In this book, Professor van Andel, a distinguished earth scientist, interweaves the major strands of change taking place on the earth - continental drift, climatic fluctuations and the progression of life - into a carefully constructed historical account of the evolution of the earth. He does this against a backdrop of evolving ideas; the outlook of geologists everywhere has been profoundly altered by the adoption of the theory of continental drift, and with this change have come wholly new interpretations of earth history. In a unique manner, blending information with illustrations and through experiments, the author elaborates on such topics as the rock record, the mechanisms of climatic change, the process of plate tectonics and continental drift, the progression of life and its numerous catastrophic setbacks.