History of Life [Paperback]

Richard Cowen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0632044446 | ISBN-13: 978-0632044443 | Publication Date: January 15, 2000 | Edition: 3

History of Life is not just for students, but for everyone interested in the history of life on our planet. Paleontology, the study of ancient life, requires some knowledge of biology, ecology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. However, the average person can have access to it without deep scientific training.

This book serves three audiences: it is an introduction to palaeontology; a general education course that introduces nonspecialists to science and scientific thought; and an introduction to the history of life for biologists who know a lot about the present and little about the past.

The author's aim is ambitious: to take you to the edges of our knowledge in palaeontology; to show you how life has evolved on Earth,;and to explain how we have constructed the history of that evolution from the record of rocks and fossils.

• Web page tied to use of book boxes.
  
• Case studies.
  
• End chapter questions.
  
• End chapter references.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for previous editions:
"Cowens book is refreshing and radically different from most other textbook of this genre as it presents to the non-scientist the study of paleontology and the history of lifew as a dynamic and exciting science." (Journal of the Society for Sedimentary Geology)

Book Description

This book is aimed at anyone interested in the history of life on our planet. It explores the "whys" of events that occurred, and in this new edition, it takes a closer look at the evolution of the physical earth and the strong interactions between organisms and environment. The book's coverage includes geography, climate, atmosphere, ocean, and land (a changing stage) while following interplay between organisms. Also new to this edition is a devoted website-www.blackwellpublishing.com/cowen-that explores additional environmental factors and supplemental topics and provides key links and additional reader assistance. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 3 edition (January 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0632044446
• ISBN-13: 978-0632044443
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,568,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly Written Book, Very Informative and Engaging to Read, September 8, 2010

By 

Catamaran'78 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: History of Life (Paperback)

The author knows his stuff, and is one of those often uncommon professors who not only knows his subject 110%, but can present it in a clear, interesting and concise fashion, with numerous diagrams and photographs to illuminate facts. All of the hundreds of illustrations are in B&W, and most are not too large, but they add a lot to the presentation and are carefully selected. No matter how much you have read on the history of life on earth, there will be facts and theories in this book you have not seen before. He covers life from the very beginning, before the Cambrian, and discusses the evolution of both plants and animals, climate zones and how the movement of continents change climate, and the full range of critters: therapsids, diapsids, multituberculates, dicynodonts, etc., along with extinctions, mentioning the possible development of a oxygen depleted Panthalassa ocean (the only ocean at that time as all the continents were fused), a theory of Isozaki (p 99) contributing to the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. I have read many books on evolution and paleontology written at the college level, and this is without a doubt the best overall presentation I have read.

1 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shipped Fast! Great Condition., September 13, 2009

By 

O. Yeend - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: History of Life (Paperback)

This book shipped faster than I thought it would which was great. It was also in new condition as advertised. Thank you!