Customer Reviews

Exploring Geology

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If only we could learn geology though genuine field experiences with a master scientist, geologist and communicator...

This is as close as it gets in a textbook. Based on illustrations of real field locations and enticing geological investigations, this book takes the excitement of field geologists into real-world inquiry of the workings of planet Earth.

Since John S. Shelton's classic, "Geology Illustrated," published just over 40 years ago, no textbook has been centered on engaging illustrations and real locations. But Reynolds et al have presented over 2,700 full color images, diagrams and maps. Like most other textbooks, each chapter centers on a skill set or content area of current interest. But this book and its extensive ancillary materials draws the student into the process of investigation. This approach imparts the basic needs of an introductory college course in geology. By bringing the student into the investigative process, geology becomes a spectator sport and the student an eager participant.

What is lost? Tedium and frustration. The student need not find her way through long passages of text and jargon. In the field, a geologist is hampered by the inconvenience and expenses of long-distance travel, variable weather conditions, a limited view of and from Earth's surface and a random encounter with each process that is revealed. But not here. In other words, not much of educational value is lost.

This is a geology textbook for the 21st century to educate students for a new millenium.

Thomas McGuire, Geology/Earth Science Educator & Author

This text is a radical departure from the standard college text. The "guiding question" approach and the image-intensive layout allows students to explore the content, rather than be led in lock-step with the author. This text is best used as a supportive student resource, rather than a required reading text. Whereas, some college instructors see this text as "dumbed-down", I would argue that it is a great introductory text that will be augmented by more detailed texts in subsequent geology courses. What is my evidence? I discovered that after leaving a copy of "Exploring Geology" in our geology majors study room, our best sophomore through senior students were preferentially selecting this text as a first step in understanding concepts in their more advanced classes.

Book is in bad shape, pages ripping out. Took a long time to get shipped, bought another book same time and that one came a week earlier

This book is so random. Pictures all over with little blurbs of explanation. Nothing truly links into each other and if you are trying to find a definition or explanation of anything specific good luck. Not even a small glossary in back to help straighten out a firm definition. It will reference something pages before you get a definition of it. I guess I just like being able to actually learn something out of my textbooks.

The book got here before expected date, and in the condition it said it was. Overall I would order from them again and recommend their service.

As someone who lectures to adult audiences on Northern Arizona geology using powerpoint slides loaded with photos and drawings, I was very interested in this visual approach to teaching geology. Unfortunately, although the book is billed as suitable for university course, I found it more on the high school or even junior high school level. The photos and diagrams are fine but the accompanying "text", if it could be called that, is inadequate and too dumbed down to qualify for a university level course. "Rocks for Jocks" maybe, but not for serious students of geology. Better to choose a standard text like "Dynamic Earth" by Skinner, Porter and Park, a book that has many excellent and effective visual aids along with a thorough university level text.

I recently purchased this book for one of my college classes, and was incredibly disappointed to find that almost 100 pages are folded pretty drastically in 2 places, making it incredibly hard to read. To read a page, I have to pull the page taught, which is extremely inconvenient. This was not mentioned in the description of the product. Other than that, the book is great, no markings or tears, but the folding is extremely irritating.

Excellent book packed full of useful information. I'm glad I purchased it for my class!

I am a college student that is taking a Geo 100 level course online. This book is very busy and hard to get through. I do not like the layout because it allows your eyes to wander to just the photos making it hard to actually get through the text. The investigations at the end of each chapter could be a good idea if the text was easier to understand. I am taking this class online so that may be the reason I do not like this book

As a geology student this book does not help at all.It has a horrible format,the text is virtually almost non-existent,everything is out of order and it should really be called just an overpriced picture book.