GREAT BOOKS

Alvarez, Walter, T. Rex and the Crater of Doom

Barry, John M., Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America

Bolles, Edmund B., The Ice Finders: How a Poet, a Professor, and a Politician Discovered the Ice Age

Bruce, Victoria, No Apparent Danger : The True Story of a Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz

Campbell, C. J., The Coming Oil Crisis

Castleden, Rodney, Atlantis Destroyed

Chaikin, Andrew, A Man on the Moon

Colbert, Edwin H., Evolution of the Vertebrates

Cutler, Alan, 2003, The Seashell on the Mountaintop

Decker, Robert and Decker, Barbara, Volcanoes: In America’s National Parks

Deffeyes, Kenneth S., 2001, Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage: Princeton University Press, 208 p.

Deffeyes, Kenneth S., 2005, Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak: Hill and Wang Publishers, 202 p.

Diamond, Jared, The Third Chimpanzee

Fagan, Brian, 2000, The Little Ice Age   

Egan, Timothy, 2006, The Worst Hard Time  

Faul, Henry and Faul, Carol, It Began With a Stone: a History of Geology from the Stone Age to Plate Tectonics

Fisher, Richard, Out of the Crater: Chronicles of a Volcanologist

Fisher, Richard V., Heiden, Grant, and Hulen, Jeffrey B., 1997, Volcanoes, Crucibles of Change

Fradkin, Peter L., The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906 - How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself

Freese, Barbara, 2003, Coal, A Human History

Frolick, Vernon, Fire into Ice: Charles Fipke and the Great Diamond Hunt

Gohau, Gabriel, A History of Geology

Gould, Stephen Jay, Wonderful Life

Gumprecht, Blake, The Los Angeles River

Hallam, A., Great Geological Controversies

Hsu, Ken, The Great Dying

Imbrie, John and Imbrie, Katherine P., Ice Ages: Solving the Mystery

Johanson, Donald, Ancestors: In Search of Human Origins

Keay, John, The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India was Mapped and Everest was Named

King, Clarence, Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada

Kurlansky, Mark, Salt: A World History

Larson, Erik, Isaac’s Storm

Lewis, Cherry, The Dating Game – One Man’s Search for the Age of the Earth

McCullough , David, The Johnstown Flood

McGowan, Christopher, Dinosaurs, Spitfires and Sea Dragons

McIntyre, Donald B., and McKirdy, Allan, James Hutton: The Founder of Modern Geology

McPhee, John, Irons in the Fire

McPhee, John, Control of Nature

McPhee, John, Basin and Range

McPhee, John, Assembling California

Moore, James, Exploring the Highest Sierra

Moorehead, Alan, Darwin and the Beagle

Norton, O. Richard, Rocks from Space

Oreskes, Naomi, The Rejection of Continental Drift

Outland, Charles, Manmade Disaster: The Story of the St. Francis Dam

Pearce, Fred, When the Rivers Run Dry: Water – The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century

Powell, James, Night Comes to the Cretaceous

Reisner, Marc, Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water

Repcheck, Jack, The Man Who Found Time

Rifkin, Jeremy, Entropy - Into the Greenhouse World

Ryan, William and Pitman, Walter, Noah's Flood: New Scientific Discoveries about the Event that Changed History

Sieh, Kerry and Le Vay, Simon, Earth in Turmoil

Sigurdsson, Haraldur, Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions

Sigurdsson, Haraldur, Encyclopedia of Volcanoes

Sobel, Dava,  Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

Spinar, Zdenek V., Life Before Man

Stegner, Wallace, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian

Steingrimsson, Jon, Fires of the Earth

Stone, Irving, The Origin: A Biographical Novel of Charles Darwin

Thomas, Gordon, and Witts, Max, Earthquake: The Destruction of San Francisco

Thomas, Gordon, and Witts, Max, The Day the World Ended

Thompson, Dick, Volcano Cowboys

Weinberg, Samantha, A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth

Wilford, John Noble, 2000, The Mapmakers, Vintage Books, 508 p.

Wilhelms, Don E., To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist’s History of Lunar Exploration

Wilkins, Thurman, Clarence King: a Biography

Williams, Stanley, and Montaigne, Fen, Surviving Galeras

Winchester, Simon, The Map that Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology

Winchester, Simon, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded

Worster, Donald, 2001, A River Running West, The Life of John  Wesley Powell          

Young, Davis A., Mind Over Magma: The Story of Igneous Petrology

Youngquist, Walter, Over the Hill and Down the Creek

Alvarez, Walter, 1998, T. Rex and the Crater of Doom:

Vintage Books, 208 p.
     The extinction of the dinosaurs has been hotly debated during the last 20 years and a resolution may have been achieved. Critical discoveries arose from the fieldwork of Walter Alvarez on the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary in Italy. Walter's interpretations and explanations developed with the help of his Nobel Prize winning physicist father, Luis, were initially ridiculed but have now won widespread acceptance.
     Walter's book explains the chronology of events in a very readable fashion -- much less academic than the style of Stephen Gould and others. Its a story that tells how father and son found a way to work together, despite very different professions. It also shows how different disciplines strive toward a common goal across international borders.
     Alvarez describes the rapid accumulation of data to support his theory. It's interesting to see where they might have been sidetracked or made critical mistakes, were it not for good scientific practice.
     Cal State LA alumna, Adriana Ocampo (BS, 1984), appears in this book. Check it out!

Barry, John M., 1997, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood

of 1927 and How it Changed America: Simon & Schuster, 524 p.
     The magnitude of this flood is beyond the imagination of most Americans. Rain fell in unbelievable quantities for week after week. Barry brilliantly captures the panic and desperation that resulted from what may be America's worst natural disaster. Mining engineer-geologist Herbert Hoover was Secretary of Commerce at the time; his efforts as head coordinator of all rescue and relief efforts first brought him clearly to the attention of the American public.

