Review from previous edition: "Within these pages is one of the greatest stories ever told... It is as fascinating as it is important." --New Scientist 31/3/2007 "Here at last is David Beerling as the Green Knight, revealing the extraordinary story of the construction of our emerald planet. Rigorous science joins hands with an enthusiastic delivery to re-awaken our fascination in plants, while engaging anecdotes provide a thrilling background to an extraordinary story of climate change and our current environmental crisis." --Simon Conway Morris (author of Life's Solution) "Beerling gives us the big picture of how plants have changed our planet - and poses the key question of how we will manage the emerald planet to ensure the kind of future we desire." --Sir Peter Crane (Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1999-2006) "If I can find a fault with this book it is that each subsequent chapter is so engrossing that it drives the author's previous deliberations from my head... I will return to this book again and again." --Lyn Dunachie, Glasgow Natural History Society October 2011 "David Beerling's book is both fascinating and important." --P D Smith, The Guardian 06/12/2008 "An illuminating account of the ways 'greenhouse gases, genes, and geochemistry' are linked." --P D Smith, The Guardian 06/12/2008 "My favourite non-fiction book this year...[a] highly readable history of the last half-billion years on earth" --Oliver Sacks, Observer Books of the Year 25/11/2007 "David Beerling tells two stories in parallel. Both are eloquently and engagingly merged in a scholarly, yet generally accessible book...Beerling provides for the reader a fascinating history of the discovery of fossils and the inferences drawn from them...this book is a wonderful example of the nascent field of Earth systems science." --Paul Falkowski, Nature 14/06/2007 "...of great value and relevance to all interested in plants, climate and, equally, the future of our 'emerald planet'." --John MacLeod, RHS Professor of Horticulture, Garden 01/01/2008 "David Beerling's fascinating new book offers a new global perspective on the evolution of our planet...[a] vivid account...The environmental legacy of the plant kingdom upon our world can only be better appreciated after reading this book." --Louis Ronse De Craene "A beautifully detailed account...a gorgeous book." --Steven Poole, The Guardian (Review) 07/04/2007 "[A] fascinating overview of green evolution." --Karl Dallas, Morning Star 12/03/2007 "Within these pages is one of the greatest stories ever told ... It is as fascinating as it is important." --New Scientist 31/03/2007 "The Emerald Planet is a serious talking-to about why plants must not be ignored." --Jonathan Silvertown, TLS 23/11/07