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Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things. The Object Lessons series achieves something very close to magic: the books take ordinary objects and animate them with a rich history of invention, political struggle, science, and popular mythology. Filled with fascinating details and conveyed in sharp, accessible prose, the books make the everyday world come to life.
In Earth, a planetary scientist and a literary humanist explore what happens when we think of the Earth as an object viewable from space. As a “blue marble,” “a blue pale dot,” or, as Chaucer described it, “this litel spot of erthe,” the solitary orb is a challenge to scale and to human self-importance. Beautiful and self-contained, the Earth turns out to be far less knowable than it at first appears: its vast interior an inferno of incandescent and yet solid rock and a reservoir of water vaster than the ocean, a world within the world. Viewing the Earth from space invites a dive into the abyss of scale: how can humans apprehend the distances, the temperatures, and the time scale on which planets are born, evolve, and die?
An alchemy of unlikely ideas. The authors reflect on the geological history of the earth and humanity's understanding of it over the millennia. Earth is ambitious, thought-provoking and inspirational, conversationally written between two dissimilar but very complementary viewpoints. In this great age of exoplanetary discovery, it makes wonder how unique our wonderful home planet really is.
As much as the mindsets of a distinguished planetary scientist and a medieval studies professor differ, it is what they share in common when thinking about that object so dear to all of us, the Earth, that is so fascinating. What this delightful and informative book ultimately demonstrates is that the humanity of science itself offers untold fuel for the humanities to ponder our existence.
In this utterly captivating book, a scientist and a medievalist contemplate the planet. They discuss, through their often personal and moving letters to each other, what it means to understand, visualize, and imagine the earth from different scales and perspectives. The beauty of the planet and the beauty of the growing friendship between the two writers make this an inspiring volume. The book is enriched by the authors' expansive knowledge yet the writing is accessible and engaging. All sorts of readers will enjoy this book. It will transport you!
Prologue: Genesis
Orbit
Ground (Why Earth?)
Scale (Barriers to Understanding)
Radiance (Earth’s Beauty)
Gravity (Earth’s Pull)
Interlude: A Hike around Piestewa Peak
Imagination