Living Earth

1. Front Matter

   Pages iii-xviii

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2. In the Abyss of Time

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. In the beginning

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 3-29

   3. The beginning of life

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 30-46

   4. The Archaean planet

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 47-64

3. The Occupation of the Planet

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 65-65

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   2. The variety of life

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 67-75

   3. Life in the Archaean

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 76-96

   4. The surface of the Proterozoic Earth

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 97-107

   5. The birth of the eukaryotes

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 108-122

4. The Spread of the Eukaryotes

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 123-123

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   2. The Early Palaeozoic explosion and its aftermath

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 125-145

   3. The changing land

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 146-166

   4. The rule of the reptiles

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 167-186

5. The Modern World

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 187-187

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   2. The new world

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 189-205

   3. Humanity

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 206-218

   4. Inhabiting an island

      • E. G. Nisbet

      Pages 219-226

6. Back Matter

   Pages 227-237

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Life has shaped the Earth, and the Earth has moulded the history of life. That history, the co-evolution of our ancestors and their horne, has much to teach us about our place on the planet today. We are part of the fabric of the biosphere. As we change that fabric we would be wise to understand how our horne was built. Our planet is neither a hotel nor a colony. It is not a place which life briefly inhabits during a transient occupation. Instead, it is our horne, designed by the deeds of our ancestors and suited to our own needs. The history of life on Earth is held in the geological record, which is composed of the rocks, water and air that are available for study on the planet's surface. These rocks, the oceans and the atmosphere are not simply stores of information for the excitement of fossil hunters and geochemists, or resources to exploit without thought. Their cre­ ation and continued existence form an integral part of the development and management of the Earth as the horne of life.

• atmosphere
• coevolution
• development
• ecosystem
• environment
• evolution
• geology
• ice age
• plants
• plate tectonics
• primates
• sediment
• tectonics

Nisbet's science is accurate and detailed, the illustrations are useful, and the photographs are clear. The text is funny and reads smoothly...very difficult to put down, both because of the humour and because of the clear explanations of issues in so many different fields of study...an excellent textbook for biology, geology, and environmental science majors as well as for other students who do not find science to be the most exciting study of all - Jnl of Geological Education; [The book] is carried off by the author's ability to marshal his own observations and anecdotes and convey them in colorful turns of phrase which make the facts memorable in turn |o Proceedings of the Geologists Association

• Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada

  E. G. Nisbet

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