Book Description

Volcanoes are unquestionably one of the most spectacular and awe-inspiring features of the physical world. Our paradoxical fascination with them stems from their majestic beauty and powerful, if sometimes deadly, destructiveness.
Notwithstanding the tremendous advances in volcanology since ancient times, some of the mystery surrounding volcanic eruptions remains today. The Encyclopedia of Volcanoes summarizes our present knowledge of volcanoes. Through its thematic organization around the melting of the earth, it provides a comprehensive source of information on the multidisciplinary influences of volcanic eruptions--both the destructive as well as the beneficial aspects.
The majority of the chapters focus on the geoscience-related aspects of volcanism (radioactive heat source, melting rock, ascent of magma, surface phenomena associated with exiting magma, extraterrestrial volcanism, etc.). In addition, complementary chapters discuss the multidisciplinary aspects of volcanism; these include the history of volcanology, geothermal energy resources, interaction with the oceans and atmosphere, health aspects of volcanism, mitigation of volcanic disasters, post-eruption ecology, and the impact of eruptions on organismal biodiversity.

In addition to its appeal to educators, students, and professional andamateur scientists, the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes functions as an important information resource for administrators and officials responsible for developing and implementing volcanic hazard mitigation around the world.

*The first and only reference work to cover all aspects of volcanology
*More than 80 separate peer-reviewed articles--all original contributions by leading authors from major institutions of science around the world, commissioned for this work
*An integrated transition from the volcanic process through hazards, risk, and societal impacts, with an emphasis on how volcanoes have influenced and shaped society
*Convenient single-volume format with topics arranged thematically--articles provide coverage of nine different aspects of volcanology
*Each entry in the Encyclopedia begins with an outline of the article content and a concise definition of the subject of the article
*3,000 Glossary entries explain key terms
*Further Reading lists appear at the end of each entry
*Extensive cross-referencing system links related articles
*Sixteen pages of color will convey the science and excitement of this often violent phenomena
*Large 8 1/2" x 11" page size, easy-to-read double-column format ... Read more

Reviews (6)

...from a student's perspective...
I found this text to be incredibly useful, especially considering the noticable dearth of textbooks dealing with volcanoes. The encyclopedia is comprehensible, yet in depth, and covers a broad range of topics. Whenever I have a volcano question I start here first!

EXCELLENT
An excellent book. Written by some of the worlds most renowed experts-one of whom I am fortunate enough to know!
The book is well worth the money as every aspect of volcanology is covered.
I would recommend this book to anyone with a serious intest in volcanology.

The state of the science
Great compendium of volcanology. Especially thrilling to an older geologist to see the advances in knowledge since we got out of school; for instance, seismic tomography has mapped actual magma chambers, which were semi-mythic suppositions in my undergrad day; and lo, there is the anatomy of the very volcanoes I grew up under. The book comprises dozens of specially submitted articles by diverse international authors, so you get many perspectives, not just of different disciplines, but of authors' sense of how they relate to others.

Flawed by abundant typos. The editing of this book is a great advance over say The Solar System by the same Academic Press, which was a mangled turnip; but they still have a ways to go. It is disappointing to see major scientific works bungled by bottom line that slashes proofing. NASA is probably largely responsible for the Solar System mess (Sally Ride, take a course in remedial english!). Geologists are a lot more meticulous than astronauts. But the buck shd stop with the publisher.

So buy this book and complain to Academic Press. Buy it before it goes out of print and you have to kick yourself; it will be long before the like comes again.

The King of Volcano References
As a master's student studying volcanology and remote sensing, and a research assistant at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, I can honestly say this is it! From the depths of the mantle on Earth to the dynamic volcanism on Juptier's moon Io, the large team of authors and editors cover every aspect of volcanology possible in this 1,000 + page book. The book is extremely organized, complete with a detailed index, large glossary, and most importantly, references to journal publications. The book also uses high quality images and photos (black and white and in color), as well as scientific graphs, tables, and plots of data when necessary. Despite being written by such a wide array of scientists from all over the world, this encyclopedia is written with both volcanologists and the lay person in mind. This impressive compilation is well worth the price.

The best book I ever read.
This book is the best! There isn't anything that the average person isn't able to understand.This book was written by people that have a passon for what they do and love. My hat is off to DR. Sigurdsson for giveing us this masterpice. ... Read more

Book Description

Looking into the Earth comprehensively describes the principles and applications of both "global" and "exploration" geophysics on all scales. It forms an introduction to geophysics for geologists, civil engineers, environmental scientists, and field archaeologists. The book is organized into two parts: Part 1 describes the geophysical methods, while Part 2 illustrates their use in a number of extended case histories. Mussett and Khan introduce mathematical and physical principles at an elementary level, and then develop them as necessary. Student questions and exercises are included at the end of each chapter. Written for introductory and intermediate level courses in geology, earth science, environmental science, and engineering, this is also an excellent introductory textbook in geophysics. ... Read more

Book Description

Introduces beach processes within an approach thatbalances an engineering perspective against a purely geological one.Provides an up-to-date review of the current understanding of beach processes as well as applications to solve coastal problems (erosion, management issues, etc.). Discusses issues related to beach erosion and other processes. The second edition of Beach Processes and Sedimentation has been updated to include information gathered from two decades of science and engineering in the field, reflecting the vast increase in knowledge since the first edition. Discusses the rise of coastal zone management as well as patterns of wave transformations and dissipation within the surf zone, and how these water motions produce cross-shore movements of sediment resulting in beach-profile variations.An essential reference book for many readers: from beach front property owners to politicians contending with beachfront erosion to engineers addressing beachfront reclamation projects. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Good classic stuff
Basic for any person interested in coastal processes. No more words. ... Read more

