Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World (2nd ed.) by Jonathan I. Lunine

Abstract

This is an ambitious book. It attempts to integrate all branches of natural science to provide a complete overview of how the Earth has developed, from the Big Bang through to the present day, within the confines of about 300 pages. That it manages to do so at all is admirable, and that it manages to do so while also be thorough, engaging and thought provoking is all the more remarkable. There has clearly been a lot of loving attention put into the development of this text and as such it stands out as one of the best undergraduate-level textbooks on planetary science I have seen.