Book Description

This is the definitive text in a market consisting of senior and graduate environmental engineering students who are taking a chemistry course.The text is divided into a chemistry fundamentals section and a section on water and wastewater analysis.In this new edition, the authors have retained the thorough, yet concise, coverage of basic chemical principles from general, physical, equilibrium, organic, biochemistry, colloid, and nuclear chemistry. In addition, the authors have retained their classic two-fold approach of (1) focusing on the aspects of chemistry that are particularly valuable for solving environmental problems, and (2) laying the groundwork for understanding water and wastewater analysis-a fundamental basis of environmental engineering practice and research. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Must Have For All Environmental Engineers
This is one book which an engineer esp an environemtal engineer must have as it starts from basics and takes you to complex situations making them understandable. ... Read more

Book Description

A top-seller for over 35 years with over one million copies sold, this lab manual represents by far the best collection of photos of rocks and mineralsand one of the best compilations of exercisesavailable. Provides exercises using maps, aerial photos, satellite imagery, and other materials. Encompasses all the major geologic processes as well as the identification of rocks and minerals. Features new maps and exciting images in every section of the manual. Expands all introductory discussion sections to provide a more comprehensive foundation. Offers an unrivaled collection of photographs, maps, and illustrations. Is published in anoversize book trim size to provide space for larger illustrations, maps, and photographs. A useful self-study tool for anyone interested in learning more about geology.

Book Description

Creating numerical groundwater models of field problems requires careful attention to describing the problem domain, selecting boundary conditions, assigning model parameters, and calibrating the model. This unique text describes the science and art of applying numerical models of groundwater flow and advective transport of solutes.

Key Features
* Explains how to formulate a conceptual model of a system and how to translate it into a numerical model
* Includes the application of modeling principles with special attention to the finite difference flow codes PLASM and MODFLOW, and the finite-element code AQUIFEM-1
* Covers model calibration, verification, and validation
* Discusses pathline analysis for tracking contaminants with reference to newly developed particle tracking codes
* Makes extensive use of case studies and problems ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great book but the cover fell off due to poor binding
A great book for explaining the essentials of groundwater modeling including governing equations and statistical evaluation of numeric modeling. I just wish the publisher could produce a book that the cover didn't fall off within the first couple months of use.

Great content but poor binding
This text was used in my groundwater modeling class and was useful and instructive specifically for GMS and MODFLOW. The binding split after normal use during the quarter to almost every student enrolled in the course.

A great preview of modeling methodology
This text outlines the basic principles and problems faced by young groundwater modelers. The comprehensive interpretation of common challenges are handled with reference to real case studies. Basic steady-state groundwater modeling is supplimented with transient examples. It is a great text for any groundwater modeling class at the undergraduate or graduate level. ... Read more

Book Description

Following in the tradition of the "System of Mineralogy" introduced by Wiley in 1837, this one-of-a-kind reference brings mineralogy into the 21st century. It describes all of the over 3700 recognized mineral species. New features include emphasis on mineral structure, presenting descriptions of all the important species. New specially commissioned structure diagrams describe all the important mineral groups. All homologous species are classified and all polymorphic forms identified. Compact and convenient in one volume, it offers exceptional coverage on where minerals can be found and accurate, up-to-date references. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Do yourself a favor - don't buy this book
I think the Danas would be embarrassed if they lived to see their name on the cover of this book - probably the worst compendium of mineralogical data in the history of science. Here, inaccuracies and errors are the norm rather than exception, and the quality of print and paper are no match even to a circa-1900 missionary's Bible. Sloppy sources like this one do more harm than good by perpetuating errors and introducing new ones, so do yourself a favor and spend your hard-earned $350 on something else.

Long-awaited reference needs work
As a professional geologist, I use this reference often but I have found numerous errors. An example is that the mineral Pentlandite, an important ore of nickel, is not listed in the index. A German website is compiling an errata list on this book and it is many pages long of spelling, locality, formulae and indices errors. Other complaints are: The information concerning the economic use of the minerals is too sketchy and incomplete; and the page paper is too thin and fragile.

Comprehensive, essential mineral species reference
I use the book almost daily while working on a large mineral collection. It is up to date and comprehensive with valuable references to localities. The book is fragile with thin pages so must be used with care. It should be published as a CD ROM.

Is the publisher nuts?
I can't believe that John Wiley & Sons (the publisher) actually tries to sell this book as "compact". It's 1100 pages! The Peterson Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals is a much better "compact" guide. This thing should really be on CD-ROM.

