Incoming! | Granta

  • Published: 02/02/2012
  • ISBN: 9781847082640
  • 129x20mm
  • 288 pages

Incoming!

Ted Nield

More than 470 million years ago, a stupendous collision in the Asteroid Belt bombarded the Earth with meteorites of all sizes. New research suggests that the resulting ecological disturbance may have been responsible for the single greatest increase in biological diversity since the origin of complex life. Introducing these fresh discoveries, Ted Nield challenges the orthodox view that meteorite strikes are bad news for life on Earth.

Interpreted as omens of doom or objects of power, Meteorites have been the stuff of legend throughout human history. Featuring a wealth of fascinating characters and great discoveries, Incoming! takes a fresh look at our falling skies.

A startling new book asks us to look at the meteorite afresh. ­Geologist Dr Ted Nield argues that far from being agents of death, meteorites and comets have played a decisive role in the evolution of life on Earth

Michael Hanlon, Daily Mail

Nield is a geologist with a sense of history and humour

Iain Finlayson, The Times

Nield couples an entertaining history of attitudes to "extraterrestrial impact" with an explanation of how our understanding of humanity, the world and the universe has been radically transformed by our knowledge of meteorites ... A richly explored and expertly explained subject

Ollie Cussen, Financial Times

The Author

Ted Nield holds a doctorate in geology and works for the Geological Society of London as editor of the monthly magazine Geoscientist. He is a past Chair of the Association of British Science Writers and was a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society and a member of the Meteoritical Society. He is the author of Supercontinent (2007), Incoming! (2011) and Underlands (2014), all published by Granta Books. He lives in London.

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