Earth: An Intimate History (2004)

signed by author, sept 2008

A review of geology, in the light of plate tectonics, very readable since it also recounts Fortey’s travels to visit pertinent geological sites, starting with the bay of Naples, and Vesuvius, to discuss volcanoes. The travel continues to Hawaii, then to the oceans, and on to the Alps, to illustrate the movement of the plates, and , to highlight the formation of mountain chains (orogeny is the word for formation of mountain chains). He discusses mineral and ore formation, ancient rocks and fossills, the workings of the mantle and continental crust, all topics introduced smoothly by his visit to a illustrative locale. The travel for the research of this book must have been very interesting, and Fortey’s chatty and relaxed style makes reading pleasurable. ( )

I can't recommend this highly enough as an introductory geology book. The writing is very clear and entertaining, being written almost like a travel guide as Fortey trots around the globe, using specific examples to illustrate general processes. The amount of science sneaks up on you, though, and you might not realize just how much geology you are actually learning. One of the other reviews mentions that the very early parts are a bit overwhelming. Fortey describes at length the different rocks around Naples, and Mt. Vesuvius, which kinds of drones on a bit. What he is doing though is showing how the local stone is used in building, how it blends into the scenery. My impression is that both he and the reader are preparing to dive into some cold water. After a few moments (or pages) it isn't all that bad in the end, and the swimming can begin in earnest. Outstanding science writing.

Hopefully I'm being neutral here as I'm a geology major, but this is a rare book that honeys up the science to make it seem pretty easy. ( )

9

There are many things I like about this book. One is just the subject matter. I like to read about the inner workings of the earth, volcanoes, plate tectonics, the forming and breakup of super continents. Fortey does a good job of explaining current theory and telling about what it is based upon, as well as relating the history of thought about geological matters. it was written in 2004, so it should be fairly up to date, and if you are interested in the subject at all I would recommend it. The explanation of the large theories is good.

No so good is - there is a chart of the ages - Cambrian, etc. at the back. Unfortunately, I didn't notice til almost the end, and it would have been helpful if he had given a brief explanation every so often of when an age occurred, or referred to the chart. There is a lot of description of rocks occurring in layers, that would have been more useful to me had I known more about them. (Basically I know there are sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic) But for the most part I was content to skip over details to get the large picture. Only, towards the end I got a bit impatient with it.

I feel like I want to do a bit of studying, and then come back to this some time. ( )