Book Description

Expanded from 7 to 12 chapters, this edition of Introduction to Hydraulics & Hydrology with Applications for Stormwater Management continues to guide readers to an understanding of the concepts of hydraulics and surface water technology as they are used in everyday civil engineering practice. Valued as a reference by professional civil engineers, land developers, public works officials, and land surveyors throughout the U.S., this book is also an important tool for students in these disciplines. The book begins by acquainting readers with the principles of hydrostatics and hydrodynamics, starting with fluid mechanics and progressing through pressure, flow, and energy considerations. Next, concepts of rainfall, runoff, and routing are fully explored and investigated. Finally, these concepts are applied to the solution of practical engineering problems, including: open-channel flow, orifice and weir flow, culvert flow and storm sewer design, culvert design, and detention basin design. A history of water engineering and discussion of the basic concepts of computation and design are included at the beginning of the book for the benefit of readers who may be new to this field. Clearly solved examples are also included throughout the book to assist readers in their efforts to apply theory to practice. ... Read more

Book Description

The Handbook of Weather, Climate, and Water: Atmospheric Chemistry, Hydrology, and Societal Impacts is the first of two stand-alone volumes that will be landmarks in the meteorological literature for many years to come. Each volume encompasses both fundamental topics and critical issues that have recently surfaced in studies of the hydrosphere and atmosphere. Renowned experts have contributed to every part of this handbook. Each overview chapter is followed by topic-specific chapters written by specialists who present comprehensive discussions at a greater level of detail and complexity.

The Handbook of Weather, Climate, and Water: Atmospheric Chemistry, Hydrology, and Societal Impacts covers topics that are essential for grasping the scientific bases of major issues such as global climate warming, the ozone hole, acid rain, floods, droughts, and other natural disasters. Cross-references between chapters allow readers to easily pursue a specific interest beyond a particular subtopic or individual chapter.  Other topics include:

-Aerosols and smog
-Cloud chemistry
-Greenhouse gases
-Remote sensing techniques in hydrology
-Hydrologic forecasting and simulation
-Tropical deforestation effects on the climate system
-Societal impacts of the El Niño phenomenon

The Handbook of Weather, Climate, and Water: Atmospheric Chemistry, Hydrology, and Societal Impacts will be an essential addition to the libraries of professionals and academics in the environmental sciences, and a valuable source book for university and technical libraries throughout the world. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive presentation of groundwater hydrology that integrates chemistry, physics, geology, and calculus while applying theory to real-world geology.Provides quantitative methods of calculation in groundwater hydrology. Contains sections on transport processes, ground water contamination, well hydraulics, and aquifer yield — including analog and numerical modeling. Covers mathematical derivations in appendices. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Groundwater
Overall a very good book. This is the text our Hydrogeology professor, Dr.J.Toth used in the 80's. It covers a great deal of information on facies,flow nets, hydrologic cycle, chemical evolution, groundwater resource evaluation, contamination, groundwater processes and a really good section on chemical principles and mass action. This is not a quantitative text, the discussions on finite difference and finite element methods include very little math. I would have also liked to have seen a better discussion of well hydraulics. I still turn to it for a reference as it is a very useful book.

A rigorous and quantitative basic reference
This is a good complement to "Groundwater Hydrology" by Todd. Freeze and Cherry is more detailed, rigorous, and quantitative than Todd, but it doesn't communicate the big picture quite as well. As well as an undergraduate textbook, this book is an essential resource for anyone working in the field.

The "bible" of groundwater
Despite the fact that this book was written almost twenty years ago, it is still considered the definitive work on groundwater geology. A must-have for hydrogeologists and groundwater engineers. ... Read more

Book Description

From stunning mountain ranges to arid expanses of desert, America has been blessed with an incredibly diverse land -- and the vision to protect it for our and future generations to enjoy. These lands are ours to view, wander, learn from, and revel in. America's National Parks captures all that is great about all fifty-six parks in the national park system. It also gives interesting, easy-to-understand background on the geological and ecological forces that continue to make each national park so worthy of protection.

Nature lovers will be captivated by gorgeous photos of landforms, flora, and fauna. Families will appreciate the information that is sure to enhance vacations at the parks. And visitors to any of the country's national parks will forever treasure this book as a memento of past visits and an inspiration for future ones.

Unlike any other book published on national parks, America's National Parks is a must-have for anyone who relishes America's natural wonders and wants to learn more about the powerful forces that created them. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

spectacular visuals, excellent text
This book is a spectacular visual text to some of the American National Parks. The size of the photos, and their photographic quality, are just excellent. The photos are right up there with National Geographic-type quality. In addition, the accompaning text gives ecological insights to where and why this part of the United States was designated and saved as a National Park. The book gives short but insightful accompanying text for each of the Parks that are presented to the reader. The only problem is, unfortunately, the organization of the chapters, and a very skimpy table of contents, and the reader can get easily annoyed with these two problems. It is hard to understand why the publisher made such errors, as the problems are very obvious, and the whole book suffers as a result. It is a beautiful book covering many of the National Parks, with super photos and very good college level text, and if you can put up with the problems of a missing table of contents, this book is a great collection of art, ecology, and the National Parks of the USA. A 5-star for the photos and accompanying text, and a 3 for a useless table of contents. Sorry, but the publisher made major mistakes in putting this otherwise spectacular book together. But I will still give the book a 5-star anyway. The photos and text are just too good to give this book anything less than a 5-star.

Spectacular Presentation of Natural Wonder
Paul Schullery presents a book filled with powerful and beautiful images of fifty-six national parks that have been dedicated to the preservation and protection of irreplaceable treasures. This book shows why these parks are so worthy of protection.

Not only are they places where indescribable beauty can be seen, they have also been formed by unique geological forces. From stunning mountain ranges to arid expanses of desert, these are the lands we view, wander in and learn from.

America's National Parks is a celebration of the diversity of national parks throughout the United States. They are grouped according to the geological forces that helped to create them.

Diagrammatic illustrations, important landmarks, travel routes, topographical maps and spectacular full-color photographs illustrate the sheer majestic beauty of nature.

You will also find captivating information to encourage an awareness of the landforms, flora and fauna. Families will also find information to help enhance their vacations at the parks.

Inside the front cover a map of America shows the location of each park I started to remember my trip to the Grand Canyon National Park and my husband's visit to Denali.

