They are an unlikely pair: Chuck Fipke, a ragged fanatical prospector with a singular talent for finding sand-size mineral grains, and Stew Blusson, an ultra-tough geologist and helicopter pilot. Inventive, eccentric, and ruthless, they follow a trail of clues left by predecessors-and a few actual gems-all the way from backwoods Arkansas up the glaciated high Rockies into the vast and haunted barren lands of northern Canada. With a South African geochemist's secret weapon, Fipke and Blusson outwit rivals, including the immense De Beers cartel, and make one of the world's greatest diamond discoveries-setting off a stampede unseen since the Klondike gold rush. Barren Lands offers an unforgettable journey for those who, in the words of a nineteenth-century trapper, "want to see that country before it is all gone."

    Flannery describes the development of North America's deciduous forests and other flora, and tracks the immigration and emigration of various animals to and from Europe, Asia, and South America, showing how plant and animal species have either adapted or become extinct. The story takes in the massive changes wrought by the ice ages and the coming of the Indians, and continues right up to the present, covering the deforestation of the Northeast, the decimation of the buffalo, and other facets of the enormous impact of frontier settlement and the development of the industrial might of the United States. Natural history on a monumental scale, The Eternal Frontier contains an enormous wealth of fascinating scientific details, and Flannery's accessible and dynamic writing makes the book a delight to read. This is science writing at its very best -- a riveting page-turner that is simultaneously an accessible and scholarly trove of incredible information that is already being hailed by critics as a classic. "Tim Flannery's account ... will fascinate Americans and non-Americans alike." -- Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel "No one before Flannery ... has been brave enough to tackle the whole pageant of North America." -- David Quammen, the New York Times Book Review "Tim Flannery's book will forever change your perspective on the North American continent ... Exhilarating." -- John Terborgh, The New York Review of Books "Full of engaging and attention-catching information about North America's geology, climate, and paleontology." -- Patricia Nelson Limerick, the Washington Post Book World "Natural history par excellence." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "This gutsy Aussie may have read our landscape and ecological history with greater clarity than any native son." -- David A. Burney, Natural History "A fascinating, current, and insightful look at our familiar history from a larger perspective." -- David Bezanson, Austin-American Statesman "The scope of [Flannery's] story is huge, and his research exhaustive." -- Lauren Gravitz, The Christian Science Monitor

    In 1993, at Volcán Galeras, the death toll was smaller but no less tragic: despite seismic data that foretold possible disaster, an expedition of international scientists proceeded into the volcano. Two hours later, nine people were dead.Expertly detailing the turbulent history of Colombia, Victoria Bruce links together the stories of the heroes, villains, survivors, and victims of these two events. No Apparent Danger is a spellbinding account of clashing cultures and the life-and-death consequences of scientific arrogance.

    But lack of information, error, or misrepresentation can make buying gemstones confusing, intimidating, overwhelming, and costly. Lack of information, error, or misrepresentation can make the thrill of buying a gem or piece of jewellery confusing, intimidating, overwhelming, and costly. Buyers need a source of expert guidance. To help you to avoid the pitfalls and keep the magic, Antoinette Matlins, an internationally respected expert on buying gems, puts her insider knowledge to work for you in this easy-to-read, easy-to-use guide. Practical, comprehensive, and easy to understand, this guide offers all the in-depth information you need in order to know what to look for and what to look out for, including: What qualifies as a 'gemstone'?; How to evaluate colour -- and its impact on price; Deciding between a natural gem and an enhanced gem; Coloured gemstone synthesis and treatment; What to ask when buying the stone; What to get in writing; How to get what you want within your budget; Price guides for popular gems, opals, and synthetic stones.

    Scholarly books have been written about tectonics, but none by the key scientists-players themselves. In Plate Tectonics, editor Naomi Oreskes has assembled those scientists who played crucial roles in developing the theory to tell - for the first time, and in their own words - the stories of their involvement in the extraordinary confrimation of the theory.The book opens with an overview of the history of plate tectonics, including in-context definitions of the key terms that are discussed throughout the book. Oreskes explains how the forerunners of the theory, Wegener and du Toit, raised questions that were finally answered thirty years later, and how scientists working at the key academic institutions - Cambridge and Princeton Universities, Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Geological Observatory, and the University of California-San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography – competed and collaborated until the theory coalesced.

    It includes: Berries, Nuts and Seeds; Birds, Nests and Eggs; Rocks, Fossils and Arrowheads; Seashells, Crabs and Sea Stars; and Wildflowers, Blooms and Blossoms.

