Critical acclaim for A SHORT HISTORY OF PLANET EARTH "To compress Earth's history into a single, lucidly written volume is a major achievement." --Publishers Weekly. "If you want a readable and up-to-date account of what's known about Earth, this will do nicely." --Focus. "Few people have both the knowledge and the writing ability to capture such a long and varied history in a compelling manner. In A Short History of Planet Earth, J. D. Macdougall demonstrates that he is one of the few. The author excels in explaining the complex interaction between the geologic and biologic aspects of our planet's history." --Earth.