Hallam, A. 1933–

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Hallam, A. 1933–

(Anthony Hallam)

PERSONAL: Born 1933. Education: Cambridge University, M.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon St., Oxford OX2 6DP, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Paleontologist. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, lecturer, 1958–67; University of Oxford, Oxford, England, lecturer and New College fellow, 1967–77, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England, Lapworth Professor, 1977–99, professor emeritus, 1999–.

MEMBER: International Palaeontological Association, Palaeontological Association (former president), Systematics Association.

WRITINGS:

(With others) Cyclic Sedimentation ("Developments in Sedimentology" series), Elsevier Scientific Publishing (New York, NY), 1967.

A Revolution in the Earth Sciences: From Continental Drift to Plate Tectonics, Clarendon Press (Oxford, England), 1973.

(Editor) Atlas of Palaeobiogeography, Elsevier Scientific Publishing (New York, NY), 1973.

Jurassic Environments, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1975.

(Editor, with others) Planet Earth: An Encyclopedia of Geology, Elsevier Phaidon (Oxford, England), 1977.

(Editor) Patterns of Evolution As Illustrated by the Fossil Record, Elsevier Scientific Publishing (New York, NY), 1977.

Facies Interpretation and the Stratigraphic Record, W.H. Freeman (San Francisco, CA), 1981.

Great Geological Controversies ("Oxford Science Publications" series), Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1983, 2nd edition, 1989.

(Editor, with R.J. Berry) The Encyclopedia of Animal Evolution, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1987.

(Editor, with M.G. Audley-Charles) Gondwana and Tethys ("Geological Society Special Publications" series), Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1988.

(Editor, with W.G. Chaloner) Evolution and Extinction: Proceedings of a Joint Symposium of the Royal Society and the Linnean Society Held on 9 and 10 November 1989, Royal Society (London, England), 1989.

(With others) Historical Geology and Palaeontology: Report to the Research Council, Swedish Natural Science Research Council (Stockholm, Sweden), 1989.

Phanerozoic Sea-Level Changes ("Perspectives in Paleobiology and Earth History" series), Columbia University Press (New York, NY), 1992.

An Outline of Phanerozoic Biogeography ("Oxford Biogeography" series), Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1994.

(With P.B. Wignall) Mass Extinctions and Their Aftermath, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities: The Causes of Mass Extinctions, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: A. Hallam is a paleontologist and retired university professor. He is also the author and editor of many scholarly volumes, including Phanerozoic Sea-Level Changes, in which he studies the changes in sea levels over a range of periods. Edward Winterer wrote in Science that "causes of sea-level changes are given critical and well-balanced treatment. Tectono-eustasy, glacio-eustasy, ground-water storage, basin desiccation, and geoidal changes each receive a brief hearing…. No one is more qualified to review the evidence, effects, and causes of Phanerozoic sea-level fluctuations, and Hallam meets our expectations."

With Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities: The Causes of Mass Extinctions, Hallam provides a study written for a general audience that discusses the five great mass extinctions of species that have been identified by scientists as having occurred since the rise of life on the planet five hundred million years ago. He identifies those causes that have had the largest impact, including volcanic activity, tectonic plate shifts, rising sea temperatures, and anoxic (without oxygen) oceans. He considers why a collision with a heavenly body during the Cretaceous period would kill off the dinosaurs but not the ancestors of crocodiles.

Tim Radford wrote in a review for the London Guardian that "Tony Hallam's little book of prehistoric horrors is for people who ask the big, vexing questions: how do you know, and what makes you so sure?" Quarterly Review of Biology contributor David J. Bottjer described as "intriguing" Hallam's concluding discussion on how we can use the information we have gleaned from studying the mass extinctions to study and control contemporary extinctions being caused by humans. Additionally, Matt Cartmill, writing in the Times Literary Supplement, called Catastrophes and Lesser Calamities a "compelling book."