Bolles, Edmund B., 1999, The Ice Finders: How a Poet, a

Professor, and a Politician Discovered the Ice Age: Counterpoint, 254 p.
          This absolutely delightful book recounts the 19th century clash of Louis Agassiz, the Swiss professor who conceived of the Ice Ages, Charles Lyell, the century's most influential geologist, and Elisha Kent Kane, poet and arctic explorer. The story moves with complete ease from the enthusiastic research of Agassiz to the intellectual resistance of Lyell or the arctic tribulations of Kane. A must read.

Bruce, Victoria, 2001, No Apparent Danger : The True Story of a Volcanic Disaster at Galeras and Nevado Del Ruiz: Harper Collins, 256 p.

The fight currently raging within the volcanological community, sketched by the discrepancies between Bruce's work and Stanley Williams and Fen Montaigne's Surviving Galeras (see review under Williams) concerns what is known about predicting eruptions, and particularly about Galeras when it blew, and why nine people died in that eruption.  In Bruce's harrowing depiction of the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz eruption, which killed 23,000 people, scientists and survivors describe bureaucratic foolishness, scientific discovery and human strife. In her presentation of the 1993 eruption of Galeras, another Colombian volcano, numerous interviews illuminate further human folly, and particularly Williams's pariah status among geologists. Seismologist Bernard Chouet's testimony discredits Williams's assertion that there was no warning of the eruption. Previously, Chouet had successfully predicted two eruptions from seismographic patterns also visible when Galeras erupted. While Williams says this was never brought to his attention, Bruce notes that leading a team into an active volcano without checking available data hardly seems responsible scientific practice. Chouet claims he presented his prediction technique, with Williams present, in 1991. Further, expedition members contend that, despite Galeras's signs of activity, Williams ignored advice to shorten the visit. One survivor says Williams took no safety precautions and mocked his colleagues who wore hard hats. Scientist and journalist Bruce traces the fascinating recent history of Colombian volcanoes and the scientific community's politics, wherein intellectual property generates fame and near-fortune, in an insightful, spellbinding account.

Campbell, C. J., 1998, The Coming Oil Crisis: Multi-Science

Publishing Company, 210 p.
          Giant oil fields are no longer being discovered. Oil production reached its peak in the United States in 1970. Over half of the world's conventional oil is now gone. What does it mean? Get the scoop from a man who has broad experience in the petroleum business. Highly readable, almost conversational, and very informative.

Castleden, Rodney, 1998, Atlantis Destroyed: Routledge, 225 p.

          A very readable history of the scientific investigations of the eruptions of Thera volcano in the eastern Mediterranean. The volcanic island, called Santorini (St. Irene), is about 60 miles north of Crete. Regional effects of the major explosive eruption (circa 1522 B.C.) including tsunami, distribution of ash, and the burial of Akrotiri, a local town with Minoan culture, are described. The island's destruction may be the basis for the legend of Atlantis.

Chaikin, Andrew, 1994, A Man on the Moon: Viking, 670 p.

           This is the giant towering above the many books published in the 1990's to commemorate the Apollo Project. Chaikin puts you on a rocket and sends you to the Moon. Go with him. It's a great ride.

Colbert, Edwin H., 1991, Evolution of the Vertebrates: 4th

edition, John Wiley and Sons, 470 p. (third edition usually is available in libraries)
           The title sounds intimidating, but this is a great book on the vertebrates, truly "the classic work". It reads easily. If some of the classifications or illustrations are too complicated, just skip them and continue on with the narrative. It's out of print but in great demand.

Cutler, Alan, 2003, The Seashell on the Mountaintop:             Dutton Publishing, 228 p.

           Nicolaus Steno is one of the most remarkable men in the history of science and deserves far more recognition than he has received.  Steno was Danish but lived much of his scientific life in the Tuscany region of Italy.  He was a darling of the Medici court and rose to a spectacular international reputation in science.  He was an expert anatomist who performed public dissections of numerous mammal species.  He has a rightful claim to be the founder of geology.  He developed three principles that are the foundation of stratigraphy: the principle of superposition, the principle of original horizontality, and the principle of lateral continuity.  Steno was staunchly pious and very active in the Catholic Church.  Steno became a bishop, committed himself to poverty and self-deprivation, and eventually lost his health because of his self-imposed life style.  He died in 1686 at the age of 48.  In 1988, 20,000 worshippers gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica where Pope John Paul II said a mass of beatification for Nicolaus Steno. 

Decker, Robert and Decker, Barbara, 2001, Volcanoes: In America’s National Parks: Odyssey Publications, 256 p.

Remarkably, 38 national parks and monuments include volcanoes.  The Deckers visited them all.  A brief chapter offers readers insights into the science of volcanoes.  Other chapters profile individual parks with glorious color photographs and informative historical overviews.  Included are the details of the volcanoes and other attractions of each park, maps, directions, lists of what visitors should bring, fees charged, and lodging and contact information.  A valuable resource for the geologist who wishes to travel the West. 

Deffeyes, Kenneth S., 2001, Hubbert's Peak: The Impending
         World Oil Shortage: Princeton University Press, 208 p.

          In 1956 M. King Hubbert predicted that peak oil production in the United States would occur in the early 1970's.  The actual peak production was achieved in 1970 and oil production has declined ever since.  Deffeyes discusses the importance of this event as well as the peak in world oil production.
          The origin of oil, oil reservoirs and traps, drilling methods, and the future of fossil fuels is presented in a conversational and informative fashion.  Alternative energy sources and the outlook for the future are examined in this informative and highly readable book.
         Also read Beyond Oil for a more comprehensive and up-to-date review of this topic. 

Deffeyes, Kenneth S., 2005, Beyond Oil: the View from
           Hubbert's Peak; Hill and Wang Publishers, 202 p.

          Ken Deffeyes chose Thanksgiving 2005 as World Oil Peak Day.  His thesis in this book is that we have moved beyond the point of maximum world oil production just as huge portions of the world population are striving for a standard of living that will require more resources.  Deffeyes regards this as a profound event that will lead to a very different future.
          Deffeyes argues that the next 5 to 10 years, as we transition to new energy sources, will be the most difficult.  Without attempting to be comprehensive, this book reviews some of the possibilities: natural gas, coal, tar sands, oil shale, uranium, and hydrogen.
         Beyond Oil concludes with a look to the future.  Deffeyes considers the environment, population control, future energy prices, public policy, and actions for you and me.  He concludes that we are facing a major realignment of the world economy.  Is anyone listening? 

