Sunday, 03 April 2011 00:00

The Emerald Planet

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How plants changed Earth's history

As the author starts out by saying, Darwin was fascinated by plants (writing 6 books about them), but Dawkins, in The Ancestor's Tale, only gives plants 11 out of 528 pages. So the author sets out to redress the balance. The chapters look at episodes in the evolution of plants (such as why it took so long for leaves to evolve), how plants have affected the atmosphere (and hence the climate), and how plants can help us to find out what past climates were like. The author wraps up with a discussion on some aspects of our current episode of climate change. I found it fascinating, and readable. Go for it! The price quoted above is for the hardback version - the paperback is now out, for around 7 pounds on Amazon.

Additional Info

  • Year Published: 2007
  • ISBN: 978-0-19-280602
  • Author: David Beerling
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • Price: 14.99 GBP
Read 2178 times Last modified on Tuesday, 12 July 2011 12:16
Penny Johnson

Penny is an ex-engineer, ex-science teacher and ex-publisher, and is now a full-time freelance writer of science textbooks for schools. Her main interests are the earth sciences and planetary science

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