What on Earth happened? 9780747594598, 0747594597
Christopher Lloyd tells our story from the very beginning of time to the present day, taking giant narrative leaps acros
645 77 22MB
English Pages 415 Year 2008
Table of contents :
PART 1: MOTHER NATURE (13.7 billion-7 million BC) --
1. Chrunch, bang, ouch! --
2. First twitches --
3. Tectonic teamwork --
4. Fossil fuss --
5. Davy Jones's locker --
6. Friends of the Earth --
7. Great egg race --
8. Dino-wars --
9. Flowers, birds and bees --
10. Prime time --
PART 2: HOMO SAPIENS (2 million-5000 BC) --
11. Ice box --
12. Food for thought --
13. Humanity --
14. The great leap forward --
15. Hunter-gatherer --
16. Deadly game --
17. Food crops up --
PART 3: SETTLING IN (5000 BC-c.570 AD) --
18. Written evidence --
19. Divine humanity --
20. Mother goddess --
21. Triple trouble --
22. Dragon's lair --
23. Peace of mind --
24. East-West divide --
25. Olympic champions --
26. Conquerors of the world --
27. Hurricane force --
28. Timbuk-taboo --
29. Amazing Americas --
PART 4: GOING GLOBAL (C.570 AD-present day) --
30. What a revelation! --
31. Paper, printing and powder --
32. Medieval misery --
33. Treasure hunt --
34. Moules Mariniere --
35. Fancy a beer? --
36. New Pangaea --
37. Mixed response --
38. Free reign --
39. Monkey business --
40. White man's race --
41. Back to the future --
42. Witch way? --
Further reading --
Notes --
Index.
