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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Three outstanding reviews by Three world-class figures,
By A Customer
This review is from: Exploring the Highest Sierra (Hardcover)
"As a geologist who has worked extensively on the Sierra Nevada, I can say that Moore's book stunned me with its masterful treatment of much that I knew about this mountain range, but so much more that I didn't know. It has no competition and will be a bible to the specialist and visitor to the region alike. I am amazed at how superlatively Moore has organized so much material and put it together in a wonderfully readable fashion. No one who starts this book will be able to put it down. I finished it at 3 a.m. one morning!" --Garniss Curtis, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley and Director Emeritus, Berkeley Geochronology Center "No other author has captured the full panorama of the Sierra Nevada's geologic history and human endeavor in exploration--Moore has produced a dazzling, monumental work. Captivating writing and superb illustrations carry the reader into the highest Sierra along the paths of the pioneers, such as George Goddard, Josiah Whitney, Clarence King, and John Muir. Their struggles in exploration, mapping, and technology provided the all-important basis for geologic investigations that continue to the present. This book is a Sierran tour de force that includes wonderful maps and field guides. It deserves the highest praise." --Richard S. Fiske, Geologist and Former Director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History "A wonderful, engrossing account not only of the geology, but also of the early exploration and topographic mapping of the range. Jim's half a century of geologic fieldwork in the Sierra shines through in this masterful treatment of the subject, presented in an engaging, non-technical style. The book should be of broad interest not only to geologists but to anyone interested in the Sierra Nevada. For the non-specialist, the detailed glossary should be very helpful. Visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks will be particularly interested in the detailed road and trail logs in the appendix, which give a marvelous description of the scenery, history, and geology along the major roads and trails. Most highly recommended." > --Dallas L. Peck, Geologist Emeritus and Former Director of the U.S.Geological Survey
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A successor to Francois Matthes,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Exploring the Highest Sierra (Paperback)
Moore's book is the result of a lifetime spent studying and mapping the geologic structures of the Sierra. It is an incredible achievement and an important contribution to a detailed understanding of the geology of the Sierra for the amateur naturalist. As literature and science, it's a worthy successor to Matthes's Geologic History of the Yosemite Valley (USGS Prof. Paper #160). He includes terrific chapters on the work of the first scientists to study the range and then describes current knowledge about the creation of the Sierra: from the collision of tectonic plates to the retreat of the last glaciers.As an added bonus, Moore includes an appendix with detailed geologic comments for stopping points along several roads and trails in the Sequoia-Kings area: Highway 180 from Clovis to Cedar Grove; Highway 198 from Visalia and over the Generals Highway; the Mineral King road; the High Sierra Trail from Lodgepole to it's intersection with the John Muir Trail near Mt. Whitney; and, the John Muir Trail from Mt. Whitney to where it leaves Kings Canyon in the Evolution Valley region, 100 miles north. Although Moore concentrates his narrative mostly to the area of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (where, as luck would have it, I work as a ranger), anyone interested in the geology of the Sierra would find this book useful for its explanation of the major granitic and metamorphic structures we see throughout the range. It's large format makes it unlikely you'd want to slip it into your backpack as a field guide. It's also probably of interest only to the serious amateur, though I think it's photos and organization make it accessible to a beginner who might just want to skim some of the detailed sections.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A triumph--Perhaps an instant classic,
This review is from: Exploring the Highest Sierra (Hardcover)
Moore has worked a wonder--this is a captivating read designed for the layman but also filled with surprises for geologists, historians and naturalists. It is an indispensable, complete guide combining a history of adventures in Sierran exploration with tutorials on geology and natural history. We are led by the hand along carefully marked maps and trail guides to vantage points from which geologic features can by easily examined in the field; that allows a reconstruction of the forces and events that produced the majestic landscape. Clearly, simply, and arrestingly written, and frequently puncuated by anecdotes of Indian tribes, early settlers, pioneers and scientists, the book is studded with photographs, diagrams,and maps--I could hardly put it down. It will become the premier guide to the high Sierra.
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