The Worst of Times: How Life on Earth Survived Eighty Million Years of Extinctions

Awards:   Commended for Choice 's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 2016
Author:   Paul B. Wignall
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
ISBN:  

9780691176024


Pages:   240
Publication Date:   09 May 2017
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
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The Worst of Times: How Life on Earth Survived Eighty Million Years of Extinctions


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Awards

  • Commended for Choice 's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 2016

Overview

Two hundred sixty million years ago, life on Earth suffered wave after wave of cataclysmic extinctions, with the worst wiping out nearly every species on the planet. The Worst of Times delves into the mystery behind these extinctions and sheds light on the fateful role the primeval supercontinent, known as Pangea, might have played in causing these global catastrophes. Drawing on the latest discoveries as well as his own firsthand experiences conducting field expeditions to remote corners of the world, Paul Wignall reveals what scientists are only now beginning to understand about the most prolonged and calamitous period of environmental crisis in Earth's history. Wignall shows how these series of unprecedented extinction events swept across the planet, killing life on a scale more devastating than the dinosaur extinctions that would follow. The Worst of Times unravels one of the great enigmas of ancient Earth and shows how this ushered in a new age of vibrant and more resilient life on our planet.

Full Product Details

Author:   Paul B. Wignall
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.312kg
ISBN:  

9780691176024


ISBN 10:   0691176027
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   09 May 2017
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock   Availability explained
We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

ILLUSTRATIONS ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi PROLOGUE xv CHAPTER 1 A TIME OF DYING 1 CHAPTER 2 EXTINCTION IN THE SHADOWS 12 CHAPTER 3 THE KILLING SEAS 39 CHAPTER 4 TROUBLED TIMES IN THE TRIASSIC 89 CHAPTER 5 TRIASSIC DOWNFALL 117 CHAPTER 6 PANGEA'S FINAL BLOW 137 CHAPTER 7 PANGEA'S DEATH AND THE RISE OF RESILIENCE 154 NOTES 177 REFERENCES 179 INDEX 191

Reviews

[Wignall] presents a sound examination of an 80-million-year span, which began nearly 260 million years ago, that is considered by scientists to have been the most extreme extinction event in Earth's history ... [A] great example of scientific sleuthing.--Publishers Weekly [An] excellent introduction to the latest thinking about this key period in Earth's history... Wignall's book is enthralling. --Matthew Cobb, New Scientist In this scholarly but accessible analysis, geologist Wignall explores the perfect storm of cataclysms, plate tectonics and other forces that led to 'The Great Dying'--and the rebound of life in its aftermath. --Gemma Tarlach, Discover magazine Well written and persuasive. --Choice


One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 [Wignall] presents a sound examination of an 80-million-year span, which began nearly 260 million years ago, that is considered by scientists to have been the most extreme extinction event in Earth's history ... [A] great example of scientific sleuthing.--Publishers Weekly [An] excellent introduction to the latest thinking about this key period in Earth's history... Wignall's book is enthralling. --Matthew Cobb, New Scientist In this scholarly but accessible analysis, geologist Wignall explores the perfect storm of cataclysms, plate tectonics and other forces that led to 'The Great Dying'--and the rebound of life in its aftermath. --Gemma Tarlach, Discover magazine Well written and persuasive. --Choice


One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 [Wignall] presents a sound examination of an 80-million-year span, which began nearly 260 million years ago, that is considered by scientists to have been the most extreme extinction event in Earth's history... [A] great example of scientific sleuthing.--Publishers Weekly [An] excellent introduction to the latest thinking about this key period in Earth's history... Wignall's book is enthralling. --Matthew Cobb, New Scientist In this scholarly but accessible analysis, geologist Wignall explores the perfect storm of cataclysms, plate tectonics and other forces that led to 'The Great Dying'--and the rebound of life in its aftermath. --Gemma Tarlach, Discover magazine Well written and persuasive. --Choice Over the 170-odd pages [Wignall] discusses in great yet concise detail the point and counterpoint of large igneous provinces, massiv accumulations of millions of cubic kilometers of igneous rock, and mass extinctions that occurred repetitively and in synchrony from the middle of the Permian to the middle of the Jurassic... A well-researched, thorough, and stimulating volume for anyone looking for a scientific account of this time period and the notable geological and biological events that took place over its course. --William Gearty, Quarterly Review of Biology


Author Information

Paul B. Wignall is professor of paleoenvironments at the University of Leeds.

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