Claudio Vita-Finzi was born in Australia and educated in Argentina and the UK, with BA, PhD and ScD degrees from Cambridge University. He has taught Earth and planetary sciences at University College London for many years and is now a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum, London. He has been a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1991, received the GK Warren Prize of the US Academy of Sciences in 1994 and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2012. He has published numerous papers on geology and planetary science and several books including Planetary Geology (Terra 2005), The Sun – a User’s Guide (Springer 2008) and Solar History, an Introduction (Springer 2012).

"It's a collection of analyses of our grand backyard from a variety of perspectives and it offers great value to the reader. ... The text is heavily referenced with 20-30 for each of the 8 chapters. A sprinkling of pictures and illustrations amplify its explanations. ... Claudio Vita-Finzi's book 'A History of the Solar System' is a great place to get ideas and capture some of excitement of the vivacity of our life." (Mark Mortimer, Universe Today, universetoday.com, October, 2016)

• Introduction.- Solar systems.- Raw materials.- Assembly.- Differentiation.- Operation.- The emergence of life.- Adjustments and disruptions.- Cumulative change.- Contemporary developments.

Claudio Vita-Finzi was born in Australia and educated in Argentina and the UK, with BA, PhD and ScD degrees from Cambridge University. He has taught Earth and planetary sciences at University College London for many years and is now a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum, London. He has been a member of the American Philosophical Society since 1991, received the GK Warren Prize of the US Academy of Sciences in 1994 and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2012. He has published numerous papers on geology and planetary science and several books including Planetary Geology (Terra 2005), The Sun – a User’s Guide (Springer 2008) and Solar History, an Introduction (Springer 2012).

"It's a collection of analyses of our grand backyard from a variety of perspectives and it offers great value to the reader. ... The text is heavily referenced with 20-30 for each of the 8 chapters. A sprinkling of pictures and illustrations amplify its explanations. ... Claudio Vita-Finzi's book 'A History of the Solar System' is a great place to get ideas and capture some of excitement of the vivacity of our life." (Mark Mortimer, Universe Today, universetoday.com, October, 2016)

• Introduction.- Solar systems.- Raw materials.- Assembly.- Differentiation.- Operation.- The emergence of life.- Adjustments and disruptions.- Cumulative change.- Contemporary developments.