This book is a user's guide to our planet. How did we begin and how shall we end? Can we predict major catastrophes, and, if so, how? What have their frequencies been in the past and what is their likelihood of recurrence and magnitude in the future? We cannot prevent them happening but what can we do to minimise loss of life and economic damage? Are the activities of man having a detrimental effect on our planet or is global warming, by chance, preventing the earth slipping into another ice age? David Baker is uniquely qualified to answer these fundamental questions and with the aid of the latest research and a wealth of comparative data his powerful text provides us with an understanding of those processes which govern our life on earth.