Robert M Hazen

"Carbon is everywhere: in the paper of this book and the blood of our bodies. It's with us from beginning to end, present in our baby clothes and coffin alike. We live on a carbon planet, and we are carbon life. No other element is so central to our well-being; yet, when missing or misaligned, carbon atoms can also bring about disease and even death. At once ubiquitous and mysterious, carbon holds the answers to some of humanity's biggest questions....

Examines Earth's origin from simple atoms that were created in the big bang, transformed into heavy elements in stellar explosions, then forged into a planet inside the nebula that gave birth to the solar system. Like many other planets, Earth went through phases of melting, volcanism, and bombardment by asteroids. But only on Earth did events lead to a flourishing biosphere--life. And once life was established, it drove the evolution of our planet...

Sixty lectures delivered by Professor Robert M. Hazen, George Mason University and Carnegie Institution of Washington.