Exhaustive, but FULL OF ERRORS
This book is a must-have for any mineralogist, but the number of errors is daunting. I can find a minimum of 2 significant (or major) errors per page of text. The errors include spelling of mineral names, errors in chemical formulas, errors in physical properties, errors in locality names, errors in state abbreviations for the USA, omissions in the indices, etc.

I recommend waiting for the 2nd or 3rd edition to be printed to allow some of the more major errors to be corrected. Also, the pages are of such thin paper that text from the opposite side is readable. This book should actually be sold as a subscription on CD-ROM, with planned updates to implement corrections and additions. ... Read more

Book Description

Simon Winchester, New York Times bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, examines the legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa, which was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotá and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all -- in view of today's new political climate -- the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims, one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere. Krakatoa gives us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event.

Reviews (109)

Krakatoa, from discovery to rebirth
This remarkable treasure chest of historical trivia is laid out as a history of the Dutch East Indies, with center place being given to the island of Krakatoa. Anyone uninterested in the social, political, historical, and geological background to the famous eruption can just skip to its chapter, about halfway through the book. Simon Winchester has done an admirable job collecting and collating interviews, logs, diaries, reports, barographs, tide meter readings, you name it, to recreate the the horrific disaster, and set a few earlier errors straight.

One observer looks towards the beach, and see a monstrous wave, higher than the palm trees, sweeping along the shore. Others take note of the sea in the strait, writhing and surging, even though there is no wind and no clouds. Sailors caught in the ashfall suffer electric shocks from the charged cloud. A stone residence on a hill 110 feet high is destroyed by a wave that overtopped it by twenty feet. The sea becomes a slick of ash, pumice, debris, and bodies. (Winchester announces that he is censoring himself, in that last detail.) A woman in Ceylon who is killed by a surge is the most distant victim of the volcano. The airwave circles the globe seven times. The violent sunsets are recorded by landscape painters for years afterwards.

The run-up to the dramatic parts is a fairly interesting history of the Dutch in the East Indies, stuffed to bursting with footnoted asides. Krakatoa is the focal point throughout, though. Winchester even pinpoints the earliest Dutch map to represent the island, and then the first one to name it. There is an unmistakeably British thatchy-tweedy-fussiness in his manner. Even in the climactic narrative of the disaster, he finds room for a footnote to explain that Macassar was the source for an oil that spoiled wood finish, and necessitated the invention of a lace furniture drapery called an "antimacassar".

As for his idea that Krakatoa launched radical Islam in Indonesia, that's probably impossible to prove. The Japanese takeover of Dutch Pacific possessions in World War II, and the Saudi practice of exporting and subsidizing fundamentalist Wahabhi madrassas around the world probably had more to do with it. But it is certainly something to think about.

All in all, this is an informative and at times exciting account of one of the biggest and certainly the loudest natural disaster in recorded human history.

A PBS documentary, but on paper
Having read Winchester's "The Professor and the Madman", and after hearing about the book on the radio, I decided that I couldn't help but read this book. Though Winchester refers to Krakatoa as a widely-known event, I can confess to having only a slight recognition of the name prior to this book. I won't forget now.

Winchester covers enormous ground in this book, writing about evolution, plate tectonics, Islam, the telegraph, imperialism, the Line of Demarcation, the flora of the East Indies, and more. Do not be fooled, you will leave this book with a greater understanding of much of the origin of the modern world.

One delicious tidbit: Winchester argues that the relative cultural size of the world shrank much more at the eruption of Krakatoa than at the dawn of the Internet. On the other hand, Winchester seems to be constantly implying apology for the last 800 years of Western European history. He has a few particular zingers for the nosy British.

Overall, this book is lot of little bits. And, oh yeah, the central part of the book -- Krakatoa's explosion -- was absolutely riveting. My vision of hell now involves something of Dante and something of Krakatoa.

I recommend this book.

Krakatoa: The History
Krakatoa by Simon Winchester is a very informative, enlightening, and researched work. Rather than just being a recounting of the day Krakatoa exploded (which the title seems to imply), the damage it caused, etc., the book does much more. It recounts the historical significance of Indonesia (and the Dutch rule there), the importance of the Sunda Strait (where Krakatoa is located), the underlying reasons for massive volcanic explosions (plate tectonics and continental drift), and the social and religious aftermath due to Krakatoa.

I enjoyed the treatment of each of these issues, but at times some of the information seemed to be a stretch in relation to the subject at hand. The first half of the book, the build-up to the massive explosion if you will, was slower and not as engaging as the second half which was absolutely a joy to read and learn. Winchester does a great job of convincing the reader that Krakatoa was truly the first major event that the world of global communication (due to the telegraph and transatlantic communication lines) came to know. Winchester also does a good job explaining why the Krakatoa legacy has endured. Interestingly, much of it has to do with the unique name itself.

