Product Description

The Earth is slowly but constantly changing from within. Over the last 700 million years, continents have come and gone, oceans have been formed and destroyed and the climate has radically changed. These changes have left physical evidence behind, presented in this book in aerial photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #614424 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 356 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Origins: the Evolution of Continents, Oceans and Life is a big book (270 x 295 mm with 360 pages) and suits its enormous subject. And just as the Earth's landscapes and rocks are a remarkable visual feast, so is this book with its lavish and beautiful illustrations, literally hundreds of stunning photographs, diagrams, maps and artwork. But this is not just a picture book. Ron Redfern knows his rocks and geology and so the accompanying text is an accurate, up-to-date and very well written life story of "Mother Earth" and the scientists who have investigated her "intimate" details, full of fascinating characters and surprising stories. Redfern is a remarkable man, by profession a consultant in the food and pharmaceutical industry and yet also a landscape photographer of a high professional standard and an award-winning science writer with several best-selling books to his credit (Corridors of Time, The Making of a Continent).

Origins' 13 chapters cover the whole range of the Earth's extraordinarily dynamic history. From the mechanism of plate tectonics whereby oceans have been created and destroyed and continents shuffled about over the last 4 billion and more years, the reader is taken on a long journey through the evolution of life, the formation and destruction of mountain ranges to the human occupation of Earth's landscapes. We hear the extraordinary stories of the scientists, like Alfred Wegener who pioneered the theory of continental drift; scientists and explorers who lived and died for their ideas. Accompanied by an extensive glossary, bibliography and index, Origins is a must for anyone interested in Earth's wonderful geological history. --Douglas Palmer.

Review
This compelling and beautifully-illustrated book tells the story of the Earth: how over 700 million years, it has evolved, and how species have battled to survive by adapting to new environments. Using over 200 colour photographs to illustrate shifting environments, the drama of rising and falling continents and climate changes is revealed, drawing on knowledge from many different related fields - palaeontology, geology, geography - to create an image of a planet in a state of flux. For anyone interested in the story of our home, and its future, this makes for interesting reading, and is a feast for the eyes too. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author
Following a career in research and development for food and pharmaceutical companies, Ron Redfern became a bestselling science writer, illustrating his books with spectacular interpretative landscape photography. He has also received many prestigious literary and academic awards for his work.

Customer Reviews

I had difficulty putting this book down
Ron Redfern has indeed completed yet another classic work which blends science, history, spectacular photography, and rich color graphics. His approach to the subject of the evolution of the earth and its life over the past 700 million years is unique, amazingly comprehensive, and will appeal equally to the scientist, layman, and historian.

Two formats are utilized in all the book chapters, topical discussions and topical essays. Both are complimented by superb, Redfern-style photography and color graphics. A particularly appealing aspect of the book is the manner in which each major topic (Chapter) is presented. Chapters usually begin with a discussion of the historical evolution of an idea, followed by scientific discussion, usually in laymen's terms and sprinkled with common analogs to help the reader perceive the subject matter. To illustrate the amazing breadth and diversity of Redfern's knowledge, as well as his ability to perceive interrelationships, I present a few examples below.

(1) Chapter III--a discussion of the origins of the name Avalonia dating back to the 1600's, followed by a discussion of 1800's-era debates over naming and placing temporal boundary conditions on geologic time intervals, which leads to discourse on early life forms;

(2) Chapter V- compares Tolkien's (Lord of the Rings trilogy) Middle Earth with mountainous regions of Pangea, and its plants and animals. On page 119, Redfern states: "The geography of Middle-earth was conceived more than a decade before the proof of seafloor spreading and continental drift had put the controversial subject of Wegener's Pangea in a more positive light. The coincidence here is that the Tolkien map of Middle-earth bears an uncanny resemblance in both topography and scale to our now quite detailed knowledge of the topography of Central Pangea." Redfern then appropriately uses Tolkien phraseology for the title of two of his chapters, The Third Age and Middle-Earth!

