Earth: An Intimate History

Richard Fortey succeeds in painting a portrait of the entire Earth using descriptions of key geological features around the world explaining the origins of those geological features in terms of plate tectonics. As a measure of his success, this reader truly got a sense of the Earth in motion and developed a new understanding of geology. Some of the areas he describes include, the Alps, Vesuvius, Newfoundland, the Silver mines of Czechia,, northern Scotland, the Oceans, and deserts. For his last chapter, he takes a birds-eye view of the entire planet reviewing the areas he had discussed in previous chapters.

Fortey has a beautiful prose style that aids understanding. The success of the book is a result of the structure he chose. Each of show more his chapters focuses on a specific area that he then walks you through pointing out the geological features and often includes antidotes about his own explorations in those areas. For example, his chapter on the Alps tells the story of the Alps by describing a short trip he took starting in Switzerland's Sernft Valley where he encounters evidence of the African plates collision with Europe. He then explains how early geologists first began analyzing the geology of each region and the evolution of their theories about what caused those geological features. He also includes the debates that occurred between geologists and explains that tools they used for gathering evidence.

The book is not an easy read and a full appreciation would require a good understanding of geology and geography. Nevertheless, a non-expert was still able to understand a follow most of the book. The one thing the book is missing is a big finger that could point out what is being described as you are reading the text. show less

This is a popular science book that attempts to cover as much as possible about geology, including its historical development, a huge variety of its aspects of study, and, almost, a global summary of the Earths geology. In a sense, Fortey tries to follow in the footsteps of few famous world geological summaries of the past, but, he is doing it for a wide audience. To make it work, Fortey tries to write it as a tour. It's a terrific effort.

His tour includes wonderful parts on the evolution of geological theories on mountain building, plate tectonics, the Alps and the Appalachian-Caledonian chain; a 40 page summary of the geology around the world. He also covers Pompeii, Hawaii, Newfoundland, Scotland, Norway, India's Decan Flats, the San show more Adreas Fault, and endless topics such as valuable metals, igneous rocks, radiometric dating, ancient gneisses, the deep earth, etc. From my point of view, with a geology degree, Fortey was a great find. He provides a stepping stone to so many mysteries.

Fortey writes with a mixture of awe and facts. His language is accessible. To his credit, despite the popular tone, he seems to take very seriously getting the facts correct, at least as far as I could tell. But, it's a dense book full of details. If he doesn't capture you early in a chapter, then it's tough to read through. How accessible is this book for someone without a geology education? I'm not sure. Despite the nice language, readers may still drown in the geologic terms and the endless details. Certainly, it will be slow going.

I think it’s interesting to compare this to John Mcphee's "Annals of the Former World" (Pulitzer Prize, 1998) which, although it focuses on US geology, serves the same sort of purpose as an introduction to geology. "Annals" was immensely successful, both interesting and accessible to anyone. Mcphee created this collection by writing about people, working geologists. So, he avoids the details and lets the subject guide what is covered and what isn't. In other words, Mcphee is essentially a journalist, a nonfiction writer who wrote about geology. He captures the reader first, and gives the facts later, albeit only a sampling of facts

Fortey, on the other hand, is a professional paleontologist who writes. He writes very well, and geologically his book is so much richer than Mcphee’s books. He brings in his own valuable experiences, and he undresses the world in a way Mcphee never does. But, Fortey's book isn't as successful, it's a tough read and, while he can certainly grab you, he doesn't always.

One nice thing about this book is you don’t need to read it all the way through. I think a reader can pick up a chapter anywhere and get along. Each chapter has a nice intro and interesting, thoughtful conclusion. My favorite is this conclusion to the plate tectonics chapter: "Mankind is no more than a parasitic tick gorging himself on temporary plenty while the seas are low and climate comparatively clement. But the present arrangement of land and sea will change, and with it our brief supremacy. show less

"An awesome vista of geological time suddenly opens up before us, a vision of age after age of mountain-building, of continents remaking themselves, stretching far back into the distant reaches of the Precambrian. It should provoke a sense of our own insignificance, but it also stimulates a sense of wonder that we, alone among organisms, have been privileged to see these vanished worlds, and challenged to understand the immensity of time. A sudden squall makes us shiver, and turn up our collars."

