num_pages: 736
description: A classic introduction to the story of Earth's origin and evolution--revised and expanded for the twenty-first centurySince its first publication more than twenty-five years ago How to Build a Habitable Planet has established a legendary reputation as an accessible yet scientifically impeccable introduction to the origin and evolution of Earth from the Big Bang through the rise of human civilization. This classic account of how our habitable planet was assembled from the stuff of stars introduced readers to planetary Earth and climate science by way of a fascinating narrative. Now this great book has been made even better. Harvard geochemist Charles Langmuir has worked closely with the original author Wally Broecker one of the world's leading Earth scientists to revise and expand the book for a new generation of readers for whom active planetary stewardship is becoming imperative.Interweaving physics astronomy chemistry geology and biology this sweeping account tells Earth's complete story from the synthesis of chemical elements in stars to the formation of the Solar System to the evolution of a habitable climate on Earth to the origin of life and humankind. The book also addresses the search for other habitable worlds in the Milky Way and contemplates whether Earth will remain habitable as our influence on global climate grows. It concludes by considering the ways in which humankind can sustain Earth's habitability and perhaps even participate in further planetary evolution.Like no other book How to Build a Habitable Planet provides an understanding of Earth in its broadest context as well as a greater appreciation of its possibly rare ability to sustain life over geologic time.Leading schools that have ordered recommended for reading or adopted this book for course use:Arizona State UniversityBrooklyn College CUNYColumbia UniversityCornell UniversityETH ZurichGeorgia Institute of TechnologyHarvard UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityLuther CollegeNorthwestern UniversityOhio State UniversityOxford Brookes UniversityPan American UniversityRutgers UniversityState University of New York at BinghamtonTexas A&amp;M UniversityTrinity College DublinUniversity of BristolUniversity of California-Los AngelesUniversity of CambridgeUniversity Of ChicagoUniversity of Colorado at BoulderUniversity of GlasgowUniversity of LeicesterUniversity of Maine FarmingtonUniversity of MichiganUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillUniversity of North GeorgiaUniversity of NottinghamUniversity of OregonUniversity of OxfordUniversity of PortsmouthUniversity of SouthamptonUniversity of UlsterUniversity of VictoriaUniversity of WyomingWestern Kentucky UniversityYale University
language: English
title: How to Build a Habitable Planet: The Story of Earth from the Big Bang to Humankind
publisher: Princeton University Press