Diamond, Jared, 1993, The Third Chimpanzee: 416 p.

          Jared diamond traces the evolution of modern Homo sapiens while posing thousands of fascinating questions. Why is there only one species of Homo but thousands of species of birds? What caused the Pleistocene extinction? What was North America like when humans first arrived? This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in human evolution and our common future.

Egan, Timothy, 2006, The Worst Hard Time: Mariner Books, 340 p.

          As pioneers moved west across North America and settled on ever drier lands, it was a common belief that “Rain flows the plow”.  John Wesley Powell, second director of the USGS and perhaps the greatest American scientist of the late 19^th century, denied this and clearly spelled out what would happen if the fertile sod of the prairie was broken: “In wet years the country is settled in great numbers, and at first the farmers are successful and highly prosperous: but when years of small rainfall occur, disaster comes, the crops burn up, the stock must be killed or sold, and often wives and children are without bread  . . . . In some portions of Kansas I have known districts of country to be settled three times and almost depopulated three times, and in each case, when the time of exodus came the sufferings of the people were heartrending.”  Powell was scorned for this warning. 

This is a book about the disaster that followed the incredible abuse of one of our most important geological resources - the soils of the American prairie.  The prairie sod across millions of acres of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas was plowed in the 1920.  The farmers were successful during the wet years of the 1920’s, but when the 1930’s came, their luck ran out.  What followed was the “Dirty ‘30”s  - years of dust storms, staggering soil erosion, drifting dunes of dust, homes buried in wind-blown soil, dust pneumonia, high infant mortality, premature death of adults, starvation, and poverty worse than anything previously seen in America.  Some of the dust storms were absolutely staggering in magnitude.  Egan, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, describes it all in vivid detail.  Read it and you will feel like you are on the scene living the lives of some of the people that the book follows. 

Fagan, Brian, 2000, The Little Ice Age: Basic Books, 246 p.

           Anyone who has been to Alaska’s Glacier Bay knows how different the climate was 200 years ago.  Glaciers, once at the mouth of the Bay, have retreated over 60 miles in the last two centuries.  From 1300 to 1850 the climate of the northern hemisphere was significantly colder and much less stable than it is today.  England produced more and better wine than France.  But Switzerland had advancing glaciers, damaged or destroyed villages, and great loss of farmland.  Long periods of rain in Europe and Britain resulted in fields that couldn’t be plowed and harvests that were complete failures.  Famine followed.  Severe cold made the bubonic plague of 1349 even worse.  Norse villages established during the Medieval warm period in western Greenland lost contact with Europe and were abandoned.  Fagan paints a fascinating picture of these times while frequently warning the reader against environmental determinism.  The Little Ice Age was a complicating factor, not a determining factor, for the momentous events described in this highly readable book.

Faul, Henry and Faul, Carol, 1983, It Began With a Stone:

a history of Geology from the Stone Age to Plate Tectonics: J. Wiley, 270 p.
          The title says it all. This is perhaps the best history of the science of geology.

Fisher, Richard, 1999, Out of the Crater: Chronicles of a

Volcanologist: Princeton University Press, 179 p.
           Visit many of the world's active volcanoes during the lifelong travels of a famous volcanologist. It's a nice armchair journey.

Fisher, Richard V., Heiden, Grant, and Hulen, Jeffrey B.,

1997, Volcanoes, Crucibles of Change: Princeton U. Press, 317 p.
           Everything you wanted to know about volcanoes, including all the different types of eruptions, volcanic hazards, and uses of volcanic materials. Almost all the famous volcanoes are discussed to some extent.

Fradkin, Peter L., The Great Earthquake and Firestorms of 1906 - How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself, 432 p.

         Six hundred and seventy books have been written about the San Franciso earthquake.  And now Fradkin has added another.  And Simon Winchester, author of Krakatoa, has added still another. Is there anything left to be said?  The Los Angeles Times thinks so - "The Great Earthquake proves an inspiring, even endearing, book, full of colorful anecdotes and charming details, encyclopedic in scope and powerfully evocative of San Francisco in its golden age."  Check it out.

Freese, Barbara,  Coal, 2003, Coal, A Human History:

           Penguin Books, 304 p.

          This fascinating book paints a vivid picture of the impact of coal on human development.  You will visit the most primitive mines imaginable and struggle with the people of England as coal is incorporated into their daily lives.  Coal sparked a human population explosion, triggered the Industrial Revolution, and created cities whose polluted air reduced sunlight intensity to the point that children suffered from rickets and soot-covered buildings looked like inverted mine shafts.  Coal consumption in the United States and China is now increasing even as coal is being linked more and more with global warming.  This captivating book is an easy read about an extraordinary substance. 

Frolick, Vernon, 1999, Fire into Ice: Charles Fipke and the

Great Diamond Hunt: Raincoast Books; Vancouver, 354 p.
           Think your field experiences have been rough? Join Canadian mining geologist Chuck Fipke as he explores the jungles of Papua New Guinea and confronts the most terrible conditions - snake and crocodile infested swamps, clouds of mosquitoes, cannibals, tribal war parties, and cerebral malaria. Chuck spends three years in New Guinea working for Kennecott before going on to Australia and South Africa. Chuck made major diamond discoveries in Canada and searched for minerals in many other parts of the world. His adventures will amaze you. Don't miss this quick read if the adventure of field geology interests you.

Gohau, Gabriel, 1990, A History of Geology: Rutgers, 259 p.

          This highly readable and concise book explains the history of geology from the ancient Greeks to plate tectonics. It is designed for the student and general reader. Highly enjoyable.

Gould, Stephen Jay, 1989, Wonderful Life: W. W. Norton

& Co., 347 p.
         Nature was experimenting when the Burgess Shale was being deposited and the result is an utterly bizarre collection of creatures many of which are beautifully preserved. No one could possibly describe the people and their complex intellectual struggle to understand the fossil remains better than Stephen Jay Gould.

