Books

A landmark book about a landmark voyage
Nick Fraser, National Museum of Scotland

Charting the course of the famous 1870s Challenger expedition through the exploits of its ever-curious scientists as they investigate everything from deep sea corals and fish to cannibalism on the islands of the South Pacific.

A great Grisham-style thriller. Amazon (UK) customer review Money laundering. Secret bank accounts in the Cayman Islands. Murder. What do these things have to do with a respected engineer working at a remote diamond mine in Canada’s far north? Unknown to his colleagues, William Thompson has a secret: he’s leading … Read more

…a wonderful primer on geology, and a clear explanation of how the science is done. Columbus Dispatch As implied by the title of this book, one of the reasons geology is so important is that by studying the earth’s geological past we may be able to anticipate its future. We … Read more

…a delightful study of how scientists figured out analytical techniques that revealed the history of the earth. New Scientist This is a book about time – specifically, geological time – and how it is measured. As a reviewer for the Washington Post put it, ‘For time-conscious readers, Nature’s Clocks provides … Read more

…should be required reading for anyone interested in the future of the planet. Times Higher Education Supplement Ice ages have long fascinated us; witness their place in popular culture. Although perhaps not broadly realized, the effects of the most recent ice age – the Pleistocene Ice Age – are widespread, … Read more

To compress Earth’s history into a single, lucidly written volume is a major achievement. Starred review, Publisher’s Weekly This was my first book. Until I wrote it, most of my writing had been in the form of research papers in my own specialty, geochemistry. But I had always been interested … Read more