The taste of fresh berries, the quiet cadence of waves lapping a lakeshore, the song of an owl in the night, the glory of a sunset: so many details manifest the reality that Earth is not merely the place where we are, but that it is truly - and is meant to be - our home. Most modern scientists dismiss this notion, arguing instead that Earth is actually a cosmic accident, the mystifying result of millions of years of random events. In this work of basic science written for nonspecialists, scientist Gerard Verschuuren confronts those men and women on their own territory-force for force, atom for atom, cell for cell, and even planet for planet. With clear, well-documented explanations, he shows that the latest findings of modern cosmology, physics, chemistry, geology, and other sciences have recently discovered indisputable patterns in the structures of matter and energy that drove the universe inexorably toward formation of the Earth as what we experience it to be: our secure, exceptional, and singularly welcoming home. In these pages, you'll learn: Why the universe is so old . and so vast!, Earth's unique chemical and geological haracteristics that make it hospitable for mankind, How volcanism, mass extinctions, and even changes in the Earth's orbit prepared the way for mankind, Evidence that evolutionary changes are not, as the theists claim, random, How science presupposes the existence of God - without even realizing it!, The limitations of the scientific method-and how those limitations trip up scientists, The errors of Stephen Hawking and other popular cosmologists, Evidence that we live in a purpose-driven world (and why science is blind to it), And much more! Book jacket.