Earth-Shattering by Bob Berman is a witty look at the cataclysms of our planet’s past and future, many of which were (or are likely to be) seen as the Apocalypse by religious type folks. This book is divided into three main parts. The first gives an intro to the universe at large, exploring how it came to be, and how our own humble little planet was formed. The second part looks at the disasters that have plagued earth itself, from the Chicxulub asteroid impact likely responsible for the dinosaur extinction, to the great slate-wiper virii that decimated large swathes of the world population, to the last Ice age, and the probability of a greenhouse or snowball earth. The final section looks at cataclysm of the future, as in billions of years from now. How the sun will eventually turn to a red giant and render earth a lifeless planet.

Chapter 30 was especially interesting to me as it discussed things humans wanted to turn into cataclysm, but that never actually were. Things like Y2K, and 2012. The things that make me want to scream at people’s ignorance, and humanity’s desire to have the apocalypse happen. Doom-sayers with nothing better to do. But dude… there were several references to things hitting eyes that left me cringing. Aahhhhh! Overall, it’s stuffed full of neat trivia, and is written in an engaging tone. Recommended for those with science interest.

***Many thanks to Netgalley/ Little, Brown, and Co for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review.