Gumprecht, Blake, 1999, The Los Angeles River, The Johns

Hopkins University Press, 369 p.
         Cal State LA alumnus, Blake Gumprecht, traces the history of the Los Angeles River from its early days as a wild stream to its present condition as a concrete flood channel always emphasizing the river's important role in the historical development of Los Angeles City. Some readers will be surprised to discover that the Los Angeles River once entered the Pacific Ocean through Ballona Creek. Others will be amazed by the January storms of 1862 which left an estimated 50 inches of rain on Los Angeles. If you are interested in the natural setting and historical development of Los Angeles, don't miss this wonderful and highly readable book.

Hallam, A., 1983, Great Geological Controversies: Oxford    University Press, 182 p.

The big five are all here: (1) neptunists, vulcanists, and plutonists, (2) catastrophists and uniformitarians, (3) the ice age, (4) the age of the Earth, and (5) continental drift.  This short book provides an excellent background for the geologist who wants a deeper understanding of the history of the science.

Hsu, Ken, 1986, The Great Dying: Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich, 292 p.
           Basically a run-through the history of evidence accumulation and formulation of theories for the terminal Cretaceous extinction that radically changed the course of organic evolution.

Imbrie, John and Imbrie , Katherine P., 1979, Ice Ages:

Solving the Mystery, Enslow Publishers, 225 p.
           One of the best sources for the most interesting aspects of the Pleistocene epoch. It goes from the 19th century disputes during formulation of the glacial theory to the worldwide evidence for the timing and effects of multiple glaciations. Good account of the astronomical theory.

Johanson, Donald , 1994 , Ancestors: In Search of Human

Origins: Villard Books
           A good place to start if you are interested in the search for Hominoids in east Africa. Gives a lot of information on the early finds as well as recent discoveries. Not strictly geology but there's a lot of radioactive dating, volcanic ash, and stratigraphy involved in this work. Check out "Lucy's Daughter" by the same author.

Keay, John, 2001, The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India was Mapped and Everest was Named: Harper Perennial, 182 p.

          The title suggests to any have read their Everest history that this is another report on William Lambton’s Great Trigonometric Survey of India and the discovery of Earth’s highest mountain.  This short book has much more and it’s worth the read.  A 500 foot discrepancy between the astronomical measurement and the survey between two stations led to the discovery of isostasy, the root of continental crust beneath the Himalayas and a new understanding of the origin of Earth’s topography.  This is a gripping account of William Lambton and George Everest’s survey and its important contributions to science.

King, Clarence, 1872, Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada,

Various publishers
           One of the classics of frontier literature along with Roughing It by Mark Twain and stories by Bret Harte. Very colorful descriptions of people and places in early California. Vivid accounts of unaided ascents of Mt. Tyndal and Mt. Whitney in the southern Sierras, exploration and climbing in Yosemite and climbing in the Mt. Shasta region.

Kurlansky, Mark, 2002, Salt: A World History: Penguin Books, 484 p.

This book is definitely about salt, the only mineral that people eat on a regular basis.  This is a cookbook, history book, and geology book all in one.  Geology is definitely the third priority in this book but reading it will give you a deep impression of the profound impact that this important mineral has had on human history.  Salt was once one of the most sought after commodities on Earth.  People were paid in salt, thus the term salary.  Salt was used to preserve almost everything people ate.  Very few foods today resemble the form that they were in when preserved in salt; bacon, ham, and sauerkraut are among the few that have survived to this day.  This is an excellent read if you enjoy history and geology.

Larson, Erik, 1999, Isaac's Storm: Crown Publishers, 323 p.

          Join meteorologist Isaac Cline as a tremendously powerful hurricane bears down on Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900. Galveston, without a seawall, is completely unprepared and the results are dreadful - over 6,000 dead. Could Isaac have done a better job of preparing the public?

Lewis, Cherry, 2000, The Dating Game – One Man’s Search for the Age of the Earth: Cambridge University Press, 216 p.

Cherry Lewis tells the fascinating story of how the rocks of the Earth came to be dated and of the role played by the English geologist Arthur Holmes in the intellectual and practical struggle to do so. You do not need to know any science to appreciate the remarkable and protracted effort by Holmes and his colleagues to discover how to measure time in rocks. They were using the same principles as those of radiocarbon dating; namely, the radioactive decay of certain elements that naturally occur in rocks. At one time Holmes became a shopkeeper to earn enough money before being able to return to his research. And then money for research in Britain was in such short supply that Holmes had to make a special plea to the university authorities for 74 pounds and 8 shillings for an electronic calculator to help speed up his work.

McCullough , David, 1968, The Johnstown Flood: Simon

& Schuster, 302 p.

          The dam rose 72 feet from the valley floor and was 900 feet in length and was built with out the benefit of geologic advice. It created Lake Conemaugh high the mountains of central Pennsylvania, site of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, a retreat for industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. When the dam fell, Johnstown was destroyed - compelling reading for anyone interested in human folly.

McGowan, Christopher, 1991, Dinosaurs, Spitfires and

Sea Dragons: Harvard University Press, 365 p.
           Sit down and enjoy a very readable account of those soaring and swimming reptiles that almost are beyond belief. Check out the ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs (the spitfires), with a few elasmosaurs and mesosaurs, etc., thrown in.

McIntyre, Donald B., and McKirdy, Allan, 1997, James Hutton:

The Founder of Modern Geology: Ranovf Publishing Company, Ltd., 51 p.
          It is possible that no one has more enthusiasm for or knowledge of James Hutton than Donald McIntyre. This little gem of a book provides a first hand look at where Hutton went, what he saw, and how his thinking evolved. High recommended.

McPhee, John, 1997, Irons in the Fire: Farrar, Straus, and

Giroux Publishers, 216 p.
          There are more pages in this book on cattle brands than geology, but the so called "Gravel Pages" will get your attention. They are about forensic geology and the astonishing facts than can be derived from the sediment on the under side of your car.

McPhee, John, 1989, Control of Nature: Farrar, Straus, and

Giroux Publishers,
          McPhee's story of Los Angeles's fight with the San Gabriel Mountains in unforgettable. The debris flow descending in the dark upon the home of the Genofile family is frightening. Stories of Icelandic volcanism and the struggle to keep the Mississippi River on course are also attention grabbers.

McPhee, John, 1981, Basin and Range: Farrar, Straus, and

Giroux Publishers,
          One of the most valuable tools for the advancement of geological science has been the humble road cut. United States Interstate 80 crosses the entire North American continent, in the process exposing hundreds of millions of years of geological history. In Basin and Range, McPhee, accompanied at times by Princeton geologist Kenneth S. Dreyfuss, demonstrates how the contorted and tilted rocks seen in these road cuts reveal the plate tectonic past. This is a favorite of many John McPhee readers.

McPhee, John, 1993, Assembling California: Farrar, Straus,

and Giroux Publishers, 304 p.
         Travel with John McPhee and Eldridge Moores from Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada through the golden hills of the Mother Lode Belt across the Great Valley to the rocks of San Francisco and the San Andreas Fault. This cross-section of human and geologic time enables you to see California through the eyes of a geologist. McPhee's insights always sparkle - "At work or at play, a geologist always drives like an Egyptian painting - eyes to the side."

Moore, James, 2000, Exploring the Highest Sierra, Stanford

University Press, 427 p.
     This wonderful book has been described as the Bible of the Sierras. In it Moore takes us afield with the pioneers who explored and mapped the highest Sierra Nevada and interweaves entertaining tutorials along the trails that allow us to understand his overviews of the geologic processes that formed the landscape underfoot.
      Almost two hundred etchings, photographs, diagrams, maps and other illustrations bring the distinguished cast and their ideas, adventures, and travails to life. New scientific instruments, methods and techniques invade the pristine, eternal landscape to bring it into the focus of modern science and culture. Moore seats us at their campfires high on the paths of exploration to share their plans, hopes, pains, and discoveries. The book has been written for anyone with an interest in the landscape, exploration, natural history, or social history. Nothing is taken for granted in explaining science concepts and terms--it is a self-contained, entertaining sourcebook that can be read by the non-specialist. Moore commands the entire panorama of social and scientific history along with natural history.
     As a field guide, it is enhanced by maps and trail guides, discussions of geologically significant locations and outcrops, and historic geographic places that are tied directly to the activities of the pioneers who made the history.

Moorehead, Alan, 1978, Darwin and the Beagle: Penguin

Books, 224 p.
          Beautifully illustrated and well written, Moorehead's book puts you on the Beagle with Darwin and Fitzroy. Only the final chapter addresses Darwin's life after the Beagle landed at Falmouth, England on October 2, 1836.

Norton, O. Richard, 1998, Rocks from Space: Mountain

Press Publishing Company, 447 p.
          If you can't tell a chondrite from a pallasite, this delightful book is for you. It presents meteorites in a fashion that makes you want to put on your field boots and start searching. Crater origins and characteristics, types of meteors, and the historic development of our understanding of meteors is presented. There is even a chapter on meteorite hunters!

Oreskes, Naomi, 1999, The Rejection of Continental Drift: Oxford University Press, 420 p.

            In the early 20th century, American earth scientists vociferously opposed the new--and highly radical--notion of continental drift. Yet 50 years later the same idea was heralded as a major scientific breakthrough, and today continental drift is accepted as a scientific fact. This insightful book, based on archival sources, looks at why American geologists initially rejected the idea so adamantly while their counterparts in Europe were relatively receptive.

Outland, Charles, 1977, Manmade Disaster: The Story of the

St. Francis Dam: Arthur H. Clarke Co., 249 p.
          California's greatest human-caused disaster occurred on March 12, 1928 as the St. Francis Dam collapsed killing approximately 500 people. Outland traces the events that lead to this disaster and its ultimate impact on the career of William Mulholland, Chief Engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Pearce, Fred, 2006, When the Rivers Run Dry: Water – The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-First Century: Beacon, 320 p.

Earth contains 1.1 quadrillion acre-feet of water, yet its supply of fresh water is quickly dwindling to crisis levels.  In individual consumption and agriculture, each person in the world uses about 500,000 gallons of water per year.  A global trade in water is having an indelible effect on the world’s rivers.  Pearce, a veteran writer on water issues, traveled to more than 30 countries to analyze the state of the world’s fresh water supply.  He describes how the Rio Grande no longer flows into the Gulf of Mexico and wetlands in Nigeria have disappeared.  Pearce examines how reservoirs give up water to evaporation, how dams threaten the ecological balance of their surroundings, and how political disputes over water supplies can lead to violence.  With an ever-increasing global population, even desalination of ocean water won’t be enough to meet the world’s water needs.  Pearce asserts that countries must develop better methods for decreasing water waste.  This review is taken from Science News April 1, 2006.

Powell, James, 1998, Night Comes to the Cretaceous. H.

Freeman & Co., 250 p.

          Powell makes a thorough scientific presentation of the discoveries surrounding the extinction of the dinosaurs and how it transformed geologists' understanding of Hutton's principle that the "Present is the Key to the Past." The personalities of the scientists involved and how they interacted over the evidence is well presented. Most importantly, the evidence that built up to convince most scientists that 70% of the species living at the end of the Cretaceous were suddenly extinguished is well documented.

Reisner, Marc, 1986, Cadillac Desert: The American West and

its Disappearing Water: Penguin Books, 582 p.
          Scarcity of water, our most important natural resource, is the most fundamental, distinguishing characteristic of the American West. Reisner documents the bitter rivalry between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineering in their competition to transform the West. This must-read book describes our tragic losses as almost every river in the West was dammed.

Repcheck, Jack, 2003, The Man Who Found Time: Perseus

           Publishing, 247 p.

