Life SculptedAnthony J. MartinLabel: University of Chicago PressDescription: There is much to love between this book’s covers. . . . There are many eureka moments in Life Sculpted—and some truly beautiful ones.—Eugenia Bone Wall Street Journal Meet the menagerie of lifeforms that dig crunch bore and otherwise reshape our planet. Did you know elephants dig ballroom-sized caves alongside volcanoes? Or that parrotfish chew coral reefs and poop sandy beaches? Or that our planet once hosted a five-ton dinosaur-crunching alligator cousin? In fact almost since its fascinating start life was boring. Billions of years ago bacteria algae and fungi began breaking down rocks in oceans a role they still perform today. About a half-billion years ago animal ancestors began drilling scraping gnawing or breaking rocky seascapes. In turn their descendants crunched through the materials of life itself—shells wood and bones. Today such “bioeroders continue to shape our planet—from the bacteria that devour our teeth to the mighty moon snail always hunting for food as evidenced by tiny snail-made boreholes in clams and other moon snails. There is no better guide to these lifeforms than Anthony J. Martin a popular science author paleontologist and co-discoverer of the first known burrowing dinosaur. Following the crumbs of lichens sponges worms clams snails octopi barnacles sea urchins termites beetles fishes dinosaurs crocodilians birds elephants and (of course) humans Life Sculpted reveals how bioerosion expanded with the tree of life becoming an essential part of how ecosystems function while reshaping the face of our planet. With vast knowledge and no small amount of whimsy Martin uses paleontology biology and geology to reveal the awesome power of life’s chewing force. He provokes us to think deeply about the past and present of bioerosion while also considering how knowledge of this history might aid us in mitigating and adapting to climate change in the future. Yes Martin concedes sometimes life can be hard—but life also makes everything less hard every day.
Anthony J. Martin Life Sculpted (Hardback) would be an excellent fit for readers seeking inspirational and spiritually-charged self-help and personal growth books.
