Earth: Over 4 Billion Years in the Making

Earth: Over 4 Billion Years in the Making is an informative book that explores the planet's history through breathtaking full-color photography. I bought the hardcover edition, and it's not only a wealth of information but also a beautiful addition to any coffee table. Pros: • Incredible full-color photography that enhances the reading experience • Informative content presented in a narrative style, making it easy to engage with • Well-organized with clear sub-sectioning of topics for easy navigation • A beautiful hardcover design that makes it a great conversation piece Cons: • May be too detailed for casual readers looking for a quick overview • Only suitable for adults as it's very information dense

Fantastic companion to the brilliant BBC documentary of the same title. Excellent photography throughout. Love it.

Although I have not watched all of his series or read all of “Earth” in detail, I have read and watched enough to know the well-known television personality (live and recorded) and the protestor on many nature related subjects is much more; a polymath and serious scientist unafraid to tackle such challenging subjects, he brings his infectious enthusiasm to the task. Having heard him on biology, ecology, his own life and his autism, I was not expecting the depth and breadth of the television programme so clearly mirrored in the book. “Earth” is a high-quality, medium format book containing excellent diagrams, illustrations and exceptional photographs to accompany detailed text explaining each chapter subject in depth. Four billion years is a long time to cover in one book, especially years as complex or slow to develop as our Earth’s existence. Many subjects are brought to bear on his search - astronomy, biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, plate tectonics - to name a few. I bought it to read after watching each programme but have only viewed one so far. However, one was sufficient for me to purchase the book and I have not been disappointed. It is very detailed and the text is quite small - 11 point Times Roman, perhaps - but I look forward to reading the rest and watching the remaining programmes. Highly recommended.

I purchased this after watching the BBC series right through. It has a familiarity to it having watched the series, but plenty of information that's new, so it's worth working through. I like that the book and the series takes a 'big picture' perspective on geology and plate tectonics, but has the capacity to delve deeper where it can capture the reader's imagination. Lovely photography throughout - don't just leave it on your coffee table.

I am hopeful that this combination of a series of fairly concise texts supported by key diagrams and and attractive pictures will be an effective intergeneration learning resource.

Beautiful and informative book. Fabulous for all ages.

I was a bit confused watching the TV series as they are showing episodes either backwards or in random order related to earth's chronology. The book has them in order with extra material putting things in context as well as covering the same topics as the TV series with good text and images. Highly recommended to understand how earth has experienced and survived conditions far outside those produced by global warming... but the consequences could be most life being wiped out and it turning into an inhospitable sauna or iceball for a few 100m years until it recovers itself with the next master species after plankton, plants, dinosaurs and then mankind.

This is a clearly written account of how our planet Earth has changed from a dark, lifeless rock, without an atmosphere or any oceans, to a green and blue home full of life everywhere. It is a fascinating story and leaves you pondering on the wonder of it all. There are many beautiful illustrations and photographs. You don't need to be a geologist, biologist or chemist to appreciate this book. I read the Kindle version which I prefer to the coffee table size and weight of the printed book.