(3) Chapter VII- begins with "The fact that there had been a Pangean supercontinent, a Panthalassa Ocean, and a Tethys Ocean, had profound implications for the evolution of multicellular life on earth. These considerations were quite unknown to the great Victorian scientists of the 19th century-and this makes their scientific deductions even more remarkable." From this, he weaves a web of ideas and facts on natural selection, continental drift, land bridges, animal migration and evolution, etc.

(4) Chapter IX- begins with "A great debate in natural science today is about the possible cause of the end of the Middle Ages of life's evolution----". His subsequent discussion of mass extinctions, and catastrophic vs. less spectacular causes and effects of global change is fascinating and easily comprehended, yet filled with the most up-to-date scientific data and theories. I found his discussion of 1800's debates on the origin of species to be particularly enlightening. His knowledge of detail on such topics as nostrils and eye sockets of earliest reptiles and jaws and skulls of dinosaurs is quite profound within the context of the entire book's subject matter.

(5) Chapters X and XI- the family of man discussion begins with "The footprints are preserved in volcanic tuff called the "Footprint Tuff", they were found by P.I. Abell and M. Leakey in 1982". He goes on to relate glacial and interglacial periods to oceanic circulation and migration of life forms, citing the influence of tectonics and systematic variations in earth's orbit as primary driving forces. In this chapter, he also launches the reader on fascinating 'virtual' excursions, such as Christopher Columbus' trip to the New World, with scientific ramifications.

(6) Chapter XII is a tour through the evolution of life forms and behaviors, from bipedalism to discovery of fire, tools, communications, land bridges and migration routes. I provide these examples as the best way I know to express my amazement at Redfern's breadth and depth of knowledge, as well as his uncanny ability to integrate diverse subjects in a fascinating and enjoyable manner. Not only that, but as stated in an introductory section, he has provided the reader with personalized accounts and photographs of the many key areas of the world in which the very ideas of earth history oiginated and evolved! It is indeed a virtual global excursion.

In summary, an introductory statement in the book is: "The object in so-doing [writing this book] is to present for a non-specialist audience, a well researched and structured 'big picture' synthesis of the new and still-growing understanding of the Earth's interactive systems". Redfern clearly has accomplished this objective. He continually interweaves the signficant role of tectonics on climate and evolution of life forms in an enjoyable, readable manner that I am unaware of in any scientific text. Geology, geophysics, biology, ecology, geography, oceanography, atmospheric and tectonic sciences are all interrelated in a scientifically sound manner and utilize the now-common 'systems' approach. The artwork alone allows one to comprehend complex concepts. I am sure that readers will have the same difficulty I experienced in putting this book down, while marveling at the manner in which scientific detail is presented in an orderly and enjoyable manner.

Roger M. Slatt Professor and Head Department of Geology Colorado School of Mines. USA

A quite extraordinary book
For some time now I have searched in vain for a book that explores the early formation of continents and the changes that have led to the today's world and explains its subject matter in a style that is comprehensible to the layman yet intellectually stimulating and rigorous. I have now discovered Ron Redfern's extraordinary book and it is a revelation. It is such a beautiful synthesis of wonderful photography and fascinating and well informed discussion. You really feel privileged to be in the company of such a masterful guide as he takes you on this epic journey. This is a book I will treasure forever.

A wonderful book at all levels of knowledge
It is clear that Ron Redfern has not only an amazing grasp of the several scientific fields of knowledge integrated in this multi-level masterpiece, but also a style of presentation which allows a reader of almost any degree of interest to enjoy the content to the maximum.

Quite apart from the two levels of text - the scientific and the general interest - the supreme quality of the panoramic photography, again at two levels - technological and artistic - adds another dimension to the enjoyment of the reader.

If I have one criticism it is that it's too heavy to take to bed!

This must be a "must buy" for every learning institution and student's Christmas stocking.