THE CO-CREATION

How the presence of life has shaped the Earth.

The satisfyingly sprawling latest by evolutionary biologist Judson (Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation, 2002) goes back to the time of Earth’s creation and forward to the present to argue that biology and geology are inextricably connected—and that the Earth of the past bears little resemblance to that of today. She makes the case that our planet has gone through five significant “epocha” (a term she uses to avoid the familiar epochs into which geological history is divided): Rock, Light, Oxygen, Flesh, and Fire. She traces how the planet transformed from a “young, wet, rocky world,” through one to where cyanobacteria capable of photosynthesis evolved, and onto the emergence of eukaryotes, followed by “tiny but ferocious predators” and then by creatures capable of harnessing fire and of harnessing energy to transform the Earth in ways both benign and not. Along the way, she takes the reader on frequent, vividly sensuous time-traveling trips to various points in pre-history, where, for example, the Moon is farther from the Earth, days are shorter, and “the planet remains a matworld, a place of colorful slicks and scums.” Though Judson occasionally falls into the trap of writing a history of everything, taking long detours into speculating about just what it means to be alive or rehashing Darwin’s theory of natural selection, and her appetite for detail can be overwhelming, her central thesis is a provocative one. She provides ample evidence of the many ways in which lifeforms and the planet have evolved, and continue to evolve, together, creating an ozone layer and mineral deposits as well as shaping and reshaping rivers. Even at its most dense and demanding, her work conveys a giddy sense of wonder that sweeps the reader along in its wake.

A captivating synthesis of earth science, chemistry, and biology.