This book is a delight. I chose it nearly at random, looking for a new popular science book -- I have no background in geology. Now I'm interested, where I wasn't before. Like the best popular science, it opens the layperson's eyes to a better show more understanding of the world, and gives one a glimpse of what it must be like to really know its particular field well.

Fortey is obviously trying to appeal to a broad readership, and I think he nearly succeeds. He takes pains, for instance, to explain that scientists whose ideas turned out to be wrong were not necessarily any less wise or important than those whose ideas turned out to be right. (Anyone who understands the scientific method shouldn't need to learn that lesson.) He's very good at incorporating human touches to the course of scientific history, both his own and others', and the book is surprisingly easy reading considering the amount of detail. Yet I suspect the subject matter is probably too dry for most, despite his efforts.

The chapters are organised by theme -- volcanoes, mountains, minerals, continents, etc. This works well, and means that the early chapters aren't just about old, discredited theories. It would probably be possible to dip in and out of the book without getting too lost.

The only criticism I would level is that his attempts to convey the "immensity of time" get him into trouble. What is described in one chapter as ever-changing, in slow but inevitable flux, is described in the next as permanent, eternal. Fortey's enthusiasm occasionally runs away with him, and he gets a bit self-contradictory.

This is only in regard to our perceptions of things, however. On the science itself, he is (so far as I can tell) rigorous, and he is certainly accessible. A great book. show less

Quite a climb! 500 pages of stuff I don't know. Very clear and human account including subtle displays of his literary savvy and personal anecdotes. but the terminology is a challenge for a beginner. Things I've heard of but only have a vague idea about, like gneiss or shale; others completely new to me like
beryllium or olivine. Anecdotes include both his own experiences and tales of the discoveries and disputes between the great geologists; these open the window quite a bit. The literary touches include lots of phrases that echo or subtly quote the greats of English lit (" the whirligig of deep time", "the heart of darkness of the ancient continent", )actual quote. Her and there an actual quote from a Lawrence or an Eliot, and more show more important flights of elegant prose of his own creation. All goes to make a tough read manageable to the neophyte. show less

Interesting. It covered basic geology, focusing on plate tectonics (of course) and on how the theory was developed - who discovered things that lead to the theory, who fought the concept (and the concepts that led to it) - interestingly, those are often the same people. He does it by looking at individual spots, some relatively small (Etna), some rather huge (the Alps, as a whole and several spots within them); showing the kinds of rocks that are there and then covering the _why_ of those rocks in that spot. There are frequent, somewhat disconcerting, personal side comments - "these rocks are interesting because I shared an office with a guy who was studying them" sort of thing. But this book doesn't suffer from the gossip that made Dry show more Storeroom No. 1 less than interesting to me. I do know quite a bit of geology, and he gave me few facts I wasn't already familiar with - but his presentation fit them together in ways they hadn't been before. It's a quite readable book, aside from what you might (will) learn from it. There's quite a bit of the history of the science - as I said above, who discovered what and what theories that led to, and then the next steps along the path. He does say, several times, that plate tectonics is still a concept under development - that it exists and has major effects on the structure of the Earth is solid, but details like what drives the motion, exactly what happens when plates are subducted (pushed down into the mantle, where - eventually - they melt), what the core of the Earth actually consists of (at the molecular level)...these are still being worked out. I don't think that's changed much in the last 10 or so years, since this book was published. Good book, worth reading, and probably worth rereading in a few years. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Richard Fortey is a great science writer. This one starts a bit slow, but gets better and better as you read on - so don't give up in the first two chapters! It is very entertaining and on the way you get a crash course in 101 Geology (or maybe 202?).