I'm a PhD student studying the (current) climate of the Earth. I'm also quite interested in the history of planet Earth, although I have little academic background in that area. Is there a good textbook on the history of the planet, ideally one that has some focus on the climate?
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$\begingroup$ Isn't the study of the earth's history and dynamics a prerequistie for studying the earth's climate ? It was so where i studied. If not, let me recommend to attend the introductory lectures into earth's dynamics. A single book (if it exists) will not have enough content for the use case, IMO. $\endgroup$– user18411Dec 30, 2019 at 9:33
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$\begingroup$ No. I don't want masses of detail, this is mostly to satisfy my own curiosity. $\endgroup$– jobla6Dec 30, 2019 at 22:41
1 Answer
Although not exactly a textbook, I would highly recommend you to read Marcia Bjornerud's Timefulness (2018). It goes through all of Earth's history, including the atmosphere. It's short and kind of poetic, but backed by solid science. Her previous book, Reading the Rocks, seems somewhat similar (it's subtitle is The Autobiography of the Earth), but I did not read it. It was also praised at the time, so it might be worth reading even if it lacks the more recent discoveries (it's from 2005).