
Perilous Planet Earth
Catastrophes and Catastrophism through the Ages
- Publisher's listprice GBP 100.00
-
The price is estimated because at the time of ordering we do not know what conversion rates will apply to HUF / product currency when the book arrives. In case HUF is weaker, the price increases slightly, in case HUF is stronger, the price goes lower slightly.
- Discount 20% (cc. 10 122 Ft off)
- Discounted price 40 488 Ft (38 560 Ft + 5% VAT)
Subcribe now and take benefit of a favourable price.
Subscribe
50 610 Ft
Availability
Estimated delivery time: In stock at the publisher, but not at Prospero's office. Delivery time approx. 3-5 weeks.
Not in stock at Prospero.
Why don't you give exact delivery time?
Delivery time is estimated on our previous experiences. We give estimations only, because we order from outside Hungary, and the delivery time mainly depends on how quickly the publisher supplies the book. Faster or slower deliveries both happen, but we do our best to supply as quickly as possible.
Product details:
- Publisher Cambridge University Press
- Date of Publication 12 June 2003
- ISBN 9780521819282
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages534 pages
- Size 255x181x30 mm
- Weight 1252 g
- Language English 0
Categories
Short description:
A readable account of the history of natural disasters throughout history.
MoreLong description:
Perilous Planet Earth places our concern about the threat to Earth from asteroids and comets within an historical context, looking at the evidence for past events within the geological and historical records. The book looks at the way in which prevailing views about modes of global change have changed dramatically over the years. It also considers the way in which catastrophic events are now seen to have influenced the course of evolution in the distant past, as well as the rise and fall of civilisations in more recent times. Professor Palmer argues that the better we understand our past, the greater the likelihood that we will be able to take appropriate action to preserve our civilisation for the future. Written in an engaging style that avoids jargon, the book will appeal to general readers and academics with an interest in evolution, geology, astronomy, social anthropology and history.
Review of the hardback: '... written in a style that is at once dispassionate and engaging ... Ranging, as it does, over several related disciplines, this book will undoubtedly appeal to both amateurs and academics alike.' Astronomy & Space
Table of Contents:
Introduction; Part I. Catastrophism: The Story of its Decline and Fall ... and Resurrection; Section 1. From Prehistory to 1899: Catastrophism Dominates for Centuries, but Then Gives Way to Gradualism: 1. Mythology, religion and catastrophism; 2. Hutton: fact and fiction about the origins of modern gradualism; 3. Cuvier and Lamarck: choosing between extinction and evolution; 4. Natural theology and Noah's Flood: the high-water mark of catastrophism; 5. Catastrophism, uniformitarianism and idealist philosophy; 6. Lyell triumphant: gradualism dominates geology; 7. Darwin and evolution; 8. After the Origin: the triumph of evolutionary gradualism; Section 2: From 1900 to 1979: Gradualism Reigns Supreme: 9. Neo-Darwinism: the Modern Synthesis; 10. Phyletic gradualism; 11. Gradualist perceptions of human evolution; 12. Heretical catastrophists; 13. Atlantis: rational and irrational theories of a 'lost' civilisation; 14. Evolutionary mass extinctions and neocatastrophism; 15. Punctuated equilibrium: a new evolutionary perspective; 16. Human evolution: gradual or punctuational?; Section 3. From 1980 to the Present Day: Catastrophism Strikes Back: 17. Evolution evolving; 18. Into the new millennium: evolution today; 19. Chaos in the Solar System; 20. Catastrophes on Earth; 21. The death of the dinosaurs: iridium and the K-T extinctions; 22. The continuing K-T debate; 23. Mass extinctions and the course of evolution; Part II. Catastrophes and the History of Life on Earth: 24. Extinctions large and small; 25. Cyclic processes and mass extinctions; 26. The uncertain origins of humankind; 27. Ice ages in the Pleistocene epoch; 28. Modern views of Atlantis; 29. Natural catastrophes and the rise and fall of civilisations; 30. Conclusions; References; Index.
More