Evolution of The Earth [Paperback]

Donald R. Prothero (Author), Jr., Robert H. Dott (Author), Robert Dott (Author), Donald Prothero (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0073661872 | ISBN-13: 978-0073661872 | Publication Date: June 8, 2001 | Edition: 6

"Evolution of the Earth" reveals the logical framework of geology, shows relations of the science to the totality of human knowledge, and gives some idea of what it is to be a participant in the discipline. In keeping with the preference for a "How do we know?" rather than "What do we know?" approach, the authors stress what assumptions are made by earth historians, what kinds of evidence (and tools for gathering that evidence), and what processes of reasoning and limitations of hypotheses are involved in reconstructing and interpreting the past.

Each chapter begins with a list of highlights entitled "Major Concepts". Many chapters have a summary timeline that puts the entire sequence of events into a quick visual reference frame. The use of dioramas and reconstructions of extinct animals and plants has been greatly expanded, so that students can get a more vivid concept of typical life in any part of the geologic past. In many places, the authors have supplied a full page of color photos of classic fossils from each period to improve the visual recognition of the organisms that give life its distinctive history. The areas of hottest controversy, such as mass extinctions, dinosaur endothermy, the origin of life, and controversies over late Proterozoic tectonics and glaciation, have been given separate sections so that students can appreciate the different sides of the debates.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carlos Plummer is a professor at California State University - Sacramento. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 6 edition (June 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073661872
• ISBN-13: 978-0073661872
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward and Interesting, April 4, 2006

By 

Kathryn A. Lucas (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evolution of the Earth (Paperback)

What I like most about this book is its readability. The tone is very engaging and makes you want to read on. The illustrations (almost all in color) are plentiful and are an invaluable accompaniment to the text.

I would agree with other reviewers that the biggest drawback to this book is its price. The price is way too high, in my opinion, particularly for a paperback book. For that kind of money, I want something sturdier, that will stand up to years of use. This is the only reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good geoscience book and science book in general, September 9, 2007

By 

Dean Welch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evolution of the Earth (Paperback)

My only previous exposure to geology or geophysics came from books/classes about the solar system where the Earth is taken as just one example of a planet. This is the first book I've read dedicated to the subject and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

At a high level its coverage includes, the origin of the Earth, geologic time scales, the Earth's interior, the origin of the Earth's magnetic field, volcanoes, plate tectonics, how the continents have varied with time, the interaction of the oceans with land masses and past climate fluctuations.

This book actually covers a lot more material than I expected, including paleobiology and ecology (which I enjoyed reading, but sometimes found it a little too political). There is actually quite a lot of material on paleobiology. It does overlap a fair amount with one of the authors other books, 'Bringing fossils to life', but it wasn't excessive and was well done. There is an appendix with some very nice high-level cladograms.

Although this book doesn't require any particular background, it covers a lot of material and requires some effort to learn it. The authors put in some effort to actually teach the subject and the book illustrates some very interesting science. It also provides some nice illustrations of how science is done.

One nice thing about this book is that it has a lot of color photographs and drawings. That's somewhat unusual among the (non-astronomy) science books I've seen at this level. I found it made the appearance much nicer.

Overall, I liked it a lot and learned a lot from it.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, October 20, 2000

By 

"paleo99" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evolution of the Earth (Paperback)

Overall a good introduction to historical geology. Most subjects are presented in an appropriate manner, with colorful illustrations to supplement the concepts discussed. Only concerning the formation of dolomite rocks does this book fall short of maintaining a thourough examination of historical geology concepts.

The only disadvantage that this book has is its price, which is probably due to the amount of illustrations.