{"product_id":"life-on-a-young-planet-9780691165530","title":"Life on a Young Planet","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eKnoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, with the very latest discoveries in paleontology integrated with emerging insights from molecular biology and earth system science. 100 illustrations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinner of the 2003 Book Award in Science, Phi Beta Kappa \"A fascinating book... The catastrophic surface narrative of this impressive and intriguing book would surely have pleased Stephen Jay Gould; but I think its deterministic subtext would have pleased Charles Darwin still more.\"--Matt Cartmill, Times Literary Supplement \"In a book so well written that nonspecialists and specialists alike will find much to savor, [Knoll] captures both the excitement of scientific discovery and the intricacies of scientific interpretation... Readers interested in substance will certainly not be disappointed.\"--Publishers Weekly \"Andrew Knoll is an ideal guide through this early phase of life's history on the Earth... [O]ne of the strengths of Knoll's book is that it presents science as the open-ended endeavor that it is... Life on a Young Planet . .. expresses better than most the bumptious vitality and sheer fun of open-minded research.\"--Stefan Bengtson, Nature \"Life on a Young Planet stands apart from it predecessors in two fundamental respects. First, Knoll is perhaps the most qualified person to write such an epic: a renaissance man whose text is filled with insightful quotes from authors ranging from Darwin to Dickins to Dyson... Second ... this book describes the coevolution of life on Earth as an integrated biochemical system that has profoundly and irrevocably changed over time.\"--Guy M. Narbonne, Science \"A balanced, excellent account of current theories and discussions of the origin and early evolution of life... Knoll is able to convey difficult scientific issues with a minimum of jargon, using a brisk and witty prose... He is a gifted storyteller with a knack for choosing the right anecdote... A browse through Knoll's book will enlighten both the cognoscenti and those unfamiliar with the complexities of reading a fossil record... Knoll manages to present a multidisciplinary field in an interdisciplinary volume.\"--Antonio Lazcano, American Scientist \"Knoll is well placed to tell this amazing story, and he does so with verve.\"--Douglas Palmer, New Scientist \"A detective story to match the best crime fiction. It is told with verve.\"--Paul Nettleton, The Guardian \"The author weaves a beautifully written, fascinating story of life's origin and development based on his extensive field studies and research in the most remote corners of the globe... This volume ... is a most valuable asset that should be read by scientists active in the field, by teachers and students who are interested in the most recent thoughts on the subject, and, in fact, by anyone who is interested in how life might have originated and evolved on this planet or on other similar planets in our Universe.\"--Nathan Dubowsky, Science Books \u0026amp; Films \"This is not a textbook but rather a story, giving one person's view of how the jigsaw pieces fit together. It is written in flowing prose with many asides, personal anecdotes and explanations of what evidence there is and how it is used... [F]or ecologists the book has much to offer in putting the early evolution of life into perspective.\"--Bulletin of the British Ecological Society \"[Knoll's] words have a poetic flavor and his deep interest in the study of life on earth flows out of them, carrying readers along whole maintaining a rigorous discourse. Knoll's book will appeal to anyone interested in the evolution of life on Earth.\"--Choice \"In this wonderful book ... Knoll's extensive field experience and eagerness to share data and ideas with colleagues enable him to reconstruct responsibly the broad evolutionary scenario yet to remain close to the evidence.\"--Lynn Margulis, Times Higher Education Supplement\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments ix  Preface to the New Paperback Edition xi   Prologue 1  Chapter 1. In the Beginning? 6  Chapter 2. The Tree of Life 16  Chapter 3. Life's Signature in Ancient Rocks 32  Chapter 4. The Earliest Glimmers of Life 50  Chapter 5. The Emergence of Life 72  Chapter 6. The Oxygen Revolution 89  Chapter 7. The Cyanobacteria, Life's Microbial Heroes 108  Chapter 8. The Origins of Eukaryotic Cells 122  Chapter 9. Fossils of Early Eukaryotes 139  Chapter 10. Animals Take the Stage 161  Chapter 11. Cambrian Redux 179  Chapter 12. Dynamic Earth, Permissive Ecology 206  Chapter 13. Paleontology ad Astra 225  Epilogue 243  Further Reading 247  Index 269","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49403814936919,"sku":"9780691165530","price":15.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780691165530.jpg?v=1730484625","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/life-on-a-young-planet-9780691165530","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}