Our Treasured Lands
The Rolling Land - Volcanic and Geothermal Forces
The Broken Crust - The Power of Mountain Building
Water Designing Lands - Waves, Caves and Currents
Ice Sculpting Stone - The Carving Power of Glaciers
The Patient Power - Wind and Water Erosion
Weather Shaping Life - Effects of Extreme Climates

This book contains some of the most amazing photographs I've ever seen of America. From pictures of dripstone formations adorning New Mexico's Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico to Lush Ecosystems shrouded in Fog in the National Park in Washington, these pictures help to vividly describe each park. I remember once having an argument with someone over the fact that there were rainforests near where I lived in Washington and no one would believe me. Well, here is proof!

I was also especially interested in looking up the Painted Desert we visited once on a trip across America after college. At the time, I didn't actually realize I was in the Petrified Forest national Park in Arizona because technically, we were just driving right through and I wasn't paying attention.

This book has helped to bring a new awareness to my own life and also encourages a desire for more exploration. Now I definitely want to see Mount McKinley in person.

Voyageurs National Park looks like a fascinating place to paddle around lonely islands. However, they do say never to skimp on insect repellent. A third of the park is water.

A memento of past visits or an inspiration for future exploration! ... Read more

Book Description

This Second Edition of Elements of Petroleum Geology is completely updated and revised to reflect the vast changes in the field in the fifteen years since publication of the First Edition. This book is a usefulprimer for geophysicists, geologists, and petroleum engineers in the oil industry who wish to expand their knowledge beyond their specialized area. It is also an excellent introductory text for a university course in petroleum geoscience.
Elements of Petroleum Geology begins with an account of the physical and chemical properties of petroleum, reviewing methods of petroleum exploration and production. These methods include drilling, geophysical exploration techniques, wireline logging, and subsurface geological mapping. After describing the temperatures and pressures of the subsurface environment and the hydrodynamics of connate fluids, Selley examines the generation and migration of petroleum, reservoir rocks and trapping mechanisms, and the habit of petroleum in sedimentary basins. The book contains an account of the composition and formation of tar sands and oil shales, and concludes with a brief review of prospect risk analysis, reserve estimation, and other economic topics.

* Updates the First Edition completely
* Reviews the concepts and methodology of petroleum exploration and production
* Written by a preeminent petroleum geologist and sedimentologist with 30 years of petroleum exploration in remote corners of the world
* Contains information pertinent to geophysicists, geologists, and petroleum reservoir engineers ... Read more

Reviews (2)

From an OPEC country ...
Excellent book, easy to read for petroleum engineers yet quite insightful and nicely presented. A great deal of references are useful to direct further reading, this book became my preferred reference in petroleum geology. Highly recommendable.

Excelente libro, fácil de leer para ingenieros de petróleo pero no por eso superficial y además sobriamente formateado. Gran cantidad de referencias cumplen su propósito de dirigir el estudio de aquellos interesados en profundizar en cualquiera de los tópicos que cubre el autor más que satisfactoriamente. Sin duda una de mis referencias preferidas en el tema. Altamente recomendable.

From the Titan of petroleum!
This second edition surveys the science of petroleum geology. It describes the generation, migration, and entrapment of oil and gas, and outlines the procedures used in their location, evaluation, and production. The topics, appropriate for the geology student (and cyber-cadet seeking abiogenic petroleum anywhere in the universe), include requisite basic material from the fields of petroleum engineering and geophysics. The eight colour plates are packed with useful information.

Selley's writing style is most welcome. ... Read more

Amazon.com

As an explainer, John McPhee is a national treasure. The longtime "New Yorker" staff writer has taken us inside the world of art museums, environmental groups, fruit markets, airship factories, basketball courts, and atomic-bomb labs the world over. Here he covers the complex geological history of California, the source of much news today. As Californians daily await the inevitable great earthquake that will send their cities tumbling down like so many matchsticks, McPhee piles fact on luminous fact, wrestling raw data into a beautifully written narrative that gainsays a sedimentologist's warning: "You can't cope with this in an organized way," he told McPhee, "because the rocks aren't organized." As always, McPhee enlarges our understanding of the strange, making it familiar--and endlessly interesting. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Test book writers could take lessons from John McPhee
I read the series in the New Yorker. When the book published a short time later, I bought the book, read it gave it to a friend, who gave it to a friend and so forth. Bought another copy which I gave to my daughter's third grade teacher. So I am on my third copy, but found value from re-reading this book several times. I now go by quarries and road cuts wishing I could stop and get the understanding of what is happening in the geology. This is our world and McPhee does an excellent job of allowing us to understand how it works. .

A cross-section of California at your fingertips.
My firsthand experience of living in Northern California has endeared me to its fascinating geology, for not too many places on earth have seen so much upheaval: from transform faults to terranes banging against the continent, the uplift of melange complexes from the seafloor, and the splendid manifestation of batholiths that is the Sierra Nevada. A drive from Tahoe to San Francisco takes you across ancient batholiths to the fore-arc basin of the Central Valley and ultimately to the melange and suspect terrane mosaic that is the Coast Ranges, Twin Peaks, and the Marin Headlands.

What John McPhee's book successfully delivers is an accessible cross-section of the geology of the golden state at your fingertips, including those, including myself, who wax nostalgic about being a former inhabitant of this geologic wonderland. McPhee explains not only geologic processes but also how geology affected exploration and exploitation of the state's resources. The geology is not dead, for it resonates to this day and to the far future, what with the awesome power yet to be unleashed from California's labyrinthine faults and from the still burgeoning mass of the Cascade volcanoes to the north. Nevertheless, McPhee gives a personal and friendly touch to California's big-time geology.

The Prose of Rock and Faultlines
With a precision of language and detail, John McPhee brilliantly evokes the terrain of earthquakes, desert, mountains, and coastline of California. McPhee's guide through the geological history and present-day is Eldridge Moores, a geological professor at UC/Davis who knows the land of California perhaps better than anyone and who can "see through the topography and see how the rocks lie in three dimensions beneath the topography." McPhee is Moores' interpreter, a writer for whom descriptions and metaphor comes as easily as geology does for Moores. Together, they take the reader through the diversity of land formations to form a complex understanding of all the forces that have been at work on this strip of land forming much of the west coast of the United States.

