Peter Chin's fine documentary How the Earth Was Made, originally broadcast on The History Channel in 2007, presents the most recent scientific thinking about the formation of our planet. The program opens with a useful account of the origins of modern geology as a scientific discipline (and briefly profiles some of its more notable figures) before segueing into a “history” of the Earth, which began some 4.5 billion years ago when colliding meteors and other debris coalesced into a molten body that gradually cooled into a solid sphere, after which the oceans were created (through the condensation of water vapor), continents emerged, life appeared, and the planet underwent numerous transformations and catastrophes over time. All of this is told through a winning combination of scientific interviews, breathtaking visuals, and skillful animation, concluding with a postscript predicting the eventual cooling of Earth's core and the subsequent effect on planetary life. The importance of that core is further detailed in a DVD extra, the feature-length History Channel documentary Inside the Volcano (2006), which draws on scientific data, scholarly interviews, and magnificent location footage to explore the development of volcanology from ancient times to the present. The disc also features five deleted sequences for How the Earth Was Made. Highly recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (F. Swietek)
How the Earth Was Made
(2007) 94 min. DVD: $24.95. The History Channel (avail. from most distributors). PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 1-4229-0902-6. Volume 23, Issue 4
How the Earth Was Made
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