Symphony in C: Carbon and the Evolution of (Almost) Everything

Carbon is everywhere: in the paper of this book and the blood of our bodies. It's with us from beginning to end, present in our baby clothes and coffin alike. We live on a carbon planet, and we are carbon life. No other element is so central to our well-being; yet, when missing or misaligned, carbon atoms can also bring about disease and even death. At once ubiquitous and mysterious, carbon holds the answers to some of humanity's biggest questions. Where did Earth come from? What will ultimately become of it--and of us? With poetic storytelling, earth scientist Robert M. Hazen explores the universe to discover the past, present, and future of life's most essential element.

We're not only "made of star stuff," as Carl Sagan famously observed, but "Big Bang stuff," too. Hazen reveals that carbon's grand symphony began with a frenzied prelude shortly after the dawn of creation, bringing new attention to the tiny number of Big Bang-created carbon atoms that often get overlooked. In minutes, violently colliding protons and neutrons improbably formed the first carbon atoms, which can still be found within our bodies. His book then unfolds in four movements, building momentum as he explores carbon as the element of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

He visits the famed volcanic crater Solfatara di Pozzuoli near Naples, where venting carbon dioxide and other noxious fumes condense into beautiful crystals. He climbs the cliffs of the Scottish Highlands and delves deep into the precious-metal mines of Namibia, journeying toward Earth's mysterious core in search of undocumented carbon structures.

Hazen often asks us to pause and consider carbon's role in climate change and what we can do about it, for our lives and this element are inextricably intertwined. With prose that sparkles like a diamond, Symphony in C tells the story of carbon, in which we all have a part.

Author: Robert M. Hazen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 06/11/2019
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.70h x 6.40w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780393609431


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 02/01/2019 pg. 60
Publishers Weekly 03/11/2019
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2019
Booklist 05/01/2019 pg. 56
Library Journal 06/01/2019 pg. 142

About the Author
Hazen, Robert M.: - Robert M. Hazen is executive director of the Deep Carbon Observatory based at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences at George Mason University. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

This title is only available via back order