For those only marginally interested in geology and topography, this is a difficult read, though it is well worth sticking with it. I myself read it in chunks, only a single chapter at a time, since any more tested my patience. The writing is superb, however, and the information imparted is both instructional and fascinating. When McPhee writes seemingly simple sentences such as, "There were orchards of carobs, figs, and pistachios, and an understory of prickly pears," he paints an entire countryside in just a few strokes of language. What he does with the drier subject matter of basalt and limestone is extraordinary.

Bravo!
John McPhee is an essayist of significant talent. His ability to parse the technical into terms both enjoyable and understandable is literally striking. Turning a tome on geology into a page-turner must be one heck of a challenge, but McPhee manages to do so with regularity (see also: Rising from the Plains).

Assembling California is no different. McPhee starts in the Sierra Nevada with geologist Eldridge Moores and ends on the San Andreas fault during the Loma Prieta quake. Throughout, McPhee explains that California is actually an accretion of exotic terrains that tectonically migrated throughout the eons. I'll admit that on rare occasion some content rendered me a bit glassy eyed, but the majority of the writing was excellent and the San Andreas fault section was beyond outstanding.

Taken as a whole, Assembling California is a distinguished finale to McPhee's Interstate 80 geology series that began with Basin and Range and later became a compilation entitled Annals of the Former World.

"Lithospheric Driftwood"
Those of us who live in the "other 49" states sometimes consider California a "state apart." We may never have realized that geologically-speaking, we were right on target. Anyone who reads this book comes away knowing that California's incredibly diverse geologic origins are downright bewildering. McPhee's apt phrase "lithospheric driftwood" refers to the fact that today's California is a patchwork of bits and pieces from all over the world (as is much of the west coast of the USA, including Alaska).

This is my personal favorite of John McPhee's entries in the series ANNALS OF THE FORMER WORLD because I learned the most from it. McPhee's anecdotal yet masterful synthesis helps those who are not professional geologists to make some sense of California's tangled geological past. He uses the theory of Plate Tectonics to explain events and features that are extremely difficult to make sense of otherwise. Anyone who wants to know more about geology or who has a budding geologist in the family should make this book (and the entire series) required reading.

When the publishers print a new edition, as I hope they will, the following would greatly aid readers who are not geologists: (1) an index, (2) either chapter numbers or titles, and (3) a glossary of the more important geological terms. I suspect that readers who gave the book anything less than four stars may have wished for such reader-friendly aids. There are so many goodies in the text that it is enormously frustrating not to be able to go back and re-read specific entries without the difficulty of relocating them. The only way readers have of tracing passages that they wish to re-read is by page number or marking the text itself. I finally gave up and made my own index because this is a book to which I will return again and again. (The lack of reader aids may be due to the fact that each chapter ran more or less "on its own" in the New York Times. Still, the editors should have included at least some of the aids listed above.) These editorial omissions are the only reasons why I gave the book four stars instead of five.

I wish McPhee had taught ME college-level geology! ... Read more

Book Description

Substantially revised and expanded, this new edition includes a discussion of the radiative transfer equation, atmospheric sounding techniques and interferometric radar, an expanded list of problems (with solutions), and a discussion of the Global Positioning System (GPS). This book forms the basis of an introductory course in remote sensing. The main readership will be students and researchers in remote sensing, geography, cartography, surveying, meteorology, earth sciences and environmental sciences generally, as well as physicists, mathematicians and engineers. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A solid, well balanced and quite readable text for RS study
I was fortunate enough to attend Gareth Rees' course, for which this book was initially written. As a student that always needed to get things through the brain more than once for it to stick, I can thoroughly recommend this book. It is well written, handles the mathematical treatments with enough detail to be easy to follow (but it does assume a fairly strong undergraduate mathematical background). Excellent description of Synthetic Aperture Radar techniques and written in a style that makes it quite fresh for what is fundamentally a course text book.

EARTH SCIENCE.... professional
Physical Principles of Remote Sensing
by W. G. Rees, Gareth Rees

is one of the first books that should be chased after by anyone planning to adapt the theory of LAND STUDIES to his/her future. Required as an intorductory textbook for many university level programs, THE PRINCIPLES OF REMOTE SENSING prepares the mind for future training in earth sciences.

Ms. Carmen R. Cross

Great reference for remote sensing scientists and engineers.
The book provides simple explainations with just enough equations to help understand concepts in electromagnetics, radiation interaction with atmosphere, Microwave-visible-IR systems, scattering, satellites, antennas and data processing. Great for reference or introductory course in remote sensing. ... Read more

Book Description

This book describes the advances made in the last decade and a half in the theory of ocean circulation. Based on an advanced graduate level course it represents fundamental insights into the structure of the physical theory of the large-scale dynamics of the oceans. Topics of particular interest are: theory of the wind-driven circulation, the thermocline, the equatorial circulation and the abyssal circulation. The author has attempted throughout to blend analytical and numerical results to achieve as deep a physical understanding of the dynamics of the large-scale circulations as possible. The results of the theories are compared with observations and the success or inadequacies of the theories are highlighted. ... Read more

Book Description

This book covers topics essential to historicalgeology. The manual presents fundamental concepts of historical geologyby providing realistic situations to which geologic concepts and dataapply. This application of principles to concrete situations and practicalproblems instills a strong sense of the purpose of geologic study. KEYTOPICS: This book allows readers to visualize how geologic data arecollected, tabulated, synthesized, interpreted, and applied to real-worldgeologic problems. Covering important concepts of ordering geologicalevents and physical stratigraphy, the book also provides sections onplate tectonics and paleontology as well as extensive geologic maps withexplanations. The fifth edition of Historical Geology, Interpretationsand Applications has been revised to include new problems and arelocation of some problems closer to their explanatory material. It alsoincludes four new geologic maps that cover geologic features in greaterdetail.A valuable reference book for any readerinterested in historical geology. ... Read more

Book Description

For centuries, diamonds have symbolized wealth, prestige and love; however, behind those symbols lies a world of deceit, monopoly and war.