Krakatoa is a very good read. From an intellectual standpoint, the book is great, everything that you want to know about Krakatoa you'll find here. From the standpoint of enjoyable reading, the first half and some of Winchester's digressions are difficult to get through, but the second half is a great read. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject, or just history itself, but beware if you're looking for a book solely focused on the explosion/destruction of Krakatoa on August 27, 1883.

Skip it
I was looking forward to reading "The map that changed the world" by the same author after this book. However, reading "Krakatoa" has made me quite wary of any such adventure. This book is as tepid as Krakatoa was explosive. This is one of the very few instances when I have actually calculated the remaining pages of a book while reading; just to know how much longer I had to sit through it (.... "Finish thy book" is the first of my personal commandments). And mind you, I enjoy reading about the allied scientific aspects of any subject matter including geology (the discussions on petroleum geology in "Hubbert's Peak" being a case in point). The author seems to have started off with the noble aspiration of seamlessly interweaving the history, geography, social context, geopolitics, technological deveopments of the age and other issues keeping Krakatoa as the central theme. However, he ends up serving an unappetising stew with even the meaty part about the dramatic explosion somehow leaving you uninspired.

There are tidbits of interesting factual information but this is not enough to classify as saving grace for any book; especially one with such a compelling central subject, rich in possibilities.

Not the page-turner it's reputed to be.
I guess I'm like most people--I find forces of nature (volcanoes, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc.) fascinating. The review blurbs on the back cover refer to this book as "a page-turner," and "terrifying." Well...not really. I have no doubt Mr.Winchester knows his stuff. However, my experience with this book is like that of a number of people who have left reviews here--do you HAVE to go into this much set-up to talk about a volcano? Perhaps it's me. One of the best "disaster" books I ever read was John Hersey's "Hiroshima." It dealt with a few major characters, dropped you right in the middle of the situation, and you were exhausted and heartbroken for the characters when you finished--and it was less than 200 pages. Reading "Krakatoa" is like being told a story by a professor whose train of thought is easily derailed by the amount he knows. If you are interested in geology, I have no doubt you will find this book fascinating. If you are an average reader, like me, you will find this book slow at best, mind-bogglingly tedious at worst. ... Read more

Book Description

Has world oil ouptut peaked? Recent price spikes and dwindling reserves have spurred fears that we are fast approaching the critical tipping point that will trigger severe global economic depression, political instability, and human suffering.

Today 95 percent of global oil is consumed for transportation, and other alternatives are distant possibilities at best. We need a solution now, one that will pave the way to a saner, more sustainable energy future without massive reinvestments in infrastructure and technology transfer. We need biodiesel.

A crop-derived liquid fuel, biodiesel can be made from a wide range of renewable, locally grown plant sources--even from recycled cooking oils or animal fats. The technology is simple and available today, and the benefits of biodiesel are enormous, as both a cleaner-burning vehicle fuel and a source for residential or commercial heating.

Greg Pahl’s essential new book explores the history and technology of biodiesel, its current use around the world, and its exciting potential in the United States and beyond. While biodiesel is not the answer to all our energy problems, it is an important step in the long overdue process of weaning ourselves from fossil fuels. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive field guide for aquarists, divers and naturalists, with detailed full color photographs of hundreds of species, encompassing the majority of coral genera one is likely to encounter on reefs around the world, This book defines corals and distinguishes them form similar hydrozoans, zoanthids, and corallimorpharia. The corals are described and compared to similar looking species, and their range and the correct pronunciation of the Latin name is given.

In addition, for aquarists who grow corals in reef aquariums, information is provided in quick reference charts concerning each coral's requirements for light, water movement, and food, hardiness in captivity, aggressiveness toward other corals, and proper positioning in the aquarium. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Excellent
An excellent reference. Information is not as detailed as some other recent publications, but the pictures are excellent for identification. Use it as it is.... a "quick" reference. A definate must buy.

Thanks
Fast delivery. Book is in great shape.. :)

A must have book !
This is one of the best illustrated books I've used. Each coral has a food charts with symbols that represent the various sources corals utilize for their nutrition, a chart indicating the range of the physical parameters required and a placement chart indicating proper postioning of the coral in an aquarium, assuming overhead lighting.

This works...
Sure, it would also have been possible to include all the thousands of corals known worldwide in this book, instead of restricting to those held in aquaria. But then you wouldn't succeeed in bringing the book with you to the aquarium retailer in order to identify corals in the dealer's tank before you buy. With this book that works...