    The authors bring this text completely up-to-date in this second edition. Important additions include a chapter on chemical geodynamics, an updated coverage of comparative planetology based on recent planetary missions, and a variety of other new topics. Geodynamics provides the fundamentals necessary for an understanding of the workings of the solid earth, describing the mechanics of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building in the context of the role of mantle convection and plate tectonics. Observations such as the earth's gravity field, surface heat flow, distribution of earthquakes, surface stresses and strains, and distribution of elements are discussed.

    He explores the unique and fragile ecosystem that is common to exposed granite expanses from Acadia to Yosemitehow it evolved slowly over millennia, and how it is threatened today by foot traffic and overuse. Wessels' wonderfully informative and accessible text combine with his dramatic photographs and Brian Cohen's beautifully detailed illustrations to bring the denizens of the granite bald to life. The mountains they celebrate include: Acadia National Park in Maine; the White Mountains of New Hampshire; the Adirondacks of New York; the Wind River Range of Wyoming; the Beartooths of Montana; the Enchantments of Washington; and Yosemite National Park in California. 18 photographs, 30 illustrations, 1 map, glossary, index.

    Travel back through geologic time to see how the inexorable forces of nature have shaped the land and its inhabitants. Discover where earthly colors and textures come from, which volcanoes are potentially dangerous, what makes the Grand Canyon grand, and what draws millions of birds to the desert Southwest every year. An annotated list of more than one hundred parks, monuments, and scenic attractions is included.

    In this third edition readers get a fully updated and revised text, too. Fultz and Howe explain concepts of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffractometry (XRD) that are important for the characterization of materials. The edition has been updated to cover important technical developments, including the remarkable recent improvement in resolution of the TEM, and all chapters have been updated and revised for clarity. A new chapter on high resolution STEM methods has been added. Each chapter includes a set of problems to illustrate principles, and the extensive Appendix includes laboratory exercises.

    He argues that while Smith and Hutton interpreted history in terms of the present, Marx and Werner interpreted the present on the basis of history. He further contends that positivism commonly leads to nonactualistic methods in history, whereas critical rationalism leads to actualism. The volume is not indexed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

    Limnology: Lake and River Ecosystems, Third Edition, is a new edition of this established classic text. The coverage remains rigorous and uncompromising and has been thoroughly reviewed and updated with evolving recent research results and theoretical understanding. In addition, the author has expanded coverage of lakes to reservoir and river ecosystems in comparative functional analyses.

    Designed for use in undergraduate and graduate courses, it includes detailed case studies, set-aside focus boxes, and bulleted Questions and Answers interspersed throughout. The book is also supported by a website hosting sample pages.

    He was the last of the nation's great continental explorers and the first of a new breed of public servant: part scientist, part social reformer, part institution builder. His work and life reveal an enduringly valuable way of thinking about land, water, and society as parts of an interconnected whole; he was America's first great bioregional thinker.Seeing Things Whole presents John Wesley Powell in the full diversity of his achievements and interests, bringing together in a single volume writings ranging from his gripping account of exploring the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to his views on the evolution of civilization, along with the seminal writings in which he sets forth his ideas on western settlement and the allocation and management of western resources.The centerpiece of Seeing Things Whole is a series of selections from the famous 1878 Report on the Lands of the Arid Region and related magazine articles in which Powell further develops the themes of the report. In those, he recommends organizing the Arid Lands into watershed commonwealths governed by resident citizens whose interlocking interests create the checks and balances essential to wise stewardship of the land. This was the central focus of John Wesley Powell's bioregional vision, and it remains a model for governance that many westerners see as a viable solution to the resource management conflicts that continue to bedevil the region.Throughout the collection, award-winning writer and historian William deBuys brilliantly sets the historical context for Powell's work. Section introductions and extensive descriptive notes take the reader through the evolution of John Wesley Powell's interests and ideas from his role as an officer in the Civil War through his critique of Social Darwinism and landmark categorization of Indian languages, to the climatic yet ultimately futile battles he fought to win adoption of his land-use proposals.Seeing Things Whole presents the essence of the extraordinary legacy that John Wesley Powell has left to the American people, and to people everywhere who strive to reconcile the demands of society with the imperatives of the land.

    "Which city is on top of the world?", "How do people surf on snow?", and "Where is the world's highest railroad?" are just some of the intriguing questions answered in this delightful book about mountains.

    from Above/I/a, this gorgeous coffee-table book will wow you with its fantastical images of volcanoes and the people who live in their shadows. With text by noted volcanologist Jacques Durieux, the book showcases the work of Philippe Bourseiller, a five-time winner of the World Press Prize. Many of the photographs seem like abstract paintings saturated in color and form -- hot-red lava, eye-popping yellow sulfur, lush green jungle -- while others are intimate portraits -- an ash-covered woman surveying her rice field, Japanese children in hardhats at an evacution exercise, a lone scientist knee-deep in water.