The Life And Death Of Planet Earth: How science can predict the ultimate fate of our world: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World

“They deftly bring together findings from many disparate areas of science in a book that science buffs will find hard to put down.” —Publishers Weekly

Science has worked hard to piece together the story of the evolution of our world up to this point, but only recently have we developed the understanding and the tools to describe the entire life cycle of our planet. Peter D. Ward and Donald Brownlee, a geologist and an astronomer respectively, are in the vanguard of the new field of astrobiology. Combining their knowledge of how the critical sustaining systems of our planet evolve through time with their understanding of how stars and solar systems grow and change throughout their own life cycles, the authors tell the story of the second half of Earth’s life. In this masterful melding of groundbreaking research and captivating, eloquent science writing, Ward and Brownlee provide a comprehensive portrait of Earth’s life cycle that allows us to understand and appreciate how the planet sustains itself today, and offers us a glimpse of our place in the cosmic order.

Peter Ward is Professor of Geological Sciences and Zoology at the University of Washington in Seattle; he is also the author of nine science books, including On Methuselah's Trail: Living Fossils and the Great Extinctions, and The End of Evolution. - David Brownlee is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington, and co-author with Peter Ward of the acclaimed and bestselling Rare Earth.