Becoming Earth

How Our Planet Came to Life

Ferris Jabr

$46.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Picador
10 December 2024

Biophysics; Ecological science, the Biosphere; The environment; The Earth: natural history general

A radically thought-provoking account of a major shift in how we understand our Earth, not simply as an inanimate planet on which life evolved, but rather as a planet that came to life.

'Full of achingly beautiful passages, mind-bending conceptual twists, and wonderful characters.' - Ed Yong, author of An Immense World, winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize

'The ambition, eloquence, and erudition in this dragonfly droneflight of a book are absolutely exhilarating.' - John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize

The notion of a living world is one of humanity's oldest beliefs. Though once scorned by many scientists, the concept of Earth as a vast interconnected living system has gained acceptance in recent decades. Life not only adapts to its surroundings - it also shapes them in dramatic and enduring ways. Over billions of years, life transformed a lump of orbiting rock into our cosmic oasis, breathing oxygen into the atmosphere, concocting the modern oceans, and turning rock into fertile soil. Life is intertwined with Earth's capacity to regulate its climate and maintain balance.

Through compelling narrative, evocative descriptions, and lucid explanations, Ferris Jabr shows us how Earth became the world we've known, how it is rapidly becoming a very different world, and how we will determine what kind of Earth our descendants inherit for millennia to come.

'Fascinating, thought-provoking, and, ultimately, inspiring.' - Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction

By: Ferris Jabr
Imprint: Picador
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 243mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 534g
ISBN: 9781529038156
ISBN 10: 1529038154
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 10 December 2024
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Ferris Jabr is a contributing writer for The New York Times magazine and Scientific American. He has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper's, Foreign Policy, National Geographic, Wired, Outside, McSweeney's, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his husband, Ryan, their dog, Jack, and more plants than they can count. Becoming Earth is his first book.

Reviews for Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life

'A masterwork of journalism . . . The theme is profound: Life does not simply exist on Earth; it is Earth . . . Jabr has the curiosity of a reporter, the mind of a scientist, and the lyricism of a poet . . . Popular science writing at its very best' * Kirkus Reviews, starred review * 'Jabr has an uncanny ability to explore and explain some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, and his sentences are both luscious and limpid. He is an exceptional new science writer, and this urgent book is poised to influence larger conversations about the environment.' -- Jury of the Whiting Foundation Grants for Creative Non-Fiction ‘This wondrous book reveals our living planet for the miracle that it is. By the end, you may even feel that 'miracle' is an understatement. The story of Earth is the story of a planet reworked, remade – and, to an astonishing degree, created – by life itself. Wow.’ -- Carl Safina, author of <i>Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel</i> ‘As a writer, Jabr is chimerical: he has the sharp eyes of a scientist, the big ears of a journalist, and the liquid-silver tongue of a poet. There are times, reading this paradigm-shifting book, when you will feel like you are peering right down into the very heart of our living planet. It is, quite simply, a work of genius.’ -- Robert Moor, author of <i>On Trails: An Exploration</i>