Terence McCarthy

The Story of Earth & Life: A southern African perspective on a 4.6-billion-year journey Terence McCarthy

Brief Description: "Compiled by staff of the School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg."Brief Description: Col. ill. and col. maps on inside covers. Marc Notes: Complied by staff of the School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.; Kumba Resources.; Includes bibliographical references and index. Publisher Marketing: It is inordinately difficult for most people to relate past events described by earth scientists to the world we see around us today. Reason and logic are strained when they describe mountains that were once seas, or seas where there were once mountains. It is hoped that this book will go some way to alleviating this kind of difficulty. -- from the Introduction Southern Africa is without equal in terms of geology, a treasure trove of valuable minerals with a geological history dating back some 3 600 million years. In addition, the evolution of plants and animals, especially mammals and dinosaurs, is well preserved in the region, which also has among the best records of the origin of modern man. The Story of Earth and Life provides a fascinating insight into this remarkable history how southern Africa s mineral deposits were formed, how its life evolved and how its landscape was shaped. Along the way readers will be enthralled by accounts of the Big Bang that marked the beginning of time and matter, by drifting and colliding continents, folding and fracturing rocks, meteors colliding with the Earth, volcanic eruptions, and the start of life. Other topics include why South Africa is so rich in minerals, how glacial deposits came to be found in the Karoo, why dinosaurs became extinct, how mammals developed from reptiles, and how closely humans are related to the apes. The answers to many such questions can be found here. The book is comprehensively illustrated with explanatory diagrams and full color photographs." Review Citations:

Scitech Book News 12/01/2006 pg. 37 (EAN 9781770071483, Paperback)

Contributor Bio:  McCarthy, Terence Terence McCarthy is 'n Professor in Minerale Geochemie aan die Universiteit van die Witwatersrand. Hy het 'n wye navorsingsbelangstelling in die aardwetenskappe, waaronder ekonomiese en omgewingsgeologie, geochemie en geomorfologie. Hy is 'n voorste kundige in die geologie van vleilande (veral die van die Okavango Delta in Botswana) en mede-outeur van die hoogaangeskrewe boek, The Story of Earth & Life. Contributor Bio:  Rubidge, Bruce Prof. Bruce Rubidge is director of the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research at the University of the Witwatersrand. Passionate about fossils, he is an authority on the formation of the Karoo Basin and the evolution of its fauna, especially the mammal-like reptiles.