Book Description

This new addition to Barron's Easy Way series introduces the concept of Earth System Science and explains how the new emphasis on the Earth System approach is revolutionizing our understanding of global-scale Earth processes and changes. Separate chapters cover the Earth’s major systems (atmosphere, hydrosphere cryosphere, geosphere, and biosphere); the Big Bangand alternate theories of the universe’s origin; galaxies, stellar evolution, and other space phenomena; our solar system; the Earth–Moon system; geology and the geolologic time scale; plate tectonics and continental drift; weathering and erosion; the world’s oceans and atmosphere; and environmental considerations. ... Read more

Book Description

History’s first clear, comprehensive work on metallurgy, first published in 1540, describing in detail the equipment and processes of 16th-century mining, smelting and metalworking. This is the definitive English translation, with a historical introduction to the author—a Siennese metallurgist and armament maker—and his work. Illustrated with reproductions of the 94 woodcuts that graced the original.
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Reviews (1)

The first metallurgy text
This is not an easy book to read. It predates Agriccola's De Re Metallica by several years, and has not yet made the bridge of thought from alchemy into chemistry. As a result, the section on fireworks speaks of principles of air and such to explain how they work.

Additionally, many of the usages are different than we think of them today. For example, in the production of Aqua Fortis (nitric acid), one of the steps involves the use of red alum. After 10 years of research, I finally figured out that this referred to alunite, a mineral alum found in a certain mine in Italy which contained a high level of iron.

Given the difficulty in interpreting what is being said, it is still an invaluable book to researchers in the field. It contains valuable information about the thought and processes in use in Italian metallurgy in the 16th century. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Johnstown flood of 1889, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the pan-European bubonic plague epidemic of 1347-51--all of these events left deep impressions on contemporary history and are remembered even today. We have yet to gauge the effects of more modern disasters--for instance, the Kobe earthquake of 1995, which killed 5,000 Japanese--but we recognize their significance. Many scientists are now engaged in developing means to forecast natural disasters more accurately and to put in place more effective safety measures. Ernest Zebrowski tracks their work through history, noting that even the most current of ideas about, say, the dangers of wind shear will almost certainly be proven obsolete in the years to come. Students of technological history, geology, and climatology will find his work stimulating, and general readers will find it highly accessible. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

write a book about dust? apperently so
Science writer Holmes will have readers looking at dust in a new light as they vacuum their rugs. Born in a supernova, a huge cloud of space dust was the origin of the solar system and of us. More than 100 tons of space dust rains down on Earth daily, but it is planet-formed dust that is the theme of this well-written book. Holmes writes of the great desert dust storms (the Sahara yearly puts 600 million tons into the atmosphere) that disperse around the globe. Humans breathe in more than a billion and a half dust particles daily from "clean air." Holmes describes the health effects of all this dust, but that of household dust is the most striking. Poorly vacuumed rugs may contain up to three and a half cups of dust per square meter, containing, among other things, 18,000 dust mites per teaspoon of dust and creating an asthma epidemic in the US where the number of sufferers have increased 150 percent since 1970. Holmes cites the "hygiene hypothesis" as a partial explanation--the obsession to keep houses and children spotless may have lowered resistance to allergens found in household dust. An entertaining and informative book; chapter list of Web sites; extensive bibliography

The little things mean so much
Dust. It's all around us in our daily lives. We brush it off the tabletop and sweep it with the broom. Holmes shows us that it's a lot more than that. It's the building blocks of the universe. It's a natural part of our lives - we each have our own individual dust clouds. Unlike Peanut's Pigpen, ours is usually not visible. Hannah Holmes has written a broad and surprisingly accessible book looking at the roles and dangers that dust plays in our lives. She is able to easily slide from the macro view of the universe to the micro view of dust mites without losing her audience. Dust rises from the most unexpected places - who would have though of the sea as a dust creator, yet spray allows the launching of salt particles into the air at a surprising rate. And penguins produce ammonia gas that condenses into small balls. Holmes writes, "By accidentally flying through penguin-poo dust in the making, Hubert and friends had caught the magical transition of gas to particle."

You will walk away from this book hopefully not fearing, but respecting dust for its role in our, and the planet's life. Holmes shows us that even the little mundane subjects of day to day life, can have profound effects upon us all.

Often fascinating, sometimes dull.
Writing is excellent, although occasionally a certain "breathlessness" in tone becomes wearying. There are a number of unresolved scientific questions, such as the cause of asthma, and Holmes does a particularly good job with these. The material on dust and weather is fascinating. While Holmes' sympathies are clear, she remains objective. Despite Holmes' best efforts, however, the underlying material is not uniformly interesting. For example, there are some interesting and surprising causes of dust, and causes of ill health, but Holmes' comprehensive treatment also, necessarily, touches on the well known, amplifying with statistics and so on that just aren't that interesting.

On the edge of greatness
I first heard of the author, Hannah Holmes, as she was giving a radio interview on NPR. Unfortunately, reading the book is just like listening to the author on the radio -- she uses beautiful descriptive language, but there are NO pictures, even though she often verbally describes pictures of the wonderful world of dust she's seen.
The prose is beautiful, and the coverage of the book is extensive. Her jump to the view that the Earth will be swallowed up by the sun in the distant future is less likely scientifically than she makes it appear. And the book tends a bit too much to simplicity instead of thoroughness.
But why would photos, or drawings at least, be left out of a book which could benefit so much from them? The microscopic world of dust, and the cosmic scale of stardust and global dust flows, is not easily and accurately imagined. This lack brings the potential rating of the book (4 or 5 stars) down to 2 stars. Only _after_ the reader goes through over 200 pages of bare text does the reader get to the list of about sixty websites in an appendix at the back of the book -- websites which contain pictures of what she's been talking about. But, these sites are not grouped on the web, and must be accessed individually by typing in the lengthy URL's -- assuming you still have the interest to go back to see the actual images you were only "picturing" in your mind, AND you have internet access at your reading spot and the time to type in each URL individually. The book's listing of the first URL I explored had a typo in it, and it took some exploring to find the typo (.html is listed, but the site uses .htm). How much trouble would it have been to bring all these sites together on an author or book website, so that the reader could click from one to the other? Couldn't this appendix of websites been mentioned in the introduction or first chapter -- where the reader would be warned to refer to it periodically -- since the website list is apparently a substitute for photos or drawings in the book?
This is a book on the edge of greatness. Hopefully in future editions of this book, and certainly in Ms. Holmes' future books, relevant photographs and drawings will be included. Just as Ms. Holmes didn't do her research over the telephone, she should not expect us to grasp the full beauty and understanding of what she describes through mere words.

From dust
A great read begins with a thought, no matter how seemingly insignificant, from a great mind. The hallmark of great writing is when the author is unbound by some repetively obsessed over interest and has the imagination and confidence to write about a new and unfamiliar topic. Hannah Holmes has shown me that she can probably write about any topic she chooses and make it interesting and entertaining. If a subject seems uninteresting, it is because there is not enough information. This book has enough information, salted with Hannahs gift as a storyteller to make this book as hard to put down as a ruptured tube of superglue. ... Read more

Book Description

Engineers get an assessment of the sources of pollution and a summary of the techniques used in pollution control and cooling systems.


This book aims to introduce waste water and cooling water treatments to student and graduate engineers in the oil and chemical industries.It is based on oil industrial impletmentation of these treatments and describes operators' experiences in running their own facilities in a number of plants.

An introduction to the vocabulary and chemistry of waste water purification with a discussion of the organic polutants the era inherent to the oil industry
Case studies of five leading French refineries
A chapter dealing with the different types of spent caustic and how treatment can be improved ... Read more

Book Description

The unique aspect of this entire book is the emphasis on visualizing both raw data and the results of their analysis. The emphasis of this book is data analysis with coverage of both classical and unique topics.Classical topics include univariate, bivariate, and multivariate data analysis. Unique topics include kriging, cokriging, geostatistical simulation, digital image analysis, and data composing.For data analysts. ... Read more

Book Description

The long-awaited exploration of permaculture specifically for cooler Northern Hemisphere climates is finally here! Already regarded as the definitive book on the subject, The Earth Care Manual is accessible to the curious novice as much as it is essential for the knowledgeable practitioner.

