The Earth in Context: A Guide to the Solar System (Springer-Praxis Series in Astronomy and Space Sciences) [Paperback]

David M. Harland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2001 | Series: Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration

The Earth in Context: A Guide to the Solar System tells a tale of scientific discovery, with two interwoven strands - one tracing the development of understanding the Earth's geological history, and the other placing this in the context of processes at work on the other planets of the solar system. Although planetology is assigned half of the text, the primary focus of the book is the Earth. It is discussed in two parts, the first summing up our knowledge of the Earth as it is today and the other considering it as it was long ago.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews of the first edition: "This book is a very comprehensive examination of all of the planets and main planetary moons of the Solar System with an emphasis on internal structure. … the book is a very good starting point for anyone interested in the study of the solar system and in particular to geologists with such an interest." (Emlyn Jones, Astrology & Space, August, 2003) "David Harland is well known for his previous books … . Those books were very popular due to their well-written and well-illustrated text, and this one is no different in those respects. … The main readership to benefit from this book might be first-year undergraduates with an interest in planetary science … . The main attraction of this book is the way it is written. It is extremely easy to read, making the progress of assimilating information a pleasure … ." (Sarah Dunkin, The Observatory, Vol. 123 (1173), 2003)

Product Details

• Paperback: 494 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1st Edition. edition (November 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852333758
• ISBN-13: 978-1852333751
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Home In The Solar System, September 2, 2004

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givbatam3 "givbatam3" (REHOVOT Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Earth in Context: A Guide to the Solar System (Springer-Praxis Series in Astronomy and Space Sciences) (Paperback)

The advent of the space age in 1957 has led to a quantum leap in mankind's knowledge of the Earth and its neighbors in the Solar System. After writing the most comprehensive book about the geologic work of the Apollo astronauts on the Moon ("Exploring the Moon", David Harland has turned to the exploration of the Solar System, and more specifically, the place of the Earth within it. The acceptance by the scientific community in the 1960's of the idea of "plate tectonics" as the mechanism to explain the large-scale geological evolution of the Earth has led to interest in determining the evolutionary process of the other bodies in the Solar System to fill out the picture and to tie all of this to the development of the conditions necessary for the sustenance of life on Earth. All of this is covered in this book.
One of the most important features of this book is an historical survey of the growth of the body of knowledge of the other bodies in the Solar System, starting with the invention of the telescope in the 17th century, and how this has evolved with improvements in observational technology down to our own time.
The author then leads us to the important question regarding the possible uniqueness of life on Earth, and why, if it is unique, this should be the case, especially considering that Earth's neighbors, Mars and Venus are similar to Earth in many ways and yet have evolved in radically different directions which are inimical to the sustenance of life as we know it (of course, the discovery of living organisms in hydrothermal vents where there is no oxygen at the bottom of the ocean is forcing scientists to broaden their views of what life-friendly environments are really like). For example, only the Earth, among the four terrestrial planets has a large, natural satellite. Why is this? If the Moon didn't exist there would be no life on Earth because the presence of the Moon keeps the Earth's orbit stable and prevents the obliquity of the spin axis from changing. All this leads to a stable thermal environment, vital for life to exist. Similarly, it is now believed that the water present on Earth was brought to the planet from comets originating in the outer Solar System. Another important question is why the Earth has plate tectonics whereas Mars certainly doesn't and Venus probably doesn't. Thus, we see that in order to understand our own planet, it is vital to understand the process that work on all the others and to know what is happening even at the outermost reaches of the Solar System. This book surveys all these matters, giving the layman a comprehensive picture of the current state of knowledge.
The book has an extensive glossary, but I would primarily recommend it to someone who has at least some college-level background in physics, engineering or other physical science in order to fully appreciate it.