         “He burst the boundaries of time, thereby establishing geology’s most distinctive and transforming contribution to human thought – Deep Time. “  That’s what Stephen Jay Gould said about James Hutton.  This delightful little book takes you to beautiful Scotland where the late 18th century Scotish Enlightment occurred and contributed so much to our modern lives.  You will join Hutton as his interest in geology exceeds his concern for his medical career.  You will be in the small boat with Hutton and John Playfair off the coast of Siccar Point where an unconformity revealed to Hutton the true magnitude of geological time. 

Rifkin, Jeremy, 1989, Entropy - Into the Greenhouse World:

Bantam Books, 354 p.
          This fascinating book will change your understanding of the past and future of human life. You will recognize entropy (disorder) everywhere and more fully understand the consequences of every action that occurs in the Universe. Don't miss this book. It is not just another "greenhouse book".

Ryan, William and Pitman, Walter, 1998, Noah's Flood:

New Scientific Discoveries about the Event that Changed History: Simon and Schuster, New York, 319 p.
     Over the millennia, the legend of a great deluge has endured in the biblical story of Noah and in such Middle Eastern myths as the epic of Gilgamesh. William Ryan and Walter Pitman have now discovered a catastrophic event that changed history. Using sound waves and coring devices to probe the sea floor, geophysicists Ryan and Pitman revealed clear evidence that the Black Sea had once been a vast fresh water lake lying hundreds of feet below the level of the world's rising oceans. Sophisticated dating techniques confirmed that 7,600 years ago the mounting seas had burst through the narrow Bosphorus Valley and the salt water if the Mediterranean had poured into the lake with unimaginable force, racing over beaches and up rivers, destroying or chasing all life before it. The rim of the lake, which had served as an oasis, a Garden of Eden for farms and villages in as vast region of semidesert, became a sea of death. The people fled dispersing their languages, genes, and memories. This is an engaging and important book with a plausible explanation for a epic mystery.

Sieh, Kerry and Le Vay, Simon, 1998, Earth in Turmoil,

Freeman & Co.
           This book works because the authors are experts in both the science and the art of telling the story behind the science. The expert and the general reader alike will appreciate the author's wonderful tell-it-as-it-is approach. No disguise, no beating around the bush with obscure terminology. Good analogies and excellent explanations of the basic physics and geology behind earthquakes and volcanoes are abundant and clear.

Sigurdsson, Haraldur, 1999, Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions: Oxford University Press, 260 p.
          Did you know that the melting of rocks by simple release of pressure was discovered in 1837 by William Hopkins and yet this idea is still not clearly presented in introductory textbooks?  George Scrope, discoverer of magmatic differentiation, believed that volcanoes result from the Earth releasing a mysterious heated material called caloric.  Others resulted to chemical reactions or burning coal beds to produce magma.  The history of volcanology is beautifully presented in this well illustrated book by one of the world’s leading volcanologists.

Sigurdsson, Haraldur, 2000, Encyclopedia of Volcanoes:

Academic Press, New York, 1417 p.
     It's all in one place - everything you could ever want to know about volcanoes - all for an amazingly low price. This tome covers the origin and properties of magma, eruptions, effusive volcanism, explosive volcanism, large igneous provinces, extraterrestrial volcanism, volcanic gases, geothermal systems, volcanic hazards, eruption response and mitigation, economic benefits and cultural aspects of volcanism, and many other topics. It includes 82 comprehensive articles, 830 figures and tables, a comprehensive subject index, and a whole lot more. It is an outstanding compilation that all volcano aficionados should add to their personal library.

Sobel, Dava. 1995, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone

Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time: Walker Publishing Company, 184 p.
          Latitude and longitude are familiar to all geologists, but how many ever think of how difficult navigation was before a method was developed for accurate determination of longitude. In 1714 the British Parliament established a prize worth millions in today's dollars for the first person to solve the longitude problem. This wonderful book describes how John Harrison, a mechanical genius, solved the problem and fought for his reward.

Spinar, Zdenek V, 1995, Life Before Man: Thames and

Hudson Publishing, 256 p.
           The aim of this book is to introduce the reader the incredible and fascinating panorama of life on earth from its earliest beginnings more than 3000 million years ago to the arrival of Homo sapiens. It does a great job.

Stegner, Wallace, 1953, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: Penguin Books, 438 p.

        This book, first published in the mid-twentieth century still stands as the most exciting account of John Wesley Powell’s exploration of the Green and Colorado Rivers.  Powell, a distinguished ethnologist and second director of the U. S. Geological Survey, had a profound understanding of the American West.  Powell followed his groundbreaking adventures with warnings of the danger of economic exploitation of the West.  Powell rose to great power and influence before Washington politics brought him down.  This book will help you recognize Powell for the prophet he was.

Steingrimsson, Jon, 1998, Fires of the Earth: The Laki

Eruption 1783 - 1784, University of Iceland Press, Reykjavik, 95 p.
     In 1783 a volcanic eruption broke out in southern Iceland that went on for eight months and produced the largest outpouring of lava of any eruption in historic times. Winds carried escaping gases over a large portion of the northern hemisphere and crop failures were widespread. This event, commonly called the Laki eruption, killed one fifth of the Icelandic human population. This book is an eye-witness description of the events as experienced by Rev Jon Steingrimsson. It is almost certain that Rev. Steingrimsson had no knowledge of the scientific literature, and yet he presented a clear, concise, and cogent description of this important geologic event. The most impressive passage and the culmination of his story occurs when lava threatens to destroy Rev. Steingrimsson's church.

Stone, Irving, 1980, The Origin: A Biographical Novel of

Charles Darwin; Double Day & Company, Inc., 743 p.
          Stone introduces us to the human side of Charles Darwin. Travel with Charles Darwin on H.M.S. Beagle. Hike in the Andes and study birds in the Galapagos. Stroll with Darwin on his famous sand walk while he contemplates the fundamental concepts of organic evolution. Experience the controversy that erupts when he publishes The Origin of Species. This book will return you to the monumental times of Charles Darwin like none other.

Thomas, Gordon, and Witts, Max, 1971, Earthquake: The

Destruction of San Francisco: Stein and Day, 371 p.
          San Francisco's fire chief had premonitions that proved to be correct. The fire burned for 3 days and 3 nights. Five hundred city blocks, 28,000 buildings were destroyed. Return to the scene with Gordon and Witts. They provide an unforgettable preview of what may happen again.

