Annals of the Former World

Staggering, and almost staggeringly long. Turns out this is a McPhee masterwork, as he complements his profound knowledge of geology by criss-crossing the United States in the company of assorted eminent geologists, figuring out how the continent came to be the way it is now. Particularly enjoyed the chapter about how California has been formed by island chains running up against the continent, and how the faults at the joins allowed the gold to dissolve out and get deposited, eventually leading to the rush of the mid 1800's which kept the Union afloat during the civil war.

The strongest impression I am left with is the staggering part - the vast scales of geological time which can push up vast mountain ranges, have them worn down by show more rain and wind and ice, creating yet new landscapes from the immense quantities of runoff, and all of this be just a minor episode in the grand scheme of things. show less

Geology is one of those parts of my life I've always had curiosity about, but never took the time to explore. I'm both an animist and love backpacking off trail in wilderness areas. These two arenas have had me at least meditating on geology, if not formally studying the subject.

For awhile now I've been looking for a geological history of New England. Last year a friend recommend a book—the only Pulitzer-Prize-winning book on geology—this text.

It is long! It took me about a year to get through. It is a compilation of five parts, written across twenty years of research, and published together in 1998. The book is mostly about the continental United States. Here's the basic outline:

Book 1: Basin and Range—Nevada and Utah, with show more geologist Clarence King

Book 2: In Suspect Terrain—Appalachians, with geologist Anita Harris

Book 3: Rising from the Plains—Wyoming, with geologist David Love

Book 4: Assembling California—California, with geologist Eldridge Moores

Book 5: Crossing the Craton—Midwest (essay-length)

To help the narrative along, in each book McPhee accompanies an accomplished geologist, both telling their life story, and getting into detail about the landscapes the love.

One unfortunate artifact in the book is that McPhee began writing when plate tectonics was a relatively new and somewhat controversial theory (when nowadays it is taken for granted). This creates a few unnecessary diversions.

At times, the book becomes quite technical. I can't say that I understood everything that McPhee shared about geology. That said, the reading was still enjoyable the whole way through, and I'd rather have a book that is over my head and enjoyable than one that is dumbed down. If anything, it inspires me to dig in more deeply to geology!

If you're looking for a thorough introduction to the geology of the United States, you've found it! show less

Like a long hard hike, but so well worth it. John Mc Phee does his very best to keep you engaged with a description of US geology adjacent to I-80. Your mind is stretched by the staggering time scale and the effort to imagine geologic processes in four dimensions. You need to plough on over some of the technical geologic terminology but it does not detract from the book.
The human element is provided by the geologists who accompany McPhee. These people are as fascinating as the subject they love. Their devotion to geology is illustrated in a tribute to Dr. David Love, from pioneer stock in Wyoming, who became a legend in his science.
The Fourth Book, "Assembling California" resonates here in New Zealand with our gold rush of the 1860's show more and the presence of the Alpine Fault. The accounts from the Loma Prieta Earthquake (1989) make sobering reading.
You feel as if you've achieved something worthwhile when you come to the end. show less

Forget your textbooks, this is the best intro to geology you will find. Readable, informative, enlightening... I love how he attacks geology, not as a lesson, but through geologists. This is wonderful because geology is such a frustrating science, where newer ideas constantly make the ideas of older great geologists irrelevant. Even in this book, one geologist is uncomfortable with plate tectonics (well, I mean they don't think it's totally correct as currently laid out) partially based on the ideas they carried over from before plate tectonics was generally accepted. Anyway, the point is, geology as just given facts can be quite dull (unless you are actually looking at the rocks!). Geology as a composition of keen observations in a show more battle to interpret the poor rock record is fascinating. show less

McPhee Travels Interstate 80 from the east to the west coast accompanied by a succession of experts in the geology of the regions along the way. He writes in a chatty and engaging style for a book about geology. It reads like a travelogue of an intelligent fellow and good writer curious to find out what he can about the landmass of the United States without too much technicality.

The author leavens the science with just the right amount of associated information: backgrounds and anecdotes about the various geologists (all are interesting), histories of geological discoveries, and human history as related to local geological features.

Jargon is avoided. The author names dozens of minerals (out of about 4,000 yet discovered on earth) he show more comes across but details only the few most important. He takes you on many side trips off the interstate and to other places in the world where the formations and processes there shed light on what we find here.

The book seems organized as well as possible for portraying such a messy science: the earth's crust has been churned for four billion years, and in different ways, times and depths for each region. What amazes is that so much has been discovered and understood.

This is not a book for anyone without some interest in geology. Conversely, I believe most geologists would read it with interest and learn something.

The few simple maps and diagrams are useful, and more would have been welcome. Scales of mileage would have been helpful.

It took a while to read this, yet I was sorry that it had to end. show less

What a splendid way to learn some geology! I have driven I-80 across most of the USA so much of the landscape discussed here is quite familiar to me. But I sure learned a lot about the processes that brought that landscape into being!

It was a great help that all the geological ages - Devonian etc. - are mapped out on the end papers. But I gave up looking for them and just let the detailed chronologies wash over me. I may not become a geologist in this life! There is an awful lot of information in this book. Could it have been better with fewer details and more structure? In a way though part of the book is about what geologists don't know. Sometimes the data fit the theory quite nicely. Sometimes there is a fair amount of show more interpretation and story-telling required to see how the theory can plausibly explain the data. Sometimes it's quite a stretch. And sometimes the data is just thumbing its nose at the poor scientist. The deluge of information that McPhee presents helps show the problem of the scientist trying to make sense of all that. show less

Have carted this tome through several moves across the country. Finally cracked it open, and it didn't disappoint.

A geological transect of the US, following I-80 roughly east to west. McPhee does a fantastic job imparting just home much time is involved, our conception of any map or the present is that it is just a moment that probably won't be recorded in the rocks.

Hopefully my I-80 days are behind me, would love a more in depth look up here in Cascadia.