Hart follows the diamond trail around the globe, from the basement room where Gabi Tolkowsky, the world's greatest diamond cutter, faced the 599-carat Centenary diamond, to the fogbound smugglers' paradise of Africa's Diamond Coast. He records the heroic struggle of the 24-year old woman who discovered a multibillion dollar diamond mine on the Arctic Circle and describes the company that feared her most, masterminds of the great and shadowy diamond cartel.

Combining history, science, business, and adventure, Diamond captures the essence of this priceless gem and the world that surrounds it. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Hart's "Diamond" a good read, except for one thing...
Matthew Hart's "Diamond" provided an interesting and entertaining glimpse into the world of the diamond trade. Rather than giving a detailed treatment of the geology of diamonds and the history the diamond business, the author covers these in broad strokes, while highlighting key people and events that have shaped the diamond industry worldwide. More attention is given to recent events (nineties through to present), especially the diamond discoveries in the Canadian Arctic. Overall, it is a very readable book. However, I was quite disappointed by the utter lack of even a passing mention of man-made diamonds. I know there is an interesting story behind the development of the technology for making synthetic diamonds, and the impact they have had on the diamond industry.

A tale of carats, cartels, and "Conflict Diamonds"
There are various different levels of appeal with this book. Persons interested in the hard surface of the science in this business will enjoy reading about mineralogy, how to select excavation sites, and what constitutes a good "kimberlite pipe" which is the cone-shaped geological feature comprised of diamond bearing strata. Those that find the sparkle of a financial story appealing will be captivated from the first chapter, when Hart describes the bonanza that came the way of three small-time Brazilian miners. They uncovered a 81-carat pink diamond and ended up netting a glittering sum of 2 million. There are stories that have a bit of a rough edge to them and also required a bit of digging into the past. History buffs will approve. Here Hart is talking about the secretive and somewhat clouded history of the DeBeers cartel and it's current attempts to maintain control of 80% of the world's rough diamonds. What other term but "chipping away" could best describe the chapter on Eira Thomas, a young female geologist who discovered a huge cluster of high-grade diamond pipes in the Canadian Actic. This discovery more than anything else has begun to loosen DeBeer's grip on the industry. And finally for those who wish to get down in the trenches there are the descriptions of the "diamond conflicts". This is the warfare in Angola and Sierra Leone that is finaced by diamond revenues. Here we see the dirty and bloody side of the story.

Characters abound. The founders of DeBeers - Cecil Rhodes, Barney Barnato and Ernest Oppenheimer, the "garimpeiros" or miners of Brazil and Eira Thomas. The journey is around the world, from South Africa, Angola, and Sierra Leone, to Siberia, London, and the Canadian arctic. DIAMOND: A JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF AN OBSESSION is an appropriate title for the contents of this well written and very informative book.

Story of a cold blooded love affair
This is a good general account of the modern day diamond business, with the right mix of technical detail and story telling. The reader learns about how diamonds are formed, found and exploited, as well as the romance and large personalities behind the trade. As with most accounts of the gem-trade, the story inevitably revolves around the Goliath of the industry - the de Beers cartel, but Hart goes a long way to explaining how they rose to eminence and how they manage to exert so much control, even if this control is now waning. He also includes interesting details on the differing stages of diamond sales, from the selling of 'rough' to the marketing of the finished article that most of us associate with diamonds.

Hart is to be commended for including a section on conflict diamonds, and how the trade in these is effecting the lives of thousands for the worse. He is cynical about how much the industry will do to stop the trade of these tainted gems, but the reader gets the feeling that his cynicism is not misplaced - much of his story is taken up with the greed and backstabbing involved in the search for and trading of this precious commodity. This definitely is a cold blooded love affair. But Hart manages to tell it as it is, leaving the reader to decide if diamonds really are worth the trouble and money that they currently command.

There are few complaints about this book, only minor quibbles. One is very partisan - I would have liked to have read more about the Argyle diamonds of Australia, and how they have been attempting to make brown diamonds (champagne and cognacs to be more romantic) fashionable. I also would have expected more on the trading houses of Antwerp and Tel Aviv, but Hart was obviously more concerned with the swashbuckling nature of exploration. But as stated, these are minor quibbles - this is still a fascinating read.

A good book that makes you want to know more
After reading "Diamond", I wanted to know more. More about what the diamond trade has done for (and to) the people of Africa, about what the search for diamonds has done to the environment of Canada, and about what the whole of the diamond trade means to the world economy. What would a diamond really be worth today were it not for DeBeers? How and why did Cecil Rhodes start endow the Rhodes scholor program at Oxford?

A natural-born focus for human aspiration
I've become a real fan of that most ubiquitous form of covalent elemental carbon, since I've had the good fortune in my progress in years to acquire a few moderately-priced examples thereof and "live with them" in daily life. It is the incredible aesthetic appeal of the actual article of commerce that has propelled me into the recreational study that lead me to Hart's entry into the peripheral commentary. When I find myself "on" to something, I'll usually go cover-to-cover in a couple of days, which was the case here, so maybe I should rate the book a full 5 stars. I guess I could have been spared all the talk about Canada and the various financial intrigues of the many historical personalities in the business, but I was there for my own sight, upon diamonds, in and for themselves, and cannot say I was disappointed. Obsession is clearly the word for these objects, formed by the strange physical chemistry of the inner earth and now-vanished epochs of planet-building, and brought through immense effort to the full light of appreciation by the artisanry of such folks as we read about in chapters 10 and 11, which were my favorites. Anyone who touches the "provenance" of a diamond, from discovery to end-use, must necessarily take a share in just what the item will become in its own unending lifetime, be it the likes of the Tolskowskys to the barest of entry-level polishers in Gujarat, India. I would have liked to have read a little more on the modern-day prospects for maintaining price stability, especially in view of the kind of crushing potential from second-hand goods that must exist, should the population that has been sold on the diamond's perpetuity somehow decide that other, more weighty needs should direct their asset-retention decisions. Every polished stone, it is true, has something of a spiritual transcendance, and while Hart works to show us that the torrent of rough from the world's pipes shows no sign of lessening, he also has some of the diamantaire's reverent respect, of just what potential there is for that individual token, of vanishingly-small weight, that any person of any strength can carry and conceal. It would seem that in the diamond, human nature has formed a perfect bond with nature itself. I have to wonder, too, if the developments in large synthetic gems were simply too new at the time of Hart's writing to give them the kind of attention they deserve. It is, after all, the most colorless of the non-included that draws the greatest price, and what of the likes of General Electric, should they wind up being able to peddle unadulterated tetrahedral carbon by the bushel? Also, Mr. Hart could have treated us to a bit more about the final consumer industry, whereby the millions of polished diamonds see some of their greatest increase in financial clout. "What might now be in the back of the minds of the movers and the shakers?", I was left wondering when I finished the book. Is the fantasy sustainable? Well, for someone bent on building a lucrative enterprise of woefully-temporal currency upon what is for the admiring possessor a true taste of the immortal, the diamond was made to order. My thirst, though slaked for a moment, will continue, for the diamond beckons inexorably forth. ... Read more