Permaculture started out in the 1970s as a sustainable alternative to modern agriculture, taking its inspiration from natural ecosystems. It has always placed an emphasis on gardening, but since then it has expanded to include many other aspects, from community design to energy use. It can be seen as an overall framework that puts a diversity of green ideas into perspective. Its aims are low work, high output, and genuine sustainability. ... Read more

Book Description

This is an outstanding overview of the history of the Earth from a unique planetary perspective for introductory courses in the earth sciences. The book approaches Earth history as an evolution, encompassing the origin of the cosmos through the inner working of living cells. Earth:Evolution of a Habitable World tells how the Earth has come to its present state, why it differs from its neighboring planets, what life's place is in Earth's history, how humanity affects the processes that make our planet livable, and contemplates human influences in the context of natural changes on Earth. This book brings a fresh perspective to the study of the Earth for students who wish to learn how our planet evolved to its present form. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

perfect book for reference
If you're looking for a book that is a great read and even a better reference book about the geosciences, this is the one. I refer to it often in my scientific education. The references at the end of each chapter are also a great way for people to get further information on each subject, if they need it.

The evolution of our planet from a new perspective
Earth, Evolution of a Habitable World by Jonathan I. Lunine

Review by Philip Eklund

Dr. Lunine is a Professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona, and a NASA advisor. His new book describes Earth's evolution in a fresh perspective, in relation to its sister planets, particularly Mars and Venus. This 319 page textbook covers Earth's origin, the development of its atmosphere and oceans, the variations of its orbit and climate, and at what point we are enmeshed in its long and lively history. The reader can see how we can be unwittingly in the teeth of an ice age and why the number of species has crescendoed now, in our time.

The vast territory that Lunine succinctly covers is all that anyone with a bit of gumption needs to become an authority on the state of our planet. Guideposts to this territory include the sciences of measurement (basically, math, the metric system, and dating methods), and of physics as applied to geology and biology (and some chemistry). Unfortunately Lunine sometimes lapses into off-topic diversions of astronomy (Doppler shifts, lunar phases, Stonehenge, eclipses, and aging planets by the density of their craters). Also, there is no glossary, but the index is adequate. (A few undefined jargons, like "cratonization", sneak in.)

The book is profusely illustrated by Jonathan's wife, Cynthia. There is a color section, mostly of refugees of some astronomy book showing various wonders of the universe. But one color map of the Southwest occupied my attention for a long time. It compares vegetation regimes during the Pleistocene and the Present, the ancient record being derived from pollen counts meticulously gleaned from old packrat middens. I amused myself by examining these data to see whether elephants could be reintroduced into Arizona. Another color figure shows fantastic computer sequences on how the moon must have been formed by an impact between Earth and a Mars-sized billiard ball.

The description of the origin of life is a gem. Lunine's compelling prose springs out as lively as the quasi-stable whirlpools of life he describes (basically an autocatalysis model describing a mode of life existing before reproduction). An alternative model depicting an RNA origin of life is provided mainly for comic relief. Although the role of biology in forming Earth's almost explosive atmosphere covers several subsequent chapters, life is depicted as along for the ride, and the Gaia "biofeedback" theory is dismissed in a sentence.

Unfortunately, the origin of sentience, an event indisputably more profound than the origin of life, is not mentioned. However, the fossil evolution rise of humanity, particularly the Neanderthals, is wonderfully covered. Lunine mentions the "blitzkrieg" theory of his neighbor, Dr. Paul Martin, who postulates the extinction of American megafauna, such as the great elephants and saber-tooths, as being the result of the invasion of "native" Americans with spears. A nice contrast to the increase in American bio-diversity that accompanied the post-Columbian invasion of technologically advanced humans.

Lunine was identified by Time magazine as one of its 1994 "50 for the Future" list of emerging American leaders. Lunine himself would prefer the term "policy-maker" to leader, in the sense of presenting knowledge that self-led individuals can organize into principles of purposeful and long range action. The power of a comprehensive book such as this is that current issues such as global warming can be put in the perspective of past "atmosphere crises" of Earth, such as the super-high greenhouse prevailing at the end of the dinosaur era.

The penultimate chapter, titled "Limited Resources" fails this potential, being anecdotal without the factual rigor of the preceding chapters. (I was told that this chapter was written at the last minute at the request of the publisher.) Lunine starts by treating limited resources and overpopulation as arbitrary assertions, in defiance of his tradition of listing the assumptions of every dating method or limitations of climate modeling.

On the plus side, Lunine does take a rational stand against the Luddites. But where are the charts on air pollution, famine frequencies, human fertility, wetland or forest land acreage, etc. over time? The charts that do appear, on projections of population, energy use, kilos of grain per person, and "undiscovered" oil, have none of the error bars, validation, or context of previous chapters. Bemoaning the tiny amount of land urbanized each year to support farmers moving to the cities as a result of a world-wide food glut is an example of the surreal non-sequitor grab-bag of alarmist insinuations of which fill this chapter.

Particularly nasty is the bromide that less industrialized nations need a "reasonable" standard of living, with the implication that the U.S., (which creates most of the resources that feed and run the world), somehow deprives them of this even as the U.S. demonstrates the technological and political blueprints on how to achieve abundance. Since humans are too greedy or stupid to be allowed the freedom to despoil their own nest, only coercive regulation, or supra-governmental "cooperation" is required to tell their citizenry what is in their own best interests at gun-point. The nadir of these politics is an inexcusable sanction of coercive sterilization in China.

Other than the coverage of our most recent millennium, Lunine has written a tightly integrated and ambitious book. Particularly evocative is the imagery of the continents, floating and jostled into each other like froth on the churning oceanic plates of the Earth, teeming with a surprisingly robust and assertive biological component, laughing yet seesawing through cosmic disasters, extinctions, and self-induced crises of a scale that reduces the palimpsest of human intervention to ripples from a plunked stone.

This beautiful and vigorous accomplishment surmounts what has heretofore been a dry subject, and it literally groundbreaks the placement of our planet and ourselves in the objective context of existence and history. ... Read more

Book Description

Volcanoes describes in stunning detail 100 active volcanoes around the planet. Every entry describes the principal characteristics of the volcano, such as the geodynamic environment leading to its formation, its structure, special features, morphology, its method of eruption, and the materials erupted. There are also traveler's directions for reaching each volcano.

The word volcano usually evokes images of cone-shaped mountains with smooth, steep slopes and a plume of smoke rising skyward. This, however, is only one of the five types of volcanoes. In this comprehensive guide, readers will learn about these basic types:

- Island-Arc volcanoes (Alaska, Japan and Indonesia)
- Hot-Spot volcanoes (Hawaii)
- Ocean-Ridge volcanoes (Iceland)
- Continental-Margin volcanoes (North America and the Andes)
- Continental-Rift volcanoes (eastern Africa)

Written and illustrated by experts in the field, Volcanoes will appeal to readers interested in science and natural history; travelers to regions of volcanic activity; students; and inhabitants of areas exposed to volcanic eruptions.

The book also addresses predicting eruptions and how to minimize the risks posed by them. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Stunning and beautiful; everything you always wanted to know
This a beautifully printed little book, loaded with jaw-dropping, high-resolution photographs and diagrams in stunning color. The first part of the book covers the science of volcanism, and the second part (consisting about 80% of the book) is something I have always wanted: a survey of all the great volcanoes of the world, each illustrated with beautiful photographs and diagrams. The lattitude and longitude as well as the elevation of each volcano is given, followed by the specification of the volcano type, a geological history of the volcano, and a description of access and principal attractions. You're not going to believe the variety of colors and types of volcanoes photographed in this book. ... Read more

Book Description

The management of watersheds is one of the most complex tasksthat scientists, users and policy makers are confronted with,especially in recent years when freshwater resources have diminishedand conflicts on water allocation have increased worldwide. The present book was written as a response to the need for systematicinformation on management-related aspects of the most important andcontroversially discussed basin in Mexico: the Lerma-Chapalawatershed. Additionally, media exposure on shrinking water levels ofLake Chapala, the largest in Mexico, underlines the urgent need of amultidisciplinary discussion, including social, ecological,economical, technical, and legal aspects. ... Read more

Book Description

The first book of its kind that addresses the issues of global change from a perspective of Earth as a system, The Earth System offers a solid emphasis on lessons from Earth history that may guide decision-making in the future. This book teaches global change and how it affects our environment.Modern topics covered by this comprehensive book are the atmosphere and global warming, the circulation of the oceans, plate tectonics, ecosystems, the origin of Earth and life, the rise of oxygen and ozone depletion, biodiversity, and climate stability.Because of its incredibly detailed appendices, tables, and suggestions for further reading, this will make an excellent reference work for geologists, oceanographers, meteorologists, and geographers. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

This is the best textbook for earth system science
Earth System Science is a new field, one that evolves much more quickly than textbooks can be revised. This one is as current as you can expect, and it approaches the field of science in a much better way than any other textbook I have seen. In particular, most earth system texts approach the field by morphing from a traditional discipline. Usually, it's a geology textbook revised to include atmospheric, oceanic, and climatic studies. But earth system science requires an interdisciplinary approach from the start, a problem based approach. Our global environmental problems need this approach, and this book covers them in a reasonably detailed and accurate manner.

Good overview of how our earth works
I used this book for an introductory environmental studies course. The book is full of information I had never before discovered. The chapters clearly describe how smaller cycles and feedback mechanisms relate the health of the earth as a whole.

If you are curious about global warming this book has great factual information to start an understanding of the concept.

Not a bad textbook
I used this book for my Environmental Geology class. Overall I think it's an ok text. It's not as readily understandable an reader friendly as some of the other introductory geology texts on the market that I have read--it's somewhat obsecure at times. I think that it's rather overpriced as well for a black and white paperback textbook.

It does however cover a large selection of material in a succint manner, yet with enough detail to satisfy the curiosity of the interested student. Some of the stuff in this textbook is not common to geology texts--principally the aspects that have to do with the biosphere.

Overall, it's a reasonable textbook, besides the cost, which I think is inflated. Textbook prices are inflated in general in any case! ... Read more

Book Description

Here's the ideal tool if you're looking for a flexible, straightforward analysis system for your everyday design and operations decisions.This new third edition includes sections on stations, geographical information systems, "absolute" versus "relative" risks, and the latest regulatory developments.From design to day-to-day operations and maintenance, this unique volume covers every facet of pipeline risk management, arguably the most important, definitely the most hotly debated, aspect of pipelining today.



Now expanded and updated, this widely accepted standard reference guides you in managing the risks involved in pipeline operations. You'll also find ways to create a resource allocation model by linking risk with cost and customize the risk assessment technique to your specific requirements. The clear step-by-step instructions and more than 50 examples make it easy. This edition has been expanded to include offshore pipelines and distribution system pipelines as well as cross-country liquid and gas transmission pipelines.

The only comprehensive manual for pipeline risk managementUpdated material on stations, geographical information systems, "absolute" versus "relative" risks, and the latest regulatory developmentsSet the standards for global pipeline risk management ... Read more

Reviews (2)

How will life end?
In this book, Asimov explores and analyzes the different ways the world, or civilzation, could end (the "catastrophes") and estimates the likelihood and time frame of each one of them. He goes all the way from the macro-catastrophes (heat death of the universe) to the micro-catastrophes (disease and political turmoil).
Very interesting book that brings science and a dose of reality into this consideration of the ultimate demise of mankind.

Will humanity overcome?
I was pleasantly surprised by this book(Dutch translation). I had never before read Asimov, and although I imagined him as a "serious" science-fiction author, the subject and title of this book made me uncertain about what to expect... Would it go down the popular road of feeding on people's fear? As it turns out, there was no need to worry. Asimov uses a nicely balanced approach to this mass-appeal theme to touch many fields of science and even culture. His message is not one of hysteria, but a message of hope. He presents himself as a true Homo Universalis of our time. Not in the sense that he pretends to know everything about anything, the sort of omni-knowledge that died after the Renaissance. But in the sense that he argues like a true World Citizen. A member of the human race instead of belonging to this or that nation/religion/sex/whatever. Of course, the subject of the book lends itself very well for this. So my impression is that Asimov found it more important to awake this feeling in the readers, than to write a sort of disaster-encyclopedia. The book is meant to assist us in becoming conscious about our position in space and time. About our relation to the past, the future and all the phenomenons in the Universe that completely outscale us in size, violence and duration. It is meant to make us feel tiny and insignificant in one way. But certainly also to unite us in a collective battle against the indifferent laws of nature and evolution.

I would recommended this book to anyone with a broad view on the world around us. ... Read more

Book Description

Environmental Monitoring and Characterization is an integrated, hands-on resource for monitoring all aspects of the environment. Sample collection methods and relevant physical, chemical and biological processes necessary to characterize the environment are brought together in twenty chapters which cover: sample collection methods, monitoring terrestrial, aquatic and air environments, and relevant chemical, physical and biological processes and contaminants.

This book will serve as an authoritative reference for advanced students and environmental professionals.

* Examines the integration of physical, chemical, and biological processes
* Emphasizes field methods and real-time data acquisition, made more accessible with case studies, problems, calculations, and questions
* Includes four color illustrations throughout the text
* Brings together the concepts of environmental monitoring and site characterization ... Read more