A Welcome Addition to My Library
What a great start to the series! You can't ask for a more easy to use format. Very informative and staight to the point. And the pictures! This thing is a coffee table took and a reference guide! If you keep a reef aquarium you need to own this book. ... Read more

Book Description

State-of-the-arthandbook of community water supplies.

The leading source of informationon water quality, water treatment, and quality control for 60 years is now available in an up-to-the-minute new edition. The American Water Works Association's Water Quality & Treatment, Fifth Edition fully covers the field, bringing you the expertise of 20 distinguished specialists whoprovide the latest information on everything from aeration and coagulation processes, to chemical oxidation and water plant waste management. At least 90% of the material in this new edition has been revised and updated. Among the areas of special concern covered are:

*Cutting-edge membrane processes
*U.S. regulatory changes, including new rulings on disinfection by-products
*Current concerns with preventing cryptosporidium and e. coli outbreaks
*Enhanced removal of total organic carbon
*Much, much more ... Read more

Book Description

From the acclaimed author of Life and Trilobite!, a fascinating geological exploration of the earth's distant history as revealed by its natural wonders.

The face of the earth, crisscrossed by chains of mountains like the scars of old wounds, has changed and changed again over billions of years, and the testament of the remote past is all around us. In this book Richard Fortey teaches us how to read its character, laying out the dominions of the world before us. He shows how human culture and natural history-even the shape of cities-are rooted in this deep geological past.

In search of this past, Fortey takes us through the Alps, into Icelandic hot springs, down to the ocean floor, over the barren rocks of Newfoundland, into the lush ecosystems of Hawai'i, across the salt flats of Oman, and along the San Andreas Fault. On the slopes of Vesuvius, he tracks the history of the region down through the centuries?to volcanic eruptions seen by fifteenth-century Italians, the Romans, and, from striking geological evidence, even Neolithic man. As story adds to story, the recent past connects with forgotten ages long ago, then much longer ago, as he describes the movement of plates and the development of ancient continents and seas. Nothing in this book is at rest. The surface of the earth dilates and collapses; seas and mountains rise and fall; continents move.

Fortey again proves himself the ideal guide, with his superb descriptions of natural beauty, his gripping narratives, and his crystal-clear, always fascinating scientific explanations.
Here is a book to change the way we see the world. ... Read more

Book Description

Written from a sustainable perspective, this readable, yetrigorous, book provides comprehensive coverage of a variety of local, regional, national, and global resource and environmental issues from population growth to wetlands to agriculture to global air pollution. It emphasizes practical, cost-effective, sustainable solutions to these problems that make sense from social, economic, and environmental perspectives.Overall increased emphasis on international and global issues (includes many examples from Canada). New information on Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing—integrated GIS Remote Sensing boxed information appears throughout, including 12 case studies. Expanded coverage of ecosystem management and watershed management, global climate change, ozone depletion, wetlands protection, and policy—including new international treaties, new federal laws, and more.The friendly, approachable writing style makes the book accessible to a wide range of readers—from those who want an introduction in natural resource conservation and natural resource management to professionals in this field. ... Read more

Book Description

Designed to bridge the gap between books on the theoretical principles of hydrogeology (that define but don't describe actual practices) and professional applications-oriented publications.This field-oriented book/manual provides background information on the WHYs of field work as well as step-by-step procedures for the WHATs and HOWs of specific field tests.It provides readers who already have a basic familiarity with introductory hydrogeology with hands-on practice in actual hydrogeologic field methods and activities. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Field Hydrogeology
Laura Sanders, in her textbook "A manual of field hydrogeology", does an excellent job explaining with text and illustrations methods and applications of investigating groundwater, surface water and theirinteraction.The text is an invaluable tool for use in the field and ithas been published small enough that it can be easily toted into the field. Sanders, in her explanation of concepts in hydrogeology, caters to thecollege or university student.However, the book is a great reference toolfor scientists and other researchers in the field of hydrogeology.This isa great textbook and would make an excellent addition the personal libraryof any researcher in this field. ... Read more

Book Description

Probabilistic reasoning, statistical methods, and measures of engineering judgment are combined to develop a quantified approach for analyzing and managing risks in civil engineering systems and the applied earth sciences. The resulting risk analysis approach described in this book reflects an emerging trend in geotechnical engineering, natural hazards mitigation, infrastructure protection, and other civil engineering fields to directly and quantitatively deal with uncertainty. Reliability and Statistics in Geotechnical Engineering offers a much needed state-of-the-art reference for risk analysis in geotechnical engineering and geology.

