Evolution of the Earth [Paperback]

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

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070178038 | ISBN-13: 978-0070178038 | Publication Date: January 1, 1994 | Edition: 5 Sub

This text takes a historical approach to the development of ideas about history. This is particularly evident in the first seven chapters, allowing the reader to recapture the development of major principles and concepts developed by past generations. The authors focus on "how do we know?" as much as "what do we know?", emphasizing concepts, not just information. Three maxims guide the writing: new concepts of time; the universality of irreversible evolutionary changes; and the importance throughout time of ecological interactions between life and the physical world. Most chapters feature a summary time-line that puts the entire sequence of events into a quick visual-reference frame. The text also contains end-of-chapter citations, case studies and chapter summaries. A key chapter suggests some conclusions following from a study of earth history. In this edition, the chapter on evolution and all sections dealing with the history of life have been rewritten, emphasizing the dynamic new ideas that have come out of paleobiology in the past decade. Chapters on Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonics, particularly material covering the Cordilleran region, have been rewritten to reflect major changes in our understanding of those topics. Developments in paleoclimatology are also included.

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: 664 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill College; 5 Sub edition (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070178038
• ISBN-13: 978-0070178038
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,712,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #98 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Earth Sciences > Geology > Historical

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.