Customer Reviews

The Evolution of North America

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In my opinion this is the best geological travel book ever written. At least it is for North America. If you want to really understand the basic geology of the country that you are traveling through, from the North West Territories to the Yucatan, then this book is for you. Several decades ago, this was my college textbook for Geology of the U.S. In my opinion there has never been a better single text written to take its place. King was an old time classical field geologist- he knows this continent like the back of his hand. I usually just leave it in my suit case as a permanent reference.

The basic organization of this book is as follows: 1)The Natural History of the Continents, 2) The Canadian Shield, 3) The Interior Lowlands, 4) Appalachian and related Systems, 5) Lands and Seas South of the Continent, 6) The Cordilleran System, 7) The Eastern Ranges and Plateaus, 8) The Main Part of the Cordillera,and 9) Later Modifications of the Cordillera including the Coast Ranges.

The real strength of the book is the many extremely well-done maps and cross-sections. There is even a full fold-out geological map of all of North America in the back of the book- along with a full index.

I read the 1977 edition when it was recently published and learned a lot of geology along the way. It is organized to take us from the oldest geology to the newest. By covering the material in this way King shows us how the continent evolved while taking us on a complete tour. I could never get through a geology textbook, but the story King told held my interest all the way though this one. I still have my heavily-annotated copy, and I recommend this book to others.

I have to agree with oakshaman--this is one of the best books on the geologic evolution of North America that I've come across. First published in 1959, the edition that I own does not deal with plate tectonics (a subject that was hotly debated at the time, and generally not taken very seriously), so at least some of the continent-building forces that elude King have since been identified. Nonetheless, this book is still a wonderful introduction to the landforms of North America. As oakshaman notes, the maps and geologic cross-sections are particularly informative. Any books on the subject published since this volume came out build on the solid foundation that Philip B. King laid so many years ago.