Integrating theory and practical applications, this book:

• Discusses the nature and philosophy of uncertainty in geological and geotechnical engineering.
• Addresses fundamentals and limits of probabilistic and statistical methods in the geological and geotechnical context.
• Develops statistical approaches to site characaterization decisions and for analyzing field and laboratory data.
• Explains traditional and emerging risk analysis methodologies and provides guidance for their use.
• Presents many applications of statistics, reliability, and risk techniques to practical problems.

Emphasizing both theoretical underpinnings and practical applications, this comprehensive text constitutes an invaluable reference for practising geotechnical engineers, geologists, university students, and civil engineers in general practice. ... Read more

Book Description

This introductory general ecology text features a strong emphasis or helping students grasp the main concepts of ecology while keeping the presentation more applied than theoetical. An evolutionary perspective forms the foundation of the entire discussion.Evolution is brought to center stage throughout the book, as it is needed to support understanding of major concepts.The discussion begins with a brief introduction to the nature and history of the discipline of ecology, followed by section I, which includes two chapters on natural history—life on land and life in water.The intent is to establish a common foundation of natural history upon which to base the later discussions of ecological concepts.The introduction and natural history chapters can stand on their own and should be readily accessible to most students.They may be assigned as background reading, leaving 17 chapters to cover in a one-semester course.Sections II through VI build a hierarchical perspective: section II concerns the ecology of individuals: section III focuses on population ecology; section IV presents the ecology of interactions;section V summarizes community and ecosystem ecology; and finally, section VI discusses large-scale ecology and includes chapters on landscape, geographic, and global ecology.These topics were first introduced in section I within a natural history context.In summary, the book begins with the natural history of the planet, considers portions of the whole in the middle chapters, and ends with another perspective of the entire planet in the concluding chapter. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Rare Textbook!
Molles "Ecology: Concepts and Applications" is a rare textbook for three reasons:

1. It is unusually well-writen for a science textbook-clearly
writen and even poetic at times.

2. The author is open to more-than-scientific approaches to
studying the Natural World-such as aesethics, art,literature
and ethics. Molles is a good man for including these
dimensions in his textbook. Too many natural scientists
study science in a vacum, divorced from its socio
cultural, political-economic and spiritual context.

3. Finally, this book is a good Ecology textbook to use at a
Christian college or university because it does not try to
hock a scientific naturalist agenda and it will be a great
introduction to the breath and scope of God's Creation here
on Earth.

Great for non-technical study
This book is the first science text I have ever encountered which I enjoy reading. It generally takes the form of a series of stories which the author deftly uses to illustrate ecological concepts. It's not technical enough for a serious ecology student, but I hope that many people read it to gain an appreciation for ecology without encountering some the fanaticism which had previously turned me away from the subject entirely. Thanks.

Great for non ecology major students
Molles has outdone himself with this book. It presents the reader a great book for students who are not majoring in ecology and a great way to understand ecology and the different field works done in the area. The tables and organization are great. I speacially like the way the author makes a subject easy to understand and the way the tables and pictures help you to understand. It's a great book. ... Read more

Book Description

The gripping story of an epic prairie snowstorm that killed hundreds of newly arrived settlers and cast a shadow on the promise of the American frontier.

January 12, 1888, began as an unseasonably warm morning across Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, the weather so mild that children walked to school without coats and gloves. But that afternoon, without warning, the atmosphere suddenly, violently changed. One moment the air was calm; the next the sky exploded in a raging chaos of horizontal snow and hurricane-force winds. Temperatures plunged as an unprecedented cold front ripped through the center of the continent.

By Friday morning, January 13, some five hundred people lay dead on the drifted prairie, many of them children who had perished on their way home from country schools. In a few terrifying hours, the hopes of the pioneers had been blasted by the bitter realities of their harsh environment. Recent immigrants from Germany, Norway, Denmark, and the Ukraine learned that their free homestead was not a paradise but a hard, unforgiving place governed by natural forces they neither understood nor controlled.

With the storm as its dramatic, heartbreaking focal point, The Children's Blizzard captures this pivotal moment in American history by tracing the stories of five families who were forever changed that day. Drawing on family interviews and memoirs, as well as hundreds of contemporary accounts, David Laskin creates an intimate picture of the men, women, and children who made choices they would regret as long as they lived. Here too is a meticulous account of the evolution of the storm and the vain struggle of government forecasters to track its progress.

