Table of Contents

Birth of the Earth
        Clues from the Crime Scene
        Collapse of the Solar Nebula
        From Dust Bunnies to Planets
        Collisions and Catastrophes
        The Primeval Earth
Impacts
        Weighing the Odds
        Tunguska
        The Big One
Hunting Space Junk
        Rocks from the Sky
        Meteorites for the Masses
Cosmic Influences on Life
        The Fickleness of Stars
        Star Death
        The Ultimate Cataclysm
        Living with Radiation
        Life in Other Neighborhoods
The Evolving Biosphere
        Changing Sun and Atmosphere
        Carbon and the Earth’s Crust
        Snowball Earth
        Violent Change is Normal
Shaping Life on Earth
        The Evolving Planet
        Darwin’s Brilliant Idea
        Variation and Evolution
        The Role of Chance
        Life’s Common Solutions
        Tolerating Imperfection
Landmarks in Evolution
        The Power of Networking
        Life Surges
        The Emergence of Brains