13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Well-Understood Rising Seas, August 9, 2008
This review is from: The Mysterious Receding Seas (Paperback)
It's hard to write a negative review when the author sent you the book. You feel some obligation, for it was a gift. But I must be honest, with myself, and with readers. This is one of the worst books I've ever read.
It is not the worst. That prize goes to
Railroaded!, a book the author also sent me, but where someone with my namesake (not a common name) dies in the first two pages. Since I'm not killed in this book, I don't place it as the worst. But the writing and grasp of information give Receding Seas the honor of 2nd worst.
The writing is atrocious. I do not use the word lightly. We are talking paragraphs that literally stretch through an entire chapter, continuing on for seven pages. One of the most tiring aspects of this book is the number of times Guy repeats himself. He could definitely have used an editor. Constantly Guy uses vague references with hyperbolic statements, and seems to take the Bible to be literally true at all points, using this to bolster his scientific paradigm. Guy uses phrases such as "Well anyhow", as if he were speaking to us in dialect. He has long digressions into other subjects which in no way relate to the book, or short digressions that seem frankly schizophrenic. He employs a stream-of-consciousness style worthy of
Virginia Woolf. Repeatedly we read Engfish, with extra unneeded words.
My 8th grade students could write better than this. I am not exaggerating. I gave them the assignment of improving two random pages of this book. They did a great job of making it interesting.
But they couldn't improve on the science, which is far worse than the grammar. The idea of an expanding Earth is in no way new. It was an idea that was played around with in the late 1800s, which all scientists now reject. There is no theory behind it. Unlike a hypothesis, a theory explains reality. Plate Tectonics is a powerful theory, nowhere doubted. Earth Expansion contradicts Plate Tectonics, yet provides no explanation of how it might occur. In this book, nowhere does Richard Guy present peer-reviewed papers, or even studies of any sort, to support his hypothesis. (Instead he quotes "scientists" like Churchill.) This also is needed for a valid theory, especially one that suggests we overturn all the research and science that has occurred over the last fifty years.
The author's scientific errors begin on the first page, where he misses the very basics of the scientific approach. He expresses faith that GPS will one day show the seas are dropping. Faith is not appropriate in science- especially when GPS currently show the seas are rising. Guy points out that what he is saying is not speculation, for it is in the Bible. Guy acts as if Genesis 1-11 were literally true, referring to Nineveh as being founded by Nimrod. (But evidently the more recent Sinbad is fiction.) Even his exegesis is poor, as he seeks to interpret Revelations literally or find scientific explanations from the poetry of the Psalms.
Similarly his understanding of history is faulty, making claims like that the lactose-intolerant First Nations people stole milk from the Vikings. He thinks Arabs and Berbers are the same people. He thinks America won the Barbary Wars. He thinks
The Pirates of Penzance is based on a historical event, and bases his arguments on this. He claims a frozen woolly mammoth was eaten a few years ago, rather than in the 1700s. He gets simple observational facts wrong, claiming that Gibraltar has steep cliffs all the way around it, or that the sea gets warmer as you go down.
Nearly all of Guy's evidence is an argument from silence or anecdotal, discussing areas where the ocean levels seem to have dropped. We don't see places where the water rose- *because they're under water*. He ignores the greater evidence that ocean levels have risen, such as the flooding of the Egyptian Port that Paul visited. And in truth the land has uplifted in most areas. We know this because we have evidence for the ocean's rising, all over the world. Guy seems to be unaware of satellites can now measure this. Ocean levels have fallen. And risen. Over and over, many times.
Guy doesn't understand how science works. He states that scientists "build theories on theories" to explain how the Earth works. They actually follow how the evidence leads. Guy often speaks of how we don't see what is happening, because our lives are so short. Geologists use the sciences of postdiction and retrodiction to determine what happened long ago. Guy seems to be unaware of these principles. Guy repeatedly discusses how we all think of the sea level as constant. Scientists do not. Guy talks about how we accept what we are taught in school, and this is why we reject his hypothesis of an expanding Earth. Scientists don't accept what they are taught, but are constantly questioning it. Guy indicates that he is unaware that a theory comes after the studies, not before.
Guy is unaware of the basics of geology (what he calls "earth science"). He gives no explanation in his hypothesis for why the rocks beneath the continent and the ocean would be different- as Plate Tectonics does. Guy acts as if subduction is just a hypothesis, rather than a well-supported theory with ample evidence. Guy tries to imply that Plate Tectonics and subduction theory are two separate developments. This allows him to state the Pacific is shrinking. (It's not.) He doesn't explain how island arcs form, which subduction theory does. Guy claims that if the ocean covered Mt. Everest, then it covered everywhere. This is only true if the Earth is static, which it's not. