The Earth: An Intimate History [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

The Earth: An Intimate History is prize-winning science writer Richard Fortey's latest book and an ambitious attempt to tell the geological story of planet Earth for the general reader. Several centuries and the combined efforts of thousands of professional geologists have been required to make any real sense of the Earth's structure and its 4.5 billion-year history. That Fortey manages to turn the most important aspects of all this into an enjoyable narrative for the general reader is a considerable achievement.

The book is a sort of guided tour around a number of geological sites with which Fortey is personally familiar, such as the Grand Canyon, the European Alps and Vesuvius (the description of the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii in AD 79 by Pliny the Younger is probably the first clear and objective description of a geological phenomenon.) He then uses their particular geological details to build a more general story of the geology of earth as it is generally understood today.

As a professional geologist at London's Natural History Museum, Fortey is well-qualified to tell this story. His writing skills have been widely acclaimed in earlier books such as Life: An Unauthorised Biography and Trilobite Eyewitness to Evolution. By giving the story a historical slant we can more readily understand how the present understanding of the earth story has been built up over the centuries and it introduces real people into the narrative. Consequently, the more technical aspects of present day earth science are rendered more palatable and understandable. The text is supported by a number of black and white diagrams and other pictures, which help illustrate some of the more complex processes and features of the earth. --Douglas Palmer.

Praise for Richard Fortey’s work:

‘This is not a book for people who like science books. It is a book for people who love books, and life… [Fortey] has written a wonderful book.’
Tim Radford, Guardian

‘Read this book because it is, indeed, the best natural history of the first four billion years of life on earth.’
John Gribbin, Sunday Times

‘Fortey writes beautifully and this is a wonderful biography of rock and life… He has restored palaeontology to its rightful place in the pantheon.’
Lewis Wolpert, Observer

‘Richard Fortey is a scientist… but his big, rich history of four billion years of evolution is written with an artist’s zest for life and language… Anyone who wants to understand how we came to be here on earth, 4,000,000,000 years after life began, should read this sparkling book.’
Maggie Gee, Daily Telegraph

From the early reviews of Earth: An Intimate History

‘A dazzling voyage of telluric discovery… it is greatly to Fortey’s credit, as both scientist and writer, that he has been able to piece together such a readable and coherent survey of this vast and disparate subject. The Earth is a true delight: full of awe-inspiring details… it blends travel, history, reportage and science to creat an unforgettable picture of our ancient earth.’ Sunday Times

'...a thoroughly engrossing biography of the earth…it is as though we’re leafing through the psychiatric case history of our world...' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'...what Richard Fortey has written is a superb biography of the planet earth.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

‘A tour de force as sublime and exciting as the peaks...’ --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'Nobody writes more lyrically, or more authoritatively, about the earth and the forces that have shaped it' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'Fortey waxes lyrical and engages the reader with first hand descriptions. He is a true observer of the landscape.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

‘A dazzling achievement. Richard Fortey is without peer among science writers.' Bill Bryson

‘The Earth is a true delight: full of awe-inspiring details… it blends travel, history, reportage and science to create an unforgettable picture of our ancient earth.’ Sunday Times

The face of the Earth, criss-crossed by chains of mountains like the scars of old wounds has changed constantly over billions of years, and the testament of the remote past is all around us.

In this book, Richard Fortey teaches us how to read its character, laying out the dominions of the world before us. He shows how everything – human culture, natural history, even the shape of cities – roots back to a deeper geological truth. Far from being the driest of sciences, he proves that geology informs all our lives in the most intimate way.

Nothing in this book seems to be at rest. The surface of the Earth dilates and collapses; seas and mountains rise and fall; continents move. We climb the Alps, wallow in Icelandic hot springs, dive down to the ocean floor; we explore the barren rocks of Newfoundland, walk through the lush ecosystems of Hawaii, cross the salt flats of Oman and saunter along the San Andreas Fault. And Fortey is the ideal guide, his descriptions of natural beauty as memorable as the best travel-writers, his prose as gripping as the best novelist, his crystal-clear scientific explanations fascinating and often surprising.

Richard Fortey is a senior paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London. His previous books include the critically acclaimed LIFE: AN UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY, TRILOBITE! and the prize-winning THE HIDDEN LANDSCAPE. He lives in London.