Description
In seven epochs, Buffon reveals the main features of an evolving Earth, from its hard rock substrate to the sedimentary layers on top, from the minerals and fossils found within these layers to volcanoes, earthquakes, and rises and falls in sea level-and he even touches on age-old mysteries like why the sun shines. In one of many moments of striking scientific prescience, Buffon details evidence for species extinction a generation before Cuvier's more famous assertion of the phenomenon. His seventh and final epoch does nothing less than offer the first geological glimpse of the idea that humans are altering the very foundations of the Earth-an idea of remarkable resonance as we debate the designation of another epoch: the Anthropocene. Also featuring Buffon's extensive "Notes Justificatives," in which he offers further evidence to support his assertions (and discusses vanished monstrous North American beasts-what we know as mastodons-as well as the potential existence of human giants), plus an enlightening introduction by editor and translator Jan Zalasiewicz and historians of science Sverker Soerlin, Libby Robin, and Jacques Grinevald, this extraordinary new translation revives Buffon's quite literally groundbreaking work for a new age.
Book Information
ISBN 9780226395432
Author Georges-Louis Leclerc
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 425g
Dimensions(mm) 24mm * 16mm * 2mm