Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth
Marcia Bjornerud
(Author)
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Description
From the author of Turning to Stone, a mediation on the stories that rock can tell us about the deep history of our planet To many of us, the Earth's crust is a relic of ancient, unknowable history. But to a geologist, stones are richly illustrated narratives, telling gothic tales of cataclysm and reincarnation. For more than four billion years, in beach sand, granite, and garnet schists, the planet has kept a rich and idiosyncratic journal of its past. Fulbright Scholar Marcia Bjornerud takes the reader along on an eye-opening tour of Deep Time, explaining in elegant prose what we see and feel beneath our feet. Both scientist and storyteller, Bjornerud uses anecdotes and metaphors to remind us that our home is a living thing with lessons to teach. She shows how our planet has long maintained a delicate balance, and how the global give-and-take has sustained life on Earth through numerous upheavals. But with the rapidly escalating effects of human beings on their home planet, that cosmic balance is being threatened -- and the consequences may be catastrophic. Containing a glossary and detailed timescale, as well as vivid descriptions and historic accounts, Reading the Rocks is literally a history of the world, for all friends of the Earth.
Product Details
Price
$18.99
$17.66
Publisher
Basic Books
Publish Date
October 31, 2006
Pages
256
Dimensions
5.2 X 8.0 X 0.8 inches | 0.55 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780465006847
BISAC Categories:
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Become an affiliateAbout the Author
Marcia Bjornerud is a Professor and Chair of Geology at Lawrence University. She is a Fellow of the Geographical Society of America, and was a 2000-2001 Fulbright Scholar. She lives in Appleton, Wisconsin.