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How the Earth Works

By: Michael E. Wysession, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Michael E. Wysession
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Summary

How the Earth Works takes you on an astonishing journey through time and space. In 48 lectures, you will look at what went into making our planet - from the big bang, to the formation of the solar system, to the subsequent evolution of Earth.

You will travel to the center of our planet and out again, charting the geologic forces that churn beneath our feet to push the continents and seafloor around like froth on the surface of soup. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis are byproducts of our planet’s ceaseless activity, and you will focus on specific examples of each to learn why and when they occur. Volcanic activity has produced the atmosphere as a side effect, and you will learn how this sea of air functions at the global scale. Earth’s surface is mostly water, and you will explore the cycling of this vital substance throughout the planet, along with its role in climate, erosion, plate tectonics, and biology.

Not only are humans at the mercy of our planet’s natural forces, but we ourselves have also become agents of change. We are altering the Earth’s land, water, and air faster than any other geologic process. This will be another theme of your journey: how humans have transformed watersheds, leveled mountains, changed the balance of gases in the atmosphere, and caused the extinction of enough species to hasten the end of the 65-million-year-old Cenozoic era. It is vitally important that we understand the nature of our geologic powers if we are to have any hope of controlling them.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2008 The Great Courses (P)2008 The Teaching Company, LLC
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What listeners say about How the Earth Works

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Turns out this is a great course on Earth science.

A very interesting course covering all areas of Earth science. It's a US production so expect a lot of US based geology. Also seems to be the audio from a video course so some visual references are lost. Despite this I found it very entertaining and very informative...

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The amazing complexity of Earth

Standing on what feels like a motionless ball of rock these detailed lectures give an amazing insight into just how alive and complex that ball of rock really is. From its early formation to the home we see today, these lectures tell a diverse geological journey that stretches billions of years.

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Brilliantly delivered

Everything to like about these lectures and practically nothing to dislike …..it turns out perhaps one thing😂
Thank you for an interesting and inspiring listen

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TESTIMONY TO A LIVING UNIVERSE

This powerful work confirms that the earth and indeed the universe is a complex living organism. The way everything is woven together, every thing is co dependent and co surviving takes the breathe away, the seen live on the unseen, the silent leverage on the power of the loud.
This book is indeed a living testimony to the word complexity.

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Brilliant !

Really interesting and user friendly…and great for listening to on dog walks whilst looking at the world around us

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Tricky following along on the move but very good!

Glad I listened and great to hear someone who clearly loves their subject and is a true expert. Would benefit from a broadening out of vocabulary as opposed to the repetitive "Turns out" and "Enormous". Full of fascinating facts except at the end, where a couple of oddities and speculative peculiarities appear - such as political organisations like the EU being naively held up as a natural evolution of global unity which will presumably expand into wonderful philanthropic supranational entities? Thankfully, he sticks to his subject specialism in the main and it turns out, he has created an enormously interesting piece of work :-).

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long and detailed description of earth's function

at 22 hours long I do admit I did drift a bit on a few areas but overall it kept me engaged. The narration was perhaps a little flat but fine for the subject matter, and i very much enjoyed it.

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Fantastic!

Lots of depth and breadth. Highly recommended. Wish there was a revised one with more recent data.

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A must for lovers of nature

It explains the wonders of evolution and how fortunate we are to exist in this time and place in the universe. Brilliant book

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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting and enlightening

This has been a very impressive journey through geology and human history. The formation of the Earth, life and the ongoing processes give you an understanding of timescales and events. After a full explanation of how the Earth works, the author gives us a detailed explanation of the effects that these processes have had on human history. The explanation of how volcanoes and tsunamis have affected civilisations provide a greater insight into their rise and fall.
My only cavils are that the phrase "turns out" is used with such regularity that you miss some of the words as you await its next appearance. Also I have never heard "bouys" pronounced that way before. Sadly he promotes the hoary old myth about British gunnery in the Falklands and it is never wise to use the bible as an historical reference.
Apart from these points, I greatly enjoyed the lectures and feel much more informed.

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