Improbable Planet: How Earth Became Humanity's Home

by Hugh Ross

Overview

Hugh Ross (PhD, University of Toronto) is founder and president of Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org). He is the author of many books, including More Than a Theory and Why the Universe Is the Way It Is. An astronomer and a member of the pastoral staff of a church near Caltech, Ross has addressed students and faculty on over three hundred campuses in the United States and abroad on a wide variety of science-faith topics. From science conferences to churches to government and private research labs, Ross presents powerful evidence for a purpose-filled universe. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801075438
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/07/2017
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Hugh Ross (PhD, University of Toronto) is founder and president of Reasons To Believe (www.reasons.org). He is the author of many books, including More Than a Theory and Why the Universe Is the Way It Is. An astronomer, Ross has addressed students and faculty on over 300 campuses in the United States and abroad on a wide variety of science-faith topics. From science conferences to churches to government labs, Ross presents powerful evidence for a purpose-filled universe. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 11

1 Why Ask "Why"? 13

2 The Way the World Is 16

3 Essential Construction Materials 23

4 The Right Neighborhood 28

5 Site Preparations 43

6 Not Quite Ready 62

7 Ready for the Foundation 78

8 Construction Begins below Ground 94

9 Up to Ground Level 108

10 Air-Conditioning 119

11 Invisible Progress 128

12 Heating and Ventilation 143

13 The Structure Rises 165

14 Finishing Touches 180

15 Ready for Occupancy 198

16 Why We're Here 220

Appendix A Why Not Life on a Moon? 231

Appendix B Are We Alone in the Universe? 234

Notes 237

Index 277

Editorial Reviews

In this ambitious book, Becky Taylor follows Roma people from their roots in the East to show how they become established in the West and beyond. She also looks at Europe’s other ethnic Travellers and weaves a gripping story of their part in the continent’s history. What sets Taylor’s work apart is that, wherever possible, she names the individual Gypsy and Traveller people in history. . . . Much of the book comes from the mouth of the people themselves, rather than just being another historian’s view. It’s essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the history behind how Gypsies and Travellers live today.

Vincent R Waldron Dr

In this fine book, the historian Becky Taylor delivers a dramatic sweep of the struggles of travellers and gypsies to survive and the diverse forms of pernicious and at times murderous and extremist prejudice mobilized against them. The book develops an impressive and compelling longue durée history of Gypsies and Travellers combined with detailed histories of recent experiences and contexts. . . . this ambitious and passionate book makes a strong claim for the importance of understanding the persistent struggles of Gypsies and Travellers to survive. It also demonstrates that paying attention to the ways in which they have done so can illuminate broader processes of state formation and the constitutive spatial violences at their heart.

Journal of Historical Geography

Becky Taylor achieves something quite brilliant here. . . . What is particularly good is Taylor’s highlighting of the discrepancies between rulers’ edicts and legislation and the clues she has unearthed about the realities of everyday practices. . . . Taylor does not shy away from detailing the devastating effects of anti-Gypsy policies and practices. . . . Thanks to the greater availability of relevant documentation at the point in the historical record, Taylor is able to offer more direct quotes from Roma people themselves, adding depth to the narrative.

Times Higher Education

An engaging tour-de-force of temporal political and policy practice across diverse localities. . . . Taylor presents a subtly nuanced picture of European Roma, showing the everyday lived reality of complex community relations, the impact of inter-marriage and personal contacts, which alleviate what could appear to be a relentlessly grim picture of centuries of bureaucratic and legislative oppression. . . . This book is highly suitable for the general reader and students alike, who require a clear grasp of the post-Enlightenment spread of nationalism and the impacts of changing political regimes on populations who are outside normative constructions of the ‘good citizen.’

History Today