The author is a geologist and popular writer, and gives a popular account of the cosmic impact hazard from the viewpoint of a geologist.

Chapter headings are:

1 Birth of the Solar System
2 A Planet Called Earth
3 Seeds of Life from Space
4 Collisions of the Past
5 Consequences of Collision
6 Death Star and Planet X
7 Search for the Craters
8 Meteors and Comets
9 Exploring and Mining Asteroids
10 Collision Avoidance

These are followed by a glossary, bibliography and index.