The History of Earth in 25 Stones. Geological Mysteries and the People Who Solved Them

An exciting story of how geological knowledge related to our planet was gradually obtained: how its age, composition, and 'nature' were determined, and how deep processes were revealed. Each of the 25 chapters of the book tells how geologists, paleontologists, and oceanographers sought answers to their questions in the Earth's crust, in volcanic craters, at the very bottom of the World Ocean, in hard-to-reach mountains, gorges, icy deserts, and even in space. In the preface, Protero compares the work of a geological scientist to that of a forensic expert and then elaborates on this comparison, showing the meticulous process of reconstructing a complete picture of a distant past from the smallest details, individual traces, and random impressions, separated from us by the abyss of geological time.