title: The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future - Updated Edition (Princeton Science Library)
author:  Richard B. Alley 
description: <b>"Winner of the 2001 Book Award in Science, Phi Beta Kappa"</b><br /><br /><b>"One of Choices Outstanding Academic Titles for 2001"</b><br /><br />"Although not all scientists will agree with Alley's conclusions, [this] engaging book--a brilliant combination of scientific thriller, memoir and environmental science--provides instructive glimpses into our climatic past and global future . . ." (<i>Publisher's Weekly</i>)<br /><br />"Alley's . . . striking finding is that the earth's climate has always been wildly variable and subject to dramatic swings--except during the past 10,000 years. So the period during which humankind has established itself across the globe and made the transition from grubby bands of hunter-gatherers to the dubious majesty of global capitalism corresponds exactly to a freakishly stable period in the earth's climate."<b>---Angus Clarke, <i>The Times of London</i></b><br /><br />"With a highly readable style designed to capture and stimulate the imagination of his students, Alley explains some of the complexities of Earth system science with a minimum of jargon. This book is not just for students: it will be readily accessible to a wide audience that should be aware of its contents."<b>---David Peel, <i>New Scientist</i></b><br /><br />"[A] provocative little book . . . a compelling tale of climate sleuthing . . .[Alley] is authoritative without being dogmatic, concerned without being alarmist."<b>---Robert C. Cowen, <i>Christian Science Monitor</i></b><br /><br />"A fascinating journey into the geologic past and the history of the Earth's climate . . . Alley ends his entertaining book by polishing his crystal ball, envisioning what the future climate will be, and what we might do about it."<b>---J.A. Rial, <i>American Scientist</i></b><br /><br />"A superlative account of a complex topic . . . It is refreshingly straightforward to read, often humorous, yet still deadly serious, complete with anecdotes and understandable explanations of complex processes." (<i>Choice</i>)<br /><br />"Books in which scientists write about their professional experience and describe in lay terms the stuff that makes them excited about science rarely disappoint. Richard Alley's <i>The Two Mile Time Machine</i> is no exception. It describes a fascinating journey into the geologic past and the history of the Earth's climate. . . . Alley ends his entertaining book by polishing his crystal ball, envisioning what the future climate will be, and what we might do about it."<b>---J.A. Rial, <i>American Scientist</i></b><br /><br />"[A] superb book. . . . Alley demonstrates that the scientific understanding of climate is both a lot more complex, and a lot simpler, than public perceptions might indicate. . . .<i>The Two-Mile Time Machine</i> restores some of the joy of discovery that has always been present in scientific work, but is often lost amidst today's furious research pace and compressed news cycles."<b>---Cathering H. Crouch, <i>Books and Culture</i></b>
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  Also by Richard B . Alley
  
  
  The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change,
  
  
  and Our Future
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  EARTH
  
  
  The Operators’ Manual
  
  
  ![301.jpg](images/301_fmt.jpeg)
  
  
  Richard B. Alley
  
  
  ![missing image file](images/resized_logo_fmt.jpeg)
  
  
  W. W. Norton & Company
  
  
  New York • London
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2011 by Richard B. Alley, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles, and Erna
  Akuginow
  
  
  All rights reserved
  
  
  Printed in the United States of America
  
  
  First Edition
  
  
  For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book,
  
  
  write to Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.,
  
  
  500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110
  
  
  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
  
  
  W. W. Norton Special Sales at specialsales@wwnorton.com or 800-233-4830
  
  
  Manufacturing by RR Donnelley, Harrisonburg, VA
  
  
  Book design by Chris Welch
  
  
  Produc