Book Description

Presents the theoretical background as well as the practical application of the latest technology for the investigation and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater.Coverage of micropurging of wells prior to sampling; obtaining a ground water sample without a monitoring well; fingerprinting petroleum contamination in soil; soil and groundwater contamination from coal tar and related compounds; and contains a number of case histories showing the practical applications of the theory.A valuable reference for the working professional. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Good reference, bad textbook
If all you need is a reference or a solution for a known problem related to contaminent hydrogelology, you can buy this book (although price seems a bit high for the value).

If you are looking for a good textbook to help you learn and understand hydrogeology - look somewhere else.

Contaminant Hydrogeology
The author does a good job of presenting the basic hydrogeologic principles (i.e., darcy's law, scalar, vector and tensor properties of hydraulic head and conductivity) needed to understand the subject matter without unneccessary overlap from his previous work Applied Hydrogeology. The book covers mass transport in saturated media, transformation and attenuation of solutes, vadose zone, multiphase flow, inorganic and organic chemcials in groundwater, monitoring and remediation. this is a well written text presenting the fundamentals but is not an exhaustive summary. I would definitely recommend this text.

Contaminant Hydrogeology
Excellent book for introduction into contaminant hydrogeology; however, not very detailed on groundwater modeling and remediation. The section on Mass Transport is very easy to understand and well layed out. Would like to have seen more examples. ... Read more

Book Description

Written for earth science teachers, civil engineers, photographers, archaeologists, park rangers, hikers, and nature enthusiasts of all kinds, this comprehensive guide to landforms and landscapes provides rich illustrations and detailed captions of some of the most beautiful places on the planet. Natural features including mountains, volcanoes, rivers, glaciers, plains, plateaus, and deserts are covered, with examples from around the world. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Reading the Earth: Landforms in the Making
Reading the Earth: Landforms in the Making written by Jerome Wyckoff is a richly appointed book with pictures explaining why there are so many different features on the Earth that we tread upon. This book is illustrated with 556 photographs and 75 drawings and has and extensive index of over 6,000 page entries that makes information easy to find.

If you are interested in rock formations and tectonic plate activity, volcanoes and mountains, seacoasts and limestone caverns you'll fall in love with the easy prose and well-explained information in this book. There is information on glaciers and deserts, soluble rocks and sculpures by running water. Not to mention, there is extensive information about our changing planet from ancestral earth, inside the earth, crustal plates in motion to regimes of climate, weathering, and gravity movements.

This is an excellent book for high school aged children and older who have an interest about the ground we all walk upon. The prose are engaging and fascinatingly captivating and the author explains the workings of all of the Earth's systems.

I found that I read and reread this book several times and it is a welcome addition to your natural history self in your home library. This book is well worth the money spent as you'll find yourself referencing it many times. For instance there are references for lateral and terminal moraines, drumlins and fluting, and eskers these are explained well with illustrations so you can see what these parts of a glacier activity look like.

This is an excellent book for understanding why the earth is shaped as it is where it is.

An effective literary excursion and a genuine visual treat
Clearly written, richly illustrated.... Diverse examples of landforms derived from a global set.... Technically sound, easy reading.... for home and office, or as a field companion....The complete index (including over 6,000 page entries) provides for easy reference and investigation.... Readily accessible as an upper-level high-school or introductory undergraduate text.... An effective literary excursion and a genuine visual treat, all at an extremely reasonable price. - Kevin M. Schmidt in Journal of Geoscience Education

For people who want to know . . .
about geology, the earth, and why it looks the way it does. This is a good geology book - it covers the standard material, but reads easy and has LOTS of pictures to illustrate the points made. A good value for the price.

Great book !
Jerome Wyckoff is the author of several very successful books on geology, including 'The Story of Geology' and 'Rock, Time and Landforms.' 'Reading the Earth' adds another excellent volume to the collection of books available to people who may have little or no formal training in geology, but who are curious about the landscapes that surround them. Its introduction describes 'Reading the Earth' as a nonspecialist's guide to landforms and one that focuses on specific kinds of landforms rather than on the complex systems that control landform evolution. From there, the reader gets an introduction to geology (timeframe, rock cycle, plate tectonics); petrology (rock types); and weathering -- along with descriptions of the landscapes created by or associated with gravity movements, hillslopes, rivers, igneous activity, structures, mountains, plateaus, plains, glaciers, deserts, karst and coasts. The book's organization is slightly different than the organization geologists usually see in various geomorphology texts, but the structure is, nonetheless, appropriate and effective. Each chapter is a logical progression of ideas and information. The content of the chapter builds on that of the other chapters, or each chapter can stand alone as a source of information on a particular type of landscape. 'Reading the Earth' is accessible to the geologist and non-geologist alike, combining rich illustrations with graceful writing. Technical explanations are balanced with poetic, evocative prose and appropriate metaphors and examples that should hold the reader's interest. Wyckoff explains technical terms well enough that they should not provide barriers to a reader who is not a geologist. Populating the book are 556 photographs and 75 line drawings, all both beautiful and effective, illustrating landforms and landform processes from around the world. Above all, the author's obvious appreciation for landscape will enhance the reader's appreciation. It is accessible to readers interested in geology and landscapes, or to students in an introductory geomorphology or landforms course. 'Reading the Earth' is also useful as a reference; it has a good index with no errors or inaccuracies. The book's format is attractive, and it is a bargain. I have already recommended 'Reading the Earth' to friends who are not geologists but are interested in geology, and I recommend it to any 'Geotimes' reader who is fond of good photography and good prose.