The blizzard of January 12, 1888, is still remembered on the prairie. Children fled that day while their teachers screamed into the relentless roar. Husbands staggered into the blinding wind in search of wives. Fathers collapsed while trying to drag their children to safety. In telling the story of this meteorological catastrophe, the deadliest blizzard ever to hit the prairie states, David Laskin has produced a masterful portrait of a tragic crucible in the settlement of the American heartland.

Book Description

"Vernal Pools" is the most comprehensive and substantive book available on the natural history, ecology, and conservation of the myriad small, transient, biologically dynamic pools that appear in low-lying areas, especially in spring, and then typically disappear as the seasons progress."Vernal Pools" emphasizes the pools of the formerly glaciated region of eastern North America, but the information contained in the book also will be of great value to those readers wanting to recognize, understand, protect, or manage seasonally wet pools wherever they occur."Vernal Pools" is written in a style that is accessible, appealing, and informative to both general and advanced readers.

Increasingly, vernal pools and their habitats are being recognized as places of interest and importance to many students and stewards of freshwater resources and biological diversity, including:land owners, naturalists, teachers, researchers, conservationists, resource managers, planners, and policy makers. ... Read more

Book Description

Perfect for mountain climbers and hikers, this valuable reference covers more rocks and minerals in North America than any other available guide. 794 full-color photographs depict all the important rocks, gems, and minerals -- in many variations of color and crystal form -- and the natural environments in which they occur; written descriptions provide information on field marks, similar rocks and minerals, environment, areas of occurrence, and derivation of names. Includes a guide to mineral collecting and a list of rock-forming minerals ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Rocks are fun if used properly
This is a very entertaining and informative book. It includes everything and more on what I need to know about the properties of various rocks.

As I am a big fan of communal stoning this book proves to be an invaluable resource. There is nothing more embarrassing than choosing the wrong type of rock at a stoning. I unwittingly chose a rock of very brittle consistency during a recent stoning I attended. You can imagine how foolish I looked when my stone merely disintegrated as it bounced off of my intended targets forehead. I still haven't lived that painful episode down, much to the amusement of my fellow stoners. My nickname is "Ole Softie" now.

Take a lesson from my faux pas; pick up this book before you are made to look the fool.

Rockhound's bible
This book is a must have for any experienced rockhound. The field guide sorts mineral specimens by color and then further subdivides them by crystal habit. The color plates are nicely photographed and direct the reader to the corresponding pages which contain all the mineralogic characteristics of the specimens. All the information a rockhound could possibly desire, including North American collecting locales is contained within.

This would not be a suitable book for a beginner in the field as the retrieval of information would not be easily done by a novice. As a long time serious collector, despite the approximately 800 pages, many popular minerals have been omitted.

A good fieldguide for geologists
This fieldguide is probably one of the best fieldguides out there on rocks and minerals. Being a geology student at Ohio State, I found this book very helpful in the identification of minerals and rocks. It contains an identification key according to hardness and cleavage for minerals, and a key pertaining to rock fabric and hardness for rocks. These keys are integeral to quick identification. One thing I don't like about this book is that the pictures and the text are in two seperate sections. That and the rock section of the book is somewhat lacking. But the main types of rocks are touched upon. However, the book is filled with information, and is very helpful. If you aren't a geologist of sorts, it is somewhat technical, but offers a good glossary of terms, and explains cleavage and other mineral properties well. Overall, an excellent fieldguide for identifying rocks and minerals.

Great keys
I think that the National Audubon Society Field Gude to North American Rocks and Minerals is a great guide for on the field. The visual key gives you great colored pictures to compare the rocks you find. Then, you look at the page number to the right of the name on the visual key, and you compare your rocks to that. I think that this is a great book for beginners and a great book for studying.

Not the best out there...
Most Audubon Field Guides that I have seen have greats amount of detal, as does this one, but a necesssity in identification of rocks and minerals is to be able to see the picture while you read the data to compare what you see, and as this book has them separte, it makes it very difficult to use when you need to reference material quick. A good book for details, though and the pictures ARE pretty, but as a student who really likes minerals, I'd have to say Simon and Schuster is a better book for the field or lab. ... Read more

Book Description

This text, which includes the same information as the market-leadingPhysical Geology 9th edition, is for the professor who wants to use the same valuable information and engaging format but in a different teaching sequence. Coverage of plate tectonics is moved to the beginning of the book. The text is also used as the official Annenberg CPB distributed telecourse for physical geology.

The beautiful new art program and interactive writing style will grab students' attention and further their interest in the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

Mark Kurlansky, the bestselling author of Cod and The Basque History of the World, here turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions.Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Kurlansky's kaleidoscopic history is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Salt as focus of world history
The book tells the story of salt throughout world history: how it was made, how it was traded, how it was used, and the effect the salt industry has had on villages, cities, and regions.

The book starts and ends in China, first describing the brine wells and the advanced drilling techniques the Chinese invented centuries ago. The text then moves to how salt was used in Roman times describing a sauce called garum made from pickled and fermented fish parts. Kurlansky then continues with Mediteranean fish industry. Salt's main use was in preserving fish. The next big change came when cod was found off the coast of Newfoundland. Cod's low fat meant more salt was needed.

Eventually, the American colonies developed their own salt and cod industries. Kurlansky describes the importance of salt in the American Civil War, how salt works led to the marketing of Tabasco sauce, how canals were dug through New York state to take salt from the Great Lakes to the coast.

After a quick recounting of how salt was used by Ghandi to spark India's revolution, the book ends back in China and how the salt industry there has moved into the modern age. The old traditional derricks are gone; no one wanted to pay to preserve even the most important ones as historical landmarks.

Kurlanski gives a good outline of how salt was taxed in various parts of the world. His description of how the salt tax was an important factor in both the French and Indian revolutions deserves special mention.

As he describes how salt was traded and produced, Kurlanky peppers his narrative (sorry...) with short recipes that illustrate how salt was used in different parts of the world and at different times of our history.

If you love food and history, you'll love this book. If you love one and only moderately like the other, you'll find the book bogs down a bit.

Taking a love of Salt to its logical extreme
Salt is one of those things that turned up all over the place in my high school studies. It turned up in chemisty (sodium chloride), in biology (the amount of salt in our bodies and what we do with it), in history and English (check out the root of the word: "salary"). So sure, salt's important. But does it merit its own entire book about its history? Turns out the answer is both yes and no...

I like these small, focused histories (as you've probably guessed if you've read any of the other reviews I've written). I've read many of them, including another one by Mark Kurlansky, Cod (which I rather enjoyed). So when I ran across Salt, I was certain I wanted to read it. I liked Kurlansky's style, and I already knew that the subject matter would be interesting.

And it was. In Salt, Kurlansky walks through both the history of salt and the influence of salt on history, presenting a wide and varied picture of one of the [now] most common elements in our modern world. And he does this in the same engaging fashion that he used in Cod; although, with fewer recipes. So why not give it five stars? Well, it has a couple of noticable flaws that tended to detract a bit from the overall presentation.

The first flaw was in the sheer number of historical snippets that were included. While I'm certain that salt has been important in the broad span of human history, there are a number of these historical anecdotes where he was clearly reaching to demonstrate the influence of salt. Salt may have been involved in these incidents, but it was peripheral at best, and the overall tone sounds too much like cheerleading. Cutting a few of these out would have shortened the book without detracting from the presentation at all.

The second flaw was the meandering path that he takes through the history of salt. He generally starts early in history, and his discussion moves along roughly as history does as well; however, he has a tendency to wander a bit both forward and backward without effectively tying all of this together. I'd have preferred to either walk straight through history while skipping around the world (effectively comparing the use and influence of salt around the world) or to have taken more time to discuss why we were rewinding (effectively following one thread to its conclusion and then picking up another parallel one). To me it made the presentation a little too choppy.

There have been other criticisms as well; for example, the chemistry is incorrect in a number of places, but if you're using this as a chemical reference, then you've got serious issues with your ability to library research. Of course, that begs the question of what errors are in there that we didn't catch. And it does tend to be a bit repetitive in parts; although, this could have been used to good effect if historical threads had been followed a bit more completely.

While I had a few dings on the book, overall I liked it. The fact that I read it end-to-end and enjoyed the last chapter as much as the first is a testament to my general enjoyment of it. It wasn't the best book I read last year, but I'll certainly keep it on my bookshelf. So, back to my original question: does salt merit its own book? Yes, it does, but perhaps in a somewhat shorter form.

A gem of a book
This is a gem of a book. It discusses and intertwines the history and importance of salt from prehistoric times until now in the context of the various types of salt, preserving and brining meat, fish and other foods, cooking, cheese making, health, geology, geography, place names, world trade, world history, warfare, art and investments, to name a few topics.

The descriptions of the role of salt in the American Civil War and the Caribbean islands were fascinating. Then there were the Romans, the Mayans, The Aztecs, the Chinese, the French, the Germans, the English, the Dutch, the Russians, the Scandinavians and others and their involvement with salt.

The recipes for cooking with salt are aptly chosen from about 4000 years of recorded history and are remarkably similar to those in use today. The colorful view and history of the San Francisco salt ponds from an airplane were always a bit of mystery to me, but no longer. The origin of towns and cities whose name ends in "wich" was enlightening, to say nothing of Salzburg and the many salt mines in the world.

