Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities: the causes of mass extinctions by Tony Hallam, Oxford University Press, £12.99 ISBN 0198524978 Reviewed by Richard Fifield
THE geological past of planet Earth has been likened to interminable periods of boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror. Tony Hallam skilfully focuses on moments of geological terror and the possible causes of species annihilation. He attempts to pull the strands together, and in so doing pens many fascinating personal anecdotes.