Thomas, Gordon, and Witts, Max, 1969, The Day the World

Ended: Stein and Day, 306 p.
          St. Pierre is completely rebuilt. At least 30,000 live there beneath Mt. Pelee on the Caribbean Island of Martinique. The fiery cloud that erupted from Mt. Pelee on May 8, 1902 and destroyed St. Pierre killing 29,000 people is forgotten. This book recounts this tragic event with heart stopping impact.

Thompson, Dick, 2000, Volcano Cowboys, The Rocky Evolution of a Dangerous Science: St. Martin’s Press, 336 p.
          People living near a volcano are loathe to leave when the cone starts coughing. To the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) falls the duty of telling them the risks they run by staying put, a duty that, as Thompson here chronicles it, often imperils the volcanologists. To predict an eruption, they must clamber over the smoking beast to set up instruments, which has cost many their lives. Thompson's story centers on two eruptions: Mount St. Helens in 1980 and Mount Pinatubo in 1991. From his detailed reportage, it becomes clear that Mount St. Helens was the USGS's first experience with public officials demanding certainty in an eruption prediction, averse as they were to ordering an unnecessary evacuation. But all the experts could offer were inferences, deduced from tiltmeters, laser rangers, seismographs, and gas sampling. Flipping to Mount Pinatubo, Thompson reports a USGS more seasoned in conveying its expertise to the U.S. Air Force, which had to know when to abandon a base in the Philippines. An informative book about science's communication with the lay public.

Weinberg, Samantha, 2001, A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth: Perennial, 220 p.

         Many geologists remember the childhood thrill of reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story of dinosaurs living in the modern age.  This book tells the equaling thrilling story of a bizarre fish with limb-like fins that first appears in the fossil record 400 million years ago – the Coelacanth.  This is no ordinary fish.  It is 5 feet long, beautifully colored, and the possible predecessor of the first amphibians to crawl onto land.  A living specimen was first found by scientists off the east coast of South Africa in 1938.  This delightful and easy to read book recounts the 20th century interaction of humans and the coelacanths that will give you a real appreciation and enthusiasm for a living fossil.  Richard Ellis of the Museum of Natural History in New York says that this book will “knock your socks off”.  He’s right.  Don’t miss it.  A don’t forget to visit the two specimens that are on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. 

Wilford, John Noble, 2000, The Mapmakers, Vintage Books, 508 p.

             As geologists, we read, make, and love maps.  We have a good feeling for how very important they are.  But how many geologists have paused to consider the history of mapmaking and the enormous impact that maps have had on human history?  This wonderful, up-to-date, and very entertaining book provides the opportunity for you to have a better appreciation for the history of mapmaking.  This book reviews the efforts of Eratosthenes to measure the Earth, provides appreciation for the positive aspects of Ptolemy’s accomplishments, and reviews John Harrison’s struggles to be recognized and rewarded for discovering a way to determine longitude.  Wilford provides new understanding of both medieval maps and space-age technology and its contributions to geodesy.  The book is very readable and provides wonderful little stories.  Did you know that the 22-orbit flight of astronaut Gordon Cooper cleared away many of the objections to the Landsat program?  When Cooper’s flight occurred in May of 1962 scientists believed that Earth’s atmosphere was too hazy for space photography to be useful.  Cooper had very acute vision and reported that he could see homes in Tibet and trucks on highways in west Texas from 160 km above the surface.  Scientists thought that weightlessness was causing hallucinations until they verified his observations.  If Cooper could do this, what could high quality cameras do?  Landsat I was finally launched in July 1972 and the rest is history.  This is a terrific book.  Don’t miss it. 

Wilhelms, Don E., 1993, To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's

History of Lunar Exploration: The University of Arizona Press, 477 p.
          You've heard the Apollo story many times, but how often have you read about the geology behind the lunar landings. This book takes you through the geologic training that Lee Silver and Gene Shoemaker provided. You'll learn about the thought processes behind landing site selection and you'll finally walk with geologist Harrison Schmidt on the Moon.

Wilkins, Thurman, 1958, Clarence King: a Biography:      University of New Mexico Press, 524 p.

          Clarence King was a pioneer geologist and founder of the whole system of survey work in the western United States. In 1879 he became the first director of the U.S.G S. The tempestuous life of this gifted geologist is recounted in this book.

Williams, Stanley, and Montaigne, Fen, 2001, Surviving Galeras: Houghton Mifflin, 270 p

  On January 14, 1993, Stanley Williams led a party of fellow geologists up Galeras, a Colombian volcano that, though historically active, had been lying quiet long enough that they suspected it was due for an episode--and thus an opportunity for the volcanologists to practice their predicting skills.

         As they reached the lip of its great crater, Galeras obliged them with a vengeance: it erupted in a burst of fire and toxic gas, killing six members of the party and three tourists and leaving Williams scorched and broken, "sprawled on my side, caked in ash and blood, wet from the rain, bones protruding from my burned clothes, my jaw hanging slackly."

         Rescued by two colleagues, Marta Calvache and Patty Mothes, Williams faced several challenges in the years to come--not only healing his body and exorcising the ghosts of Galeras, but also contending with colleagues' whispered charges that he should have known the mountain was about to blow. But death, according to Williams and collaborator Fen Montaigne, comes with the territory. Whenever a volcano has erupted in recent years, it seems, a volcanologist is among its victims, for, Williams notes, "the best way to understand a volcano is still, in my opinion, to climb it," and to climb it in all of its moods. And those moods, Williams and Montaigne add, are not easy to forecast, even if Earth scientists have developed ever more accurate ways to predict events such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

        At once a study in volcanoes, the history of geology, and the will to endure, Surviving Galeras is often terrifying, and altogether memorable.

Winchester, Simon, 2001, The Map that Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology: Harper Collins, 330 p.

