at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (France). She became a Professor in Earth Sciences at the university of Yaounde (Cameroon) and Toulouse (France). She was also an invited researcher at the university of São Paulo (Brazil). She did geological field work in Brazil, Madagascar, Cameroon and other African countries. She is an international specialist of granitic rocks. Her main research themes are the formation of the oldest continents as well as the past climates of the Earth.