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Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities: The Causes of Mass Extinctions
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Average Rating:  out of 8 Reviews
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Price: $20.00
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Sale: $8.34
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Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780192806680
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Tony Hallam
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Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
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Dewey Decimal Number: 576.84
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Publication Date: 2005-09-01
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Reading Level: 240
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Description: In Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities, renowned geologist Tony Hallam takes us on a tour of the Earth's history, and of the cataclysmic events, as well as the more gradual extinctions, that have punctuated life on Earth throughout the past 500 million years.
While comparable books in this field of study tend to promote only one likely cause of mass extinctions, such as extraterrestrial impact, volcanism, and or climatic cooling, Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities breaks new ground, as the first book to attempt an objective coverage of all likely causes, including sea-level and climatic changes, oxygen deficiency in the oceans, volcanic activity, and extraterrestrial impact.
Hallam focuses on the so-called 'big five' mass extinctions, at the end of the Ordovician, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous periods, and the later Devonian, and he also includes less well-known examples where relevant. He devotes attention especially to the attempts by geologists to distinguish true catastrophes from more gradual extinction events, and he concludes with a discussion of the evolutionary significance of mass extinctions, and on the influence of Homo sapiens in causing extinctions within the last few thousand years, both on land and in the seas.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: instant cure for insomnia |
Date: 2008-09-03 |
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Details: a terrible book (compared to other similar books), presented in a boring manner as only an uptight Englishman could do.
The most significant error in the book occurs in the "volcano chapter" where the author completely ignores the mother of all volcanoes, La Garita, that erupted at the end of the Eocene Epoch. I guess since the author didn't see it erupt, it never happened.
It is obvious that the author merely dictated the entire book to his secretary and threw it at the publisher without reviewing it as there's at least one glaring typo that makes a sentence unreadable.
And, while "Geoscientist" states that it is a 'beautifully written, jargon-free account", it helps immensely if the reader has successfully completed Geology 101 and 102 before reading the book.
All in all, it's not worth one star.
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Review Summary: Another Nail in the Coffin of Simplicity and Uniformitarianism |
Date: 2007-12-03 |
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Details: I guess this is a tough little book for some. Certainly other reviewers have said so. It's not mere armchair science or Discovery Channel drama. Rather it's a lucid and well supported statement of an hypothesis, that the five great extinction events at the ends of the Ordovician, Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous and Devonian epochs did not all have the same cause, nor did they all occur in the same time-frame, but that they all can be correlated to major changes in sea level, which also did not have uniform causes. The corollary to that hypothesis is tantamount to SJ Gould's theory of 'punctuated equilibrium', i.e. that extinction events have played a major role in evolution of species. Furthermore, Hallam examines evidence that extremely high sea levels have (perhaps invariably) resulted in anoxic oceans - dead oceans effectively. Although Hallam makes no mention whatsoever of the current anthropogenic climate change, or of any news-worthy data less than 10,000 years old, it should be clear that his study of past climate-linked changes in sea level has relevance to our thinking about the possible dangers of rapid global warming.
I'd strongly suggest reading Hallam's work in conjunction with Peter Ward's study of atmospheric changes on Earth over geological time, and their correlation with mass extinctions and evolution. Ward's two current titles are Under A Green Sky & Out Of Thin Air. The former is more 'popularly' written - quite entertaining, in fact, if you enjoy reading science. Ward is more explicit in his concern with the possible consequences of uncontrolled anthropogenic 'modification' of the air we breathe, which is also the air which controls our climate.
I'd summarize more of Hallam's conclusions except that one previous reviewer, Atheen Hills, has already done so quite adequately. The modern understanding of evolution, which we can call neo-Darwinian for convenience, necessarily includes the idea of the contingency of the evolution of life-forms upon the evolution of the planet itself - of the continents in their restlessness, of the oceans which are not so timeless after all, and of the atmosphere which is fragile and susceptible. I'd go so far as to say this is a necessary book for serious thinkers about the history of life, our little three-and-a-half billion year adventure. |
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Review Summary: Tough read but worth it |
Date: 2007-01-10 |
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Details: This compact little book has more information about so-called mass extinctions than you may want to know. It's a tough read for the non-geologist/scientist and I found I had to take it in small bites. BUT, it is worth the effort. His analysis of causes, his conclusions and his final overview of current global warming are excellent. He certainly puts the end to ideas of extinctions which happened overnight and shows how a combination of factors may have been necessary to achieve the death toll of most living things. |
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Review Summary: The author should stick to science |
Date: 2006-10-11 |
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Details: This book presents a great deal of information on mass extinctions, and it provides an excellent overview of how geologists and paleontologists gather evidence of the causes of mass extinctions. What they can garner from the geologic record is amazing. He also discusses the theories of other geologists in a very respectful manner. Dr. Hallam pokes holes in the asteroid theory for the mass extinction 65 million years ago--wiping out the dinosaurs--although he says that the asteroid may have delivered the final blow to the already dwindling species of dinosaurs.
My only quibble is that the author includes some little anecdotes about his research trips and the local people who helped him. He notes that he doesn't want to sound patronizing, but he does--VERY patronizing to the point of being offensive.
However, this book does an excellent job of explaining what we can learn--and what has been learned--from the geologic record. |
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Review Summary: Requires patience and some prior knowledge |
Date: 2006-09-20 |
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Details: Hallam impresses me as a careful scientist who has assimilated an immense amount of material. I enjoyed this book, even when the detail and vocabulary were daunting. However, I don't think it was particularly well written, and if you don't already have some background in earth history, do not even think of starting with this book. The book is written in kind of a monotone, without enough focus on the key ideas, and without enough summary material (despite a previous reviewer, most chapters don't end with any summary). Figure 9.1, extinction name vs contributing causes, does provide a nice overall summary, in fact all the figures are very helpful. The subject is inherently confusing because there are relatively few conclusions on which there is consensus.
It is probable that only the extinction involving the dinosaurs, at the end of the cretaceous, was caused by extraterrestrial impact; it is "volcanism" which is actually associated with many extinction's. Think not of a terrestrial volcano blowing its top, but sustained undersea activity which raises the seabed enough to cause worldwide inundation, and the release of sufficiently large quantities of dissolved methane to cause a greenhouse effect. Associated with volcanism is the impact of tectonic movement, with its consequences for global climate and ocean currents. Remember that for older extinction's, the benthos (organisms living on or in the sea bed, most importantly on continental shelves) was particularly important, and warming waters, as well as deeper waters, could cause a lack of dissolved oxygen. Warm water holds less oxygen, and this is aggravated by a lack of strong ocean currents which are normally driven by large temperature gradients between polar and tropic waters.
The last chapter on extinction's caused by humans is very readable and can be read by itself. For readers interested in earth history, I recommend Nick Lane's book, "Oxygen", part I. Even though it focuses on atmospheric oxygen levels, many important concepts are explained.
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