In short, this book is a grand, well-written, informative and often amusing world panorama of salt filled with a host of pearls of learning. It is hard to put down and makes 449 pages pleasantly fly by, leaving you with a taste for more. If you have ever used salt, you really should read this book.

Definitely worth his salt . . .
It's become a party cliche to comment on our need for the results of combining a poisonous gas [chlorine] and a volatile metal [sodium]. Kurlansky passes quickly over such levity to seriously relate the role of sodium chloride in human society. While at first glance his account may seem overdone, a bit of reflection reveals that something so common in our lives is easily overlooked. Salt is essential to our existence. Our need is so strong and enduring that we tend to take its availability for granted. As a global history, this book is an ambitious attempt to re-introduce us to something we think common and uninteresting. It's immensely successful through Kurlansky's multi-faceted approach. He combines economics, politics, culinary practices, tradition and myth in making his presentation. About the only aspect ignored is the detailed biological one explaining why this compound is so necessary to our existence.

Because our need for salt is so fundamental, its history encompasses that of humanity. Salt was basic to many economies, Kurlansky notes. It's acted as the basis of exchange between traders, was the target of empire builders and even paid out to soldiers as a form of "salary" - hence the term. Venice, a coastal city tucked away from the main tracks of Mediterranean trade, bloomed into prominence when it discovered it could garner more profit by trading in salt than by manufacturing it. The Venetian empire and later renaissance was founded on the salt trade.

Empires may be built on salt, but can be felled by misguided policies on its trade and consumption. One element leading to the downfall of the French monarchy was the hated "gabelle", or salt tax, which imposed a heavier burden on farming peasants than it did on the aristocracy. The reputation of tax evasion borne by the French relates to the resentment expressed over the salt tax. A British regulation on salt resulted in similar reaction leading to the breakup up their own Empire. It was a "march to the sea" led by Mahatma Ghandi to collect salt that galvanised resistance to British rule. Over a century after the French Revolution, the British were displaced from India for similar reasons - greed.

While acknowledging the importance of salt in our lives, Kurlansky notes that determining how much is "too little" or "too much" is elusive. Many people today claim to have "salt-free" diets while remaining ignorant of how much salt is contained in our foods, both naturally and through processing. Yet, as Kurlansky records, salt has appeal beyond just the body's needs. He records numerous commentators from ancient Egypt, China and Rome who express their admiration for salt's flavour-adding qualities. Sauces based on various ingredients mixed with salt permeate the book. He notes that the salt dispenser is a modern innovation, supplementing the use of salt in cooking processes.

Salt's decline in conserving food, which changed the amount of salt we consume directly, came about due to increased world trade, displacement of rural populations into cities, and, of course, war. "The first blow" displacing salt as a preservative came from a Parisian cook; a man so obscure that his given name remains disputed. Nicolas [Francois?] Appert worked out how to preserve meat by "canning". Adopted by Napoleon's armies, the technique spread rapidly. The technology of the Industrial Revolution led to effective refrigeration. Kurlansky gives an account of Clarence Birdseye's efforts to found what became a major industry.

Although the topic seems overspecialised, the universal application and long historical view of this book establishes its importance. Kurlansky has successfully met an immense challenge in presenting a wealth of information. That he graces what might have been a dry pedantic exercise with recipes, anecdotes, photographs and maps grants this book wide appeal. He's to be congratulated for his worldly view and comprehensive presentation. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Tintinabulation?
Mr. Kurlansky had a great idea to wrap a world history around the discovery, usage and evolution of salt. There are many fascinating tales around this substance, but unfortunately you can't get away from the fact that you can only read the word "salt" so many times in one sentence or paragraph before you begin to yawn.

This, I think, leads to a certain desparation by the writer in attempting to find something - anything - to amuse the reader. One great example is a sentence containing the word "tintinabulation" which, if looked at carefully, is totally meaningless and serves only for the author to exercise his ego in being able to say that he used the word in a published sentence.

Another problem is the easy way that Mr. Kurlansky throws untruths into his story to back up some odd facts .. for example, he says that French is a language that "does not use apostrophes" during a store-naming story. Considering that the apostrophe is liberally used in French (c'est la vie!) these kinds of assertions cast doubt on the rest of the "facts" presented.

I felt the book was a way for Mr. Kurlansky to attempt to impress us with his perceived worldliness and culinary expertise - to the extent that the book wraps up with a recipe for butter cookies.

Sorry, don't bother, ego gets in the way of what may have been a good story. ... Read more