Appreciate our planet

Earth in 100 groundbreaking discoveries 

Douglas Palmer 

London, UK: Quercus Books 

2011 | 416pp | £15 (HB) 

ISBN 9780857385017 

Reviewed by Geoff Rayner-Canham 

If you are to call yourself a 'rounded' scientist, then this is a book that you have to read. No matter what your field, you cannot have a true appreciation of science without knowing about this planet, its origins and the development of life. 

But this is not another boring plod through the past 4.5 billion years. Palmer has picked what, in his view, have been the 100 most exciting breakthroughs in science - those which have helped us to understand specific events in the planet's history. Each of these three page features is accompanied by a whole page colour photo which itself is visually stunning. 

The 100 chosen topics all begin with four opening statements: definition, discovery, key breakthrough and importance. Thus before commencing reading the actual prose, the reader can comprehend why this topic has been specifically chosen. 

The topics are treated in depth, not superficially, yet at a level comprehensible to any chemist. For example, chapter 11, D double-prime, introduces the highly mobile layer between the lower mantle and outer core. Following a discourse on perovskites, Palmer introduces the research on the more compact structure of post-perovskites. In chapter 30, Rising oxygen levels, he discusses fluctuations in oxygen levels through variations in the ratio of the chromium isotopes, chromium-52 and chromium-53.  

The book is holistic. That is, the later chapters deal with current issues, such as air pollution, ocean hypoxia, and the Athabasca tar sands. The final four chapters are not to be read before bedtime as they present some gloomy prognoses: threat from the skies (asteroid impact), future sea levels (much higher), future tectonics (we're all on the move!), and the long-term fate of the Earth (not good!). Buy this bookand appreciate our planet.