Oasis in Space: Earth History from the Beginning

By Preston Cloud

Book Overview

Using the latest scientific information, from biogeology and geochemistry to space photography, this volume tells the story of the Earth's history. The author discusses themes ranging from the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 039330583X
• ISBN13: 9780393305838
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Length: 530 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.0" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent overview of geological history

I am reviewing this book, published in 1988, in mid 2005, after having bought it at a small university town used book store. I had heard good comments about the text many years ago, but never got around to getting a copy. Now that I have, I can say that the book exceeded my preconceptions. There are a great many new findings and new interpretations since the book was first published. As it is now, the material is dated. I wish the author had written an update within the past 3 or so years to reflect advancements in geology and paleobiology. But he hasn't. However, dated or not, the book has a lot to offer -- one can still learn a great deal from the text. With various related side issues interspersed throughout the discussion, the author takes the reader from the early Hadean to the Holocene. The emphasis is clearly on geology, but with the biology of the related periods discussed as well. Academics will be pleased with the comprehensive use of references; it's a wonderful source book. The author stresses the earlier Eras, with aome 200 of the total 480 actual text pages dealing with Eras prior to the Paleozoic. That's some 42% of the text. The Paleozioc is given 40 pages, the Mesozoic a little over 30, and the Cenozoic about 70. Intermittent ancillary chapters discuss such topics as 1) the origin of the solar system, 2) radiometric, fossil, and paleomagnetic dating methods, and 3) evolution and causes of extinction. For those with a particular interest in PreCambrian geology, I know of no better second level text in the area. I recommend reading the book together with current source materials. Anyone with an introductory geology course in his or her background will be prepared to read the book. It is useful to both the professional as well as the general scientifically literate commuinity. It will be well worth the effort.