Many times through deep history Earth’s magnetic poles have switched places, leaving our planet’s protective shield weaker and life vulnerable to devastating solar storms. The last time it happened was 780,000 years ago, long before humans emerged, but it won’t be long until it happens again.

And when it does, will it send us back to the Stone Age?

The Spinning Magnet is a fascinating insight into what may lie ahead.

From the pivotal discoveries of Victorian scientists to the possibility of solar radiation wiping out power grids, and the secrets of electromagnetism, Alanna Mitchell reveals the truth behind one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

North is north and south is south. Or is it?

Without electromagnetism, life on Earth would not be possible. The quest to understand it began with the idea that the magnet was a physical embodiment of the heavens, possessing as it did its own North and South poles. Could the discovery that, every once in a long while, the Earth’s magnetic poles switch places, significantly weakening the field’s protective power, be its end? It’s never happened in the history of humankind, but it has happened many times before and it will happen again…

Alanna Mitchell travels the world to unveil the history of this enigmatic force, introducing the enchanting figures whose investigations into magnetism began in the thirteenth century and revealing how later scientists made their pivotal discoveries. The Spinning Magnet is a warning of a future where solar radiation storms wipe out power grids and electronic communications, but it is also a beautifully crafted narrative of one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

We have long lorded over the ocean. But only recently have we become aware of the myriad life-forms beneath its waves. We now know that this delicate ecosystem is our life-support system; it regulates the earth's temperatures and climate and comprises 99 percent of living space on earth. So when we change the chemistry of the whole ocean system, as we are now, life as we know it is threatened.
In "Seasick, "veteran science journalist Alanna Mitchell dives beneath the surface of the world's oceans to give readers a sense of how this watery realm can be managed and preserved, and with it life on earth. Each chapter features a different group of researchers who introduce readers to the importance of ocean currents, the building of coral structures, or the effects of acidification. With Mitchell at the helm, readers submerge 3,000 feet to gather sea sponges that may contribute to cancer care, see firsthand the lava lamp-like dead zone covering 17,000 square kilometers in the Gulf of Mexico, and witness the simultaneous spawning of corals under a full moon in Panama.
The first book to look at the planetary environmental crisis through the lens of the global ocean, "Seasick "takes the reader on an emotional journey through a hidden realm of the planet and urges conservation and reverence for the fount from which all life on earth sprang.