. . . Anyone with the slightest interest in biology should read this book."--The New York Times Book Review"A marvelous museum of the past four billion years on earth--capacious, jammed with treasures, full of learning and wide-eyed wonder."--The Boston GlobeFrom its origins on the still-forming planet to the recent emergence of Homo sapiens--one of the world's leading paleontologists offers an absorbing account of how and why life on earth developed as it did. Interlacing the tale of his own adventures in the field with vivid descriptions of creatures who emerged and disappeared in the long march of geologic time, Richard Fortey sheds light upon a fascinating array of evolutionary wonders, mysteries, and debates. Brimming with wit, literary style, and the joy of discovery, this is an indispensable book that will delight the general reader and the scientist alike."A drama bolder and more sweeping than Gone with the Wind . . . a pleasure to read."--Science"A beautifully written and structured work . . . packed with lucid expositions of science."--Natural History

    This acclaimed collection of essays begins with the title essay and a trip to Nevada, where, in the company of a brand inspector, John McPhee discovers that cattle rustling is not just history.

    It is aimed at undergraduate geology and biology majors, with the emphasis on organisms.

    It gives a comprehensive treatment of the fundamental principles of each major branch of geophysics, and presents geophysics within the wider context of plate tectonics, geodynamics and planetary science. Basic principles are explained with the aid of numerous figures and step-by-step mathematical treatments, and important geophysical results are illustrated with examples from the scientific literature. Text-boxes are used for auxiliary explanations and to handle topics of interest for more advanced students. This new edition also includes review questions at the end of each chapter to help assess the reader's understanding of the topics covered and quantitative exercises for more thorough evaluation. Solutions to the exercises and electronic copies of the figures are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521859028.

    Illustrated with photographs, maps, and diagrams, "Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley" provides an on-the-ground look at the processes sculpting the terrain in this land of extremes for everyone interested in how the earth works.

    Includes simple experiments and activities, such as making a collection, growing a crystal, or watching a stalactite grow.

    From river management and irrigation to flood control and dam construction, it seeks to integrate an understanding of natural processes and physical realities with practical water policy.

    Then, in 1989, American scientists launched Magellan—the spacecraft that would revolutionize our vision of this mysterious planet. Venus Revealed is the first book to explain the breathtaking results of this mission, which unveiled a Venusian world of active volcanoes, shining mountains, and river valleys carved by torrents of flowing lava. At one time, Venus may have even had a wet, temperate climate, much like Earth's. What happened to turn it into a hostile, burning acid world? The answer could very well help us solve some of our most pressing environmental problems—from global warming to acid rain. In Venus Revealed, David Grinspoon eloquently argues that studying our exotic twin will inevitable teach us more about ourselves.

    Stimulating and accessible, it has established a reputation as a comprehensive and essential resource.In this new edition, the text, references and illustrations have been thoroughly updated to give today's reader an up-to-the minute overview of the nature, origin and behaviour of glaciers and the geological and geomorphological evidence for their past history on earth.The first part of the book investigates the processes involved in forming glacier ice, the nature of glacier-climate relationships, the mechanisms of glacier flow and the interactions of glaciers with other natural systems such as rivers, lakes and oceans.In the second part, the emphasis moves to landforms and sediment, the interpretation of the earth's glacial legacy and the reconstruction of glacial depositional environments and palaeoglaciology.

    An epic tale of beautiful and terrible beasts and explosions that block out the sun, The Mistaken Extinction is a 65-million-year-old evolutionary murder mystery with a fascination that has yet to die out. 300 illustrations.

    With an expanded reference section and numerous aids to pronunciation, the 4th edition is the quintessential reference work for professional geoscientists and students alike. New entries are especially numerous in the fields of carbonate sedimentology, mineralogy and crystallography, coastal geology, plate tectonics, snow and ice, geophysics, economic geology, remote sensing and geographic information systems, engineering and environmental geology, and stratigraphic nomenclature.

    

    They present both a report on our understanding of nature's cataclysmic events and an overview of the greatest natural disasters in recorded history, from the destruction of Pompeii in A.D. 79 to the tornadoes, typhoons, earthquakes, and eruptions that make headlines today.

    Fieldwork tracks the adventures of a group of American scientists trying to gather critical data in some of the wildest and most inhospitable parts of Africa. Scholz effectively captures the unique challenges and obstacles faced in this kind of scientific endeavor, including mysterious encounters with a primitive bushman tribe and unavoidable dealings with belligerent local officials and even near-fatal stampedes by rampaging elephants. It is through this absorbing tale that Scholz offers a paean to the long and unique traditions of geological fieldwork, and provides readers with an inside view of the trials and joys of scientific fieldwork.The goal of the Scholz expedition was to determine, by recording tiny natural earthquakes, if a previously unknown arm of the East African Rift system had propagated into the Kalahari Desert from the north. Fieldwork tracks the quest of the scientist for a solution to a specific geological problem from the motivations of the scientist, to the initial formulation of the problem, through to the data collection, and finally, the assembly of the critical evidence.Originally published in 1997.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.