                    According to Science News – Imagine that the work of a single man could provide the bedrock for a whole field of science, supply the blueprint for mining riches, and inspire Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.  William Smith – son of a blacksmith and a canal digger by trade – did that by creating the first true geological map anywhere in the world.  Winchester says, Smith spent 20 years traveling every corner of England in order to produce and 8-foot by 6-foot map of the country’s strata.  However, fame and fortune weren’t Smith’s reward.  In fact, he spent time in a debtor’s prison.  His wife went mad.  Worst of all, others plagiarized his great map and reaped glory for themselves.  It wasn’t until late in Smith’s life that he was awarded the Wollaston Medal and a small pension.  Winchester’s biography of this unsung pioneer is perhaps the greatest tribute Smith ever received.  Basing his stories on Smith’s diaries and letters, Winchester paints a stirring portrait of scientific achievement in the face of class bias and religious persecution.

Winchester, Simon, 2003, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: Harper Collins Publishers, 416 p.

The title says it all – Krakatau is misspelled and the world did not explode during the great 1883 eruption. If you can handle mantle convection being compared with “storms” and the thought of Krakatau “lifting it skirts”, this book might be bearable.  But don’t expect new insights regarding the tremendous eruption in the Sunda Straight.    Otherwise give it a pass even though it has been a best seller.  If you doubt my judgment, check the reviews that have been published in Science and Geotimes.  The author of  The Map That Changed the World could have done much better.  Sorry – I know this website is supposed to be devoted to great books.  This is not a great book but it has made a lot of money for Mr. Winchester. 

Worster, Donald, 2001, A River Running West, The Life of John  Wesley Powell: Oxford University Press, 672 p.

If you would like to read about the entire life of John Wesley Powell, this is the book for you.  Worster follows Powell’s life from his birth to highly religious parents in 1834 to his final days.  Powell grew up as a farm boy as his parents shifted westward.  He struggled for an education and a career.  He tried teaching but found little satisfaction before volunteering for the American Civil War.  He rose through the ranks, became a major, but also lost his right arm at Shiloh.  In spite of this handicap, Powell lead two expeditions on the Colorado River, winning national fame, and became the first person to scientifically explore the river.  Powell’s drive, intelligence, and knowledge eventually landed him in Washington D.C. as the second director of the United States Geological Survey.  Powell proved to be an effective spokesman for the Survey and won a series of impressive budget increases.  He became more and more influential in making the USGS an important force in development of the West.  He was not a conservationist, but instead accepted the idea that industrial and agricultural development of the West would be good.  At the same time, he recognized the consequences of over exploitation of America’s resources.  He eventually found himself in conflict with a clique of western politicians who favored uncontrolled development of the West and was relegated to a quiet life of anthropological contemplation. 

Young, Davis A., 2003, Mind Over Magma: The Story of Igneous Petrology: Princeton University Press, 686 p.

        This one is for the igneous freaks out there.  Ever wonder who William Nicol was?  Or Joseph Iddings?  What did Norman L. Bowen look like?  This book provides the entire history of igneous petrology from the days when basalt was thought by some to have an aqueous origin to the modern time of isotope geochemistry.  The book is neatly divided into sections representing periods of understanding of igneous rocks.  The sections are entitled The Foundation Era, The Primitive Era, The Microscope Era, The Experimental Era, The Geochemical Era, and the Fluid Dynamical Era.  This book is highly recommended for those who desire a deeper understanding of igneous petrology and of the origins of our scientific knowledge in this field.   

Youngquist, Walter, 1966, Over the Hill and Down the Creek:

The Caxton Printers, 322 p.
          This may not be a great book, but it is funny. Youngquist has collected the stories that characterize many geologic careers and presented them with his lively sense of humor.

1. Principles of Geology, Charles Lyell, 1830-1833
2. Wonderful Life, Stephen Jay Gould, 1989
3. Origin of Species, Charles Darwin, 1859
4. In Suspect Terrain, John McPhee, 1983
5. Basin and Range, John McPhee, 1981
6. Origins of Continents and Oceans, Alfred Wegener, 1912
7. Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory, John Playfair, 1802
8. Rising from the Plains, John McPhee, 1986
9. Great Geological Controversies, A. Hallam, 1983
10. Control of Nature, John McPhee, 1989
11. Principles of Physical Geology, Arthur Holmes, 1945
12. Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle, Stephen Jay Gould, 1987
13. The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks, N. L. Bowen, 1928
14. The Fabric of Geology, Claude C. Albritton, 1963
15. The Meaning of Fossils, Martin J.S. Rudwick, 1972
16. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas S. Kuhn, 1962
17. The Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin, 1836
18. The Birth and Development of the Geological Sciences, Frank D. Adams, 1954
19. Exploration of the Colorado River, John Wesley Powell, 1875
20. Theory of the Earth with Proofs and Illustrations, James Hutton, 1775
21. The Nature of the Stratigraphical Record, D. V. Ager, 1973
22. De Re Metallica, Agricola, 1556
23. The Founders of Geology, Archibald Geikie, 1897
24. Giants of Geology, Carroll L. Fenton, 1952
25. Language of the Earth, Rhodes, 1981
26. An Ocean of Truth, Henry W. Menard, 1986
27. Report on Geology of the Henry Mountains, Grove K. Gilbert, 1887
28. Conversations with the Earth, Hans Cloos, 1953
29. The Dinosaur Heresies, Robert T. Baaker, 1986
30. The Great Devonian Controversy, M.J.S. Rudwick, 1985
31. Ice Ages, Solving the Mystery, John Imbrie, 1979
32. It Began with a Stone, Henry Faul, 1983
33. Studies on Glaciers, Louis Agassiz, 1840
34. System of Mineralogy, James D. Dana, 1837
35. Adventures in Earth History, Preston Cloud, 1970
36. The Behavior of the Earth, Claude J. Allegre, 1983
37. Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick, 1987
38. The Immense Journey, Loren C. Eiselay, 1957
39. Principles of Stratigraphy, Grabau, 1913
40. Prodromos De Solido. . . , Nicolaus Steno, 1669
41. The Road to Jaramillo, William Glen, 1982
42. A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold, 1949
    
    * "Geologists Select the Great Books of Geology", 1993, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 41, p. 26