Free Delivery Over $100
|
|
|||
|
||||
Awards
OverviewOne of the greatest mysteries in reconstructing the history of life on Earth has been the apparent absence of fossils dating back more than 500 million years. We have long known that fossils of sophisticated marine life-forms existed at the dawn of the Cambrian Period, but until recently scientists had found no traces of Precambrian fossils. The quest to find such traces began in earnest in the mid-1960s and culminated in one dramatic moment in 1993 when William Schopf identified fossilized micro-organisms three and a half billion years old. This find opened up a vast period of time - some 85 per cent of Earth's history - to new research and new ideas about life's beginnings. In this book, William Schopf, a pioneer of modern paleobiology, tells the story of the origins and earliest evolution of life and how that story has been unearthed. Full Product DetailsAuthor: J. William SchopfPublisher: Princeton University Press Imprint: Princeton University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.624kg ISBN: 9780691088648ISBN 10: 0691088640 Pages: 384 Publication Date: 09 April 2001 Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Professional & Vocational , Tertiary & Higher Education Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Temporarily unavailable  The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you. Language: English Table of ContentsReviewsA book that bears out [Schopf's] assertion that science is enormously good fun! -- Scientific American What were your very earliest ancestors like? I do not mean your great-great-great-grandparents. I mean the earliest life on the planet. In principle we all have a unique lineage of ancestors that runs all the way back to the origin of life. What was life like then--and is the supposed life on Mars our cousin? These are the problems palaeontologist Bill Schopf faces... It has been a while since I read a book with so much good sense, put over in so amicable a style. If I ever were to discover my great-great-great grandparents I hope they turn out to be as wise as Schopf. -- Laurence Hurst, New Scientist In the well-written Cradle of Life, Schopf tells his own story of how Earth's early microbial biosphere was discovered. -- Stefan Bengtson, Nature A very clear introduction to the first living things... Schopf ... adopts an unusually informal first-person style for this rangy exploration of how Pre-cambrian fossils came to light and what they've taught us. -- Publishers Weekly An exceptional description of the field that is accessible to any educated lay reader. -- Library Journal Schopf combines his often entertaining personal story with an introduction to the discipline of paleobiology, with asides on the chemical makeup of life... A good introduction to the history of a science on the cutting edge. -- Kirkus Reviews A good introduction to a quickly evolving topic... Schopf also offers a number of insider nuggets. -- Choice Schopf's subject, the origin of life, is fascinating, and as significant as any question that has ever been asked in academia. His explanation of the science behind his conclusions is clear, his approach is well organized... This is a marvelous, magnificent, scientific adventure. -- John R. Alden, Cleveland Plain Dealer Cradle of Life provides the best current popular overview of the first 85% of life's history on Earth, and that is history worth reading. -- Robert M. Hazen, Physics Today An extraordinary account of a monumentally complex subject presented in simple and understandable terms, and in an eminently readable style. -- Steve Voynick, Rock and Gem One of the newest scientific specialties has as its subject the oldest living things: the unbelievably ancient fossils of the Pre-Cambrian period. Until very recently, the record of fossil life began with the Cambrian period, roughly 550 million years ago. But the fossils of that era were already complex, the remains of organisms far more advanced than the simple cells that scientists believed must have been the earliest living things. Were the more ancient forms too fragile to survive the fossilization process or had they simply gone unrecognized? As Darwin already recognized, the apparent absence of truly primitive forms in the fossil record might be counted an argument against evolution. One pioneer, J.T. Dawson of Canada, did use his claimed discover)' of a dawn animal over 1.1 billion years old to raise questions about the missing links in the long stretch between it and the first Cambrian fossils. Dawson's claims were refuted, but other scientists took up the search. The strongest candidates were stromatolites, cabbage-like structures first identified in upstate New York in the 1870s. But their biological origin was controversial until the 1950s, when microscopic examination of fossil stromatolites, and the discovery of living stromatolites near Australia, clinched the case. Schopf, who as a graduate student contributed to the breakthrough, goes on to describe more recent research in the field - almost all of which has been done in the last 35 years. Now a professor of paleobiology at UCLA, he was part of the team that identified the oldest fossils thus far known: the 3,465-million-year-old Apex Chert microbes of Western Australia. Schopf combines his often entertaining personal story with an introduction to the discipline of paleobiology, with asides on the chemical makeup of life, questions still to be answered, and a skeptical look at the purported fossils from Mars. A good introduction to the history of a science on the cutting edge. (Kirkus Reviews) A book that bears out [Schopf's] assertion that science is enormously good fun! Scientific American What were your very earliest ancestors like? I do not mean your great-great-great-grandparents. I mean the earliest life on the planet. In principle we all have a unique lineage of ancestors that runs all the way back to the origin of life. What was life like then--and is the supposed life on Mars our cousin? These are the problems palaeontologist Bill Schopf faces... It has been a while since I read a book with so much good sense, put over in so amicable a style. If I ever were to discover my great-great-great grandparents I hope they turn out to be as wise as Schopf. -- Laurence Hurst New Scientist In the well-written Cradle of Life, Schopf tells his own story of how Earth's early microbial biosphere was discovered. -- Stefan Bengtson Nature A very clear introduction to the first living things... Schopf ... adopts an unusually informal first-person style for this rangy exploration of how Pre-cambrian fossils came to light and what they've taught us. Publishers Weekly An exceptional description of the field that is accessible to any educated lay reader. Library Journal Schopf combines his often entertaining personal story with an introduction to the discipline of paleobiology, with asides on the chemical makeup of life... A good introduction to the history of a science on the cutting edge. Kirkus Reviews A good introduction to a quickly evolving topic... Schopf also offers a number of insider nuggets. Choice Schopf's subject, the origin of life, is fascinating, and as significant as any question that has ever been asked in academia. His explanation of the science behind his conclusions is clear, his approach is well organized... This is a marvelous, magnificent, scientific adventure. -- John R. Alden Cleveland Plain Dealer Cradle of Life provides the best current popular overview of the first 85% of life's history on Earth, and that is history worth reading. -- Robert M. Hazen Physics Today An extraordinary account of a monumentally complex subject presented in simple and understandable terms, and in an eminently readable style. -- Steve Voynick Rock and Gem Author InformationJ. William Schopf, a member of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, the Molecular Biology Institute, and the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) at the University of California, Los Angeles, is Professor of Paleobiology and Director of the IGPP Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life. A Member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is the recipient of medals from the National Science Board, the National Academy of Sciences, and the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life. He has also been awarded national book prizes for two edited volumes on life's earliest evolution, an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Research Prize, and two Guggenheim Fellowships. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
||||
