How the Earth Works
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£0.00 for first 30 days
How the Earth Works
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Narrated by:
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Michael E. Wysession
About this listen
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, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about How the Earth Works
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 28-06-20
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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Leach
- 16-07-20
Great
Wonderful journey though earth sciences as well as the origin of the universe and is there life out there?
Very interesting and well presented
I think I know have an appreciation of geological time
Thank you Michael
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Lee
- 29-04-22
I'm a little annoyed...
I'm a little annoyed. I'm currently studying an Environmental Science Degree yet this audiobook, for £7.99 has given me a much greater understanding of our Earth, space and time than my 20k degree has done.
It's read with passion, in good quality and with the perfect ratio of scienftic to layman's terminology. the author does a very good job of keeping you hooked and interested, and making 24 hours seem an awful lot shorter.
it's particularly well structured, broken down into a cohesive and flowing timeline of lectures.
At first, you'll find yourself wondering how on Earth they are only charging an audible credit for this series, but soon you'll realise that you'll be searching their back catalogue downloading and paying for all sorts of other amazing titles (which so far have been just as good).
Thank you for this great resource from a new fan of your works.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-09-23
Tour de force
If you are reading this review, you have at least a passing interest in the subject. Should you invest 48 half hours of you life in these lectures. I’d recommend it. Revelation, illumination and confirmation from a different perspective all rain down on the ears.
You will be hoping that the presenter has the characteristics of your very best teachers. The ones who had unbridled passion for their topic. The ones whose communication skills and humanity vastly outweighs their verbal mannerisms (and we all have them). Is Professor Wysession just such a gifted teacher? Well, it turns out that he is.
Thanks and hats off to Prof Wysession.
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- Toby
- 18-12-19
"Well it turns out!"
"Well it turns out!" this is a very good audio book. you get alot for your money and it gets you thinking differently.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-12-20
Changed my life
This is the best audiobook on audible. It means so much to me. It is my go to book when I get bored of others. Perfectly narrated by a genuinely enthusiastic author. This book doesn’t waste anytime. It tells you the story of our planet - as we understood it at the time of writing. A sequel is required to update for some more recent scientific findings. Hope that happens
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Mark
- 24-04-23
Great…
Clearly a very knowledgeable academic with great enthusiasm for the subject. Definitely would benefit from eliminating the distraction of 700+ uses of turning out phrase.
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- Cecile
- 15-12-23
Great book!
Fantastic book: informative well-researched content, great relatable examples and fun engaging delivery. I also really liked the historical anecdotes backing up the explanations. Couldn’t recommend this book enough
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-05-22
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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- Anonymous User
- 29-12-22
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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1 person found this helpful