Grinspoon Weaves Culture Through A Timeline Of Momentous Scientific Events In ‘Earth In Human Hands’

With an erudite yet appealingly informal style that showcases his nimble mastery of this science, Grinspoon takes you on a deep-time tour through four types of Earth’s changes (aka catastrophes): random (like the great dust-inducing asteroid crash that wiped out the dinosaurs), biological (emerging of new species, dying off of others), inadvertent (unintended effects of industrialization) and intentional (doing something, or not, about those industrialization effects).

In our hyper-technical world, we need science communicators like Grinspoon who can translate their expertise into accessible explanations and interesting stories.  …this book is timely not just for the planet’s environment but for the current political one. …This is one of the great strengths of “Earth in Human Hands”: Grinspoon’s ability to describe and explain momentous Earth and space events and discoveries, and then connect to their cultural and social influence; science as part of everyday life and our cultural history, not separate from it. …makes a vital contribution to one of the most important concerns of our time.

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