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280 reviews for:
Breve historia de la tierra: Cuatro mil millones de años en ocho capítulos
Andrew H. Knoll
3.77 AVERAGE
280 reviews for:
Breve historia de la tierra: Cuatro mil millones de años en ocho capítulos
Andrew H. Knoll
3.77 AVERAGE
Written at a level that requires me to slow down and actually process what I’m reading, I would suggest this for fans of the earth, evolution, science…. But not my light readers. I did enjoy it, but it took me weeks of small bites of focused attention.
I’m surprised for the number of reviews considering this approachable. I feel a bit weighed down by the sheer enormity and weight of the data provided. There was a notable lack of white space & a flare for the dramatic with frequent four syllable words.
This is one book I’ve read where I wish I didn’t have aphantasia & pre-existing existential anxiety. Still, excellent.
I’m surprised for the number of reviews considering this approachable. I feel a bit weighed down by the sheer enormity and weight of the data provided. There was a notable lack of white space & a flare for the dramatic with frequent four syllable words.
This is one book I’ve read where I wish I didn’t have aphantasia & pre-existing existential anxiety. Still, excellent.
(Audiobook) A fun piece of popular science, well-organized and brief as was expected. I learned some interesting facts, and the deeper explanations for how scientists are able to figure out dates of things that happened millions of years ago.
I was fully on board until the last chapter when they started to talk about climate change. The author did a great job throughout the book of explaining how we can know things using scientific reasoning, and then spent half the chapter implying that climate change is the natural result of increased human populations and improved living conditions. He only mentioned inequality once, and made no mention of the fact that wealthy individuals, and wealthy nations account for a much larger portion of CO2 emissions and general environmental damage than poor nations. He tackled industrial farming briefly and talked about desertification due to fertilizer use, but didn't mention that proper land-management can produce enough food for the world without resorting to the short-sighted solution of more and more fertilizer.
The last chapter was poorly done and could have had more of an impact had the author been more specific in identifying the causes of environmental degradation rather than resorting to a sort of passive wording to blame humans in general.
I was fully on board until the last chapter when they started to talk about climate change. The author did a great job throughout the book of explaining how we can know things using scientific reasoning, and then spent half the chapter implying that climate change is the natural result of increased human populations and improved living conditions. He only mentioned inequality once, and made no mention of the fact that wealthy individuals, and wealthy nations account for a much larger portion of CO2 emissions and general environmental damage than poor nations. He tackled industrial farming briefly and talked about desertification due to fertilizer use, but didn't mention that proper land-management can produce enough food for the world without resorting to the short-sighted solution of more and more fertilizer.
The last chapter was poorly done and could have had more of an impact had the author been more specific in identifying the causes of environmental degradation rather than resorting to a sort of passive wording to blame humans in general.
Obviously, any book that covers eight billion years in just a couple hundred pages is going to do so at a relatively high level and a lot will be left out. That's the down side. The up side is that the author brings a systems approach to the study. Unlike in school when geology was separate from biology which was separate from physics, this books show how they all interact and drive the changes in the planet.
Also, unlike typical school system simplifications that show a linear "progress" through time, this book clearly shows a dynamical system where populations crash and new species evolving as the environment changes.
This all makes an excellent set up for the final chapter on the anthropocene. His comments on climate change are credible because the carbon cycle has been a factor in the past and he's show how it played out historically.
Also, unlike typical school system simplifications that show a linear "progress" through time, this book clearly shows a dynamical system where populations crash and new species evolving as the environment changes.
This all makes an excellent set up for the final chapter on the anthropocene. His comments on climate change are credible because the carbon cycle has been a factor in the past and he's show how it played out historically.
I gave this book 5 stars because of the concise way in which the author handles very difficult material and makes it mostly readable. He also does us the favor of providing "approachable" additional readings for each of the 8 chapters. Chapter 7 was my favorite on Catastrophic Earth where he shares details of the likely causes of the previous 5 great extinction events. This is the set up for the chapter on Human Earth where he matter of factly discusses how we are artificially creating similar climate changes that occurred naturally during the previous 4+ billion years that either prevented life as we know it or destroyed life that existed at the time. He handles this topic deftly and without self-righteousness. Climate change is real and our delayed acceptance and incorporating meaningful change mean that our own children and grandchildren will pay the price.
I would also recommend any books by Elizabeth Kolbert who also does a great job of distilling complicated climate science with fascinating examples and with humor. Even though the topic is no laughing matter.
I would also recommend any books by Elizabeth Kolbert who also does a great job of distilling complicated climate science with fascinating examples and with humor. Even though the topic is no laughing matter.
informative
slow-paced
Andrew H. Knoll summarizes Earth's evolution in 8 chapters. Logically, some parts are very condensed, and demand quite an effort of the reader. But the overview is impressive. What struck me is how often Knoll indicates how uncertain we still are about certain insights, and how much knowledge is still missing. This creates room for the further growth of our knowledge, but also encourages caution about the knowledge we now have. Knoll finds the right balance in this, I think.
One of the things that surprised me is how recent our understanding is that there have been many mass extinctions in the distant past, due to volcanic eruptions (which released a lot of CO2 and dust into the air), meteorite impacts, or simply due to the strong growth of the oxygen content in our atmosphere. In fact, the (more or less) consensus that the biological evolution of the earth has been accompanied by such disasters is only 30 years old.
And another striking fact: there is still discussion about the phenomenon of plate tectonics, the movement of large plates in the outer shell of the earth. I did know that Wegener's theory, a little over a century old, has only gradually been accepted, but there remains debate about exactly when plate tectonics started. That shows once again how slow science sometimes evolves, and how even the natural sciences are far from reaching their end point. Perhaps frustrating, but also promising.
One of the things that surprised me is how recent our understanding is that there have been many mass extinctions in the distant past, due to volcanic eruptions (which released a lot of CO2 and dust into the air), meteorite impacts, or simply due to the strong growth of the oxygen content in our atmosphere. In fact, the (more or less) consensus that the biological evolution of the earth has been accompanied by such disasters is only 30 years old.
And another striking fact: there is still discussion about the phenomenon of plate tectonics, the movement of large plates in the outer shell of the earth. I did know that Wegener's theory, a little over a century old, has only gradually been accepted, but there remains debate about exactly when plate tectonics started. That shows once again how slow science sometimes evolves, and how even the natural sciences are far from reaching their end point. Perhaps frustrating, but also promising.
informative
medium-paced
Definitely a meritorious book that explains the geological and biological evolution of the earth in a comprehensible way, and according to the latest state of science. Andrew H. Knoll is not just anyone, he’s professor at Harvard, specializing in evolutionary biology. You will notice that in this book: the first chapters, which mainly contain geological information, remain quite difficult to follow. The subsequent ones, ont the biological evolution, are clearly his thing. Knoll's main message is in the final part, with a comprehensive warning of the disasters that lie ahead if climate and biodiversity continue to evolve so negatively. Especially the observation that the current CO2 level in the atmosphere is the highest in millions of years (and it continues to rise), speaks volumes. So this is a book with a thesis, but a very plausible one (unfortunately). Also, I learned quite a few new things. See my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5537905983.
I had to return it to the library! I intend to finish it.