Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Illustrations ix
4. Tables xiii
5. Foreword xv
6. Acknowledgments xix
7. Preface to the 2011 Edition xxiii
8. Introduction: A Modern Creation Myth? 1
9. Part I. The Inanimate Universe 15
10. Part II. Life on Earth 77
11. Part III. Early Human History: Many Worlds 137
12. Part IV. The Holocene: Few Worlds 205
13. Part V. The Modern Era: One World 333
14. Part VI. Perspectives on the Future 465
15. Appendix 1. Dating Techniques, Chronologies, and Timelines 493
16. Appendix 2 . Chaos and Order 505
17. Notes 513
18. Bibliography 563
19. Index 595