Ellen Wohl

Geotimes Magazine review - July 2000 Wohl teaches in the Department of Earth Resources at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colo.

Absolutely Fascinating!
I loved this book! It gave me a whole new look at the wonderful world we live in. I'll never look at rocks or cliffs in quite the same way again. Well researched and beautifully illustrated. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the things around us. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An excellent read and great resource book
An excellent book.Very technical and precise and yet not difficult to understand.Many diagrams and charts make it easier to understand.Many modern examples are given of various wave-ripple types as well as bedforms. I like it. It's the best that I could find.Topics covered include Physical Parameters, Current and Wave Ripples, Surface Markings and Imprints, Scour Marks, Tool Marks, Penecontemporaneous Deformation Structures, Bedding, Sediment Grain Parameters. As well is included a large section on Modern Environments: Glacial, Desert, Lake, Fluvial, Estuarine, Deltaic, Coastal, Shelf, Lagoon, Tidal Flats, Continental Margin-Slope-Ocean Basin. ... Read more

Book Description

This book presents systematic, integrated A-to-Z coverage of state-of-the-art unsaturated zone hydrology. Multi-disciplinary in approach, it provides both a soil physics and an engineering approach to unsaturated zone hydrology. Coverage begins with the basic physical properties and the behavior of clays, and moves on to contaminant transport and other parameters such as spatial variability, scaling, and fractals in the earth sciences. KEY TOPICS: Details analytical solutions for seven analytical infiltration models. Provides a comprehensive description and equations for performing a detailed water balance used to size and design water-storage facilities, reclamation zones for waste-storage facilities, and other water-management facilities. Presents five analytical models for both deterministic and probabilistic solutions to liquid/vapor flow in the unsaturated zone -- including unique coverage of the derivation and use of a three-dimensional analytical solution for flow of NAPLs in the unsaturated zone. Presents eight analytical models to assess unsaturated zone contaminant levels which are permissible to regulators for protection of underlying ground water. Includes a detailed description of the current technology of site characterization and monitoring devices used in unsaturated zone research -- including illustrations, diagrams of connections, and advantages and disadvantages of each. Illustrates real-world problems typical of sites the authors have worked with during the last 10 years.A reference for practicing engineers and environmental law firms. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

An outstanding book that is very well written.
This book does an outstanding job of presenting the concepts and principles used in dealing with unsaturated zone transport problems. It uses an environmental approach of the problems found in this field of study and is ideally suited as both a teaching and reference text. I find this book superior to others such as "Soil Physics" by Jury, Gardner, Gardner; "Environmental Soil Physics" by Hillel (including the other 3 soil physics books by Hillel), "Vadose Zone Hydrology" by Stephens, and several others. Indeed, when compared to the books listed by Jury, et al., and Hillel, this book contains more information and is superior to both of them if combined together, i.e., "Soil Physics" and "Environmental Soil Physics."

The text includes a wealth of information not found in other texts dealing with this subject. This includes hazardous waste site characterization, bioremediation of the vadose zone, LNAPL's and DNAPL's, an excellent treatment of modeling water, solute, and vapor movement in the unsaturated zone, use of fractals in unsaturated zone studies, and other topics. I enjoyed several major points of this text. First, in addition to a detailed coverage of the topics, questions are asked within various sections of each chapter, and answers to these questions are given at the end of the chapter to reinforce learning skills by the student. Second, in addition to the answered questions, more questions are given to which there are no answers. However, answers to these questions are given in a separate solutions manual available to the instructor. Third, rather than a theoretical text, the book has an excellent blend of both practical and theoretical information. Fourth, I really like the appendices that cover site characterization and monitoring devices, a mathematics review that has questions with answers given in the solutions manual, and one of the most complete set of conversion tables I have ever seen. Finally, this book should be considered as a pre-programed self-learning tool that will serve the student, instructor, and consultant very well.

If you are an instructor and desire a book that has a logical topic progression of unsaturated zone hydrology, and if you want a book the students will love, that will not only promote learning, but will ease your teaching time commitment, this is the book for you. Whether you teach soil physics, unsaturated zone hydrology, or fracture flow, the information you need is here. If you are a consultant, practicing scientist, or an engineer that needs a complete reference for this field, this text is it! The preface even lists the author contact. This book is easy to use, reasonably priced, and extremely well written, I only wish I had access to this text when I studied unsaturated zone hydrology. I now use this book as a reference for unsaturated zone studies, and even though I obtained my copy in late 1998, it has been very useful. I commend the authors for such a fine work.

Kenneth J. Lull, Hydrologist, United States Geological Survey

Good text on vadose zone hydrology.
It is my impression as a soil physics professor that these authors have done an excellent job in presenting the concepts and principles necessary for assisting the reader or student in mastering the subject of soil physics. I teach in a traditional department and have found that for the past several years, my class is composed of more students from environmental study areas whose goal is to learn about methods for characterizing and studying unsaturated zone hydrology. Tindall and Kunkel have an obvious grasp on these changes as is evidenced by the title of their book and the manner in which the material is presented. This new text is environmental in approach and can be used by students and professionals in many fields of study.

Rather than a simple reiteration of soil physics, Tindall and Kunkel have written their text using a new approach. The text includes new material and chapters not found in previous texts including hazardous waste site characterization and case studies, use of fractals in vadose zone science, bioremediation, discussion of LNAPLs and DNAPLs, as well as many other topics. Not only are these covered in detail, but questions are presented so that the reader is allowed to develop confidence in solving problems. Appendices are included which describe site characterization and monitoring devices as well as challenges associated with their selection and use. There is a math review for those students who come from non-traditional fields of study or those who are simply rusty in their math ability. A list of symbols and unit conversion tables are also included at the end of the text.

In essence, the authors of this book have done an outstanding job covering the typical problems encountered in this field. Example problems are given in the text with answers at the end of each chapter along with additional questions. These additional questions are solved in an instructor's manual available to course instructors. Some problems may be too advanced for introductory students; however, the text can be easily adapted for an introductory or advanced course. I used this text during the Fall 1998 semester and have reordered it for the Fall 1999 semester. Not only did I enjoy the text, but my students enjoyed it as well. The book is complete, up-to-date, and well written. I heartily recommend this text to instructors of soil physics as well as professionals in the environmental industry who require a good reference text.

Splendid Text
Like calculus, unsaturated zone hydrology can only be made so easy. As a soils professor and instructor of this subject, I have waited for 20 years for a text of this sort to come along. It gives me the flexibility to teach both undergraduate and graduate classes. For the students there are many worked examples and for the instructors a great manual that you can order separately. I get the best of both worlds and the students have what is in my opinion, the finest text and reference in this field. Many kudos to the authors for a job well done!

Great text for both teaching and students
I was unable to attend a college in my area that offered an unsaturated zone hydrology or soil physics course. As a result, I purchased several books on the subject including those by Hillel, Jury, and Stephens. While they were useful, it was difficult to grasp the material within certain areas then, at the suggestion of a friend I purchased this book. I found it much easier to follow than other texts and very informative both as a study tool and a professional reference for instructors and consultants.

I must admit that the previous review from the skier guy in Denver kinda turned me off, but I bought the book anyway and have never regretted it. Actually, I was able to discuss some aspects with the authors and found their insights particularly useful. Without doubt the material is difficult, but it's laid out well here. I found the answered questions very useful before trying the additional questions to which no answers are given.

While the book is likely not perfect I can say to the guy from Denver that if you were lucky enough to take this class from the author then, kudos to you. Also, one thing I have learned is that it's extremely difficult to have as he put it "a decent and intense class" without a good text. My experience has been that the class generally follows the text. If one is poor, usually both are poor.

My recommendation is that this is a great text and one won't go wrong by purchasing it. In my opinion the best chapters are 1-3, 7-10, and 13, but that those are where my skills are concentrated and they are all well thought out and well written. The list of symbols is also very useful although quite lengthy as they include soil science, hydrology, and engineering symbols for the same areas. I didn't catch that at first. I really like the book compared to others I've studied. Best of all, it helped me master this area and gained me a $10k per year raise in my firm.

4.5 stars? You have got to be kidding me.
Without question, this book is useful to professional vadose zone scientists as a refrence. I'll even go so far as to say it's the least-bad unsaturated zone book on the market. It scores points for being comprehensive and thorough. The book also looks nice and has good diagrams. Many of us have it on our book shelves here at work. I find myself referring to it occasionally, years after I first studied the text in grad school.
BUT
After *extensive* study of this text, I hate it. It is very hard to follow for even the sharpest of grad students / hydrologists. For instance, the index of symbols has over 500 entries (thank god there is an index). I found the explanations to be "on a different level" from 95% of the audience of the book, which severely limits its usefulness. This is no "Freeze and Cherry" textbook. And no, I'm no dummy who got frustrated w/ the content and gave up on it - I took Dr. Tindall's unsaturated zone course, persevered, and recieved an A for my efforts.

Once again, the book is good for a refrence if you already know your unsaturated zone science, but forget trying to learn unsat zone hydrolgy from this text unless you have a great prof or 170 IQ. Looking at my book shelf, I have to put this text in the bottom 40%, 2 stars. ... Read more

Book Description

Replaces Compton's Manual of Field Geology (1962). A guide to advances in the increasingly broad and interpretive discipline of formation mapping theory. Thorough, yet compact enough for use in the field, it consists of brief descriptions of textures and structures useful in interpreting depositional environments, kinds of volcanic activity, and plutonic events and conditions. Included are procedures often reserved for the laboratory or office: staining rocks, correcting orientations of current indicators, constructing profile sections of folds, measuring strains, making photogeologic interpretations, and more. Covers pre-field considerations, methods of observation and measurement, recognition of key geologic features, and preparation of a report. Illustrated with composite drawings. Fourteen appendixes provide systemized data and procedures. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Has everything an aspiring geologist needs
This book was used for Michigan Tech's Field Geology course and was very helpful for everything from the symbols used for geological features to correct field note taking. I have a hard cover which is much more durible than the paperback. I don't know if they still have the hard cover but I would recommend that first.

Still the BEST one volume field manual around.
Compton's text is one of those it seems that every geologist has read at some point. Clear, concise and practical, the text covers all the basics of field geology. The text is in three basic parts: Chapters 1-8 cover doing field work, e.g., equipment needed, basic procedures at outcrops, mapping rock units, geologic mapping, use of aerial photos, and mapping with a plane table and alidade. Chapters 9-15 cover describing the basic rock types (sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic) as well as volcanic structures and plutons. I remember well almost memorizing the chapter on Stratigraphic Sections as an undergraduate. The final part of the book is the appendices which contain much valuable information such as percentage diagrams for estimating rock compositions by volume and a table of standard lithologic symbols. I carry photocopies of several of the appendices in my field notebook for reference. (They are lighter than the AGI Data Sheets and on some trips weight is critical.) Use of the book will clearly be dictated by the type of field work one does, however, the entire text is a wealth of information. The book only shows its age (1985) with omission of a couple of important developments in field geology such as GPS, now often used in field reports. However, this is only a minor complaint. Field geology is done in the field, but Compton's manual will give every geologist the necessary information to begin the adventure. And mastering the basics in "Geology in the Field" will provide a solid foundation on which to build all of our individual, personal quirks and habits we seem to evolve while at the outcrops.

The canonical field geology manual !!!
Look no further, folks, this is it! You have reached the only exhaustive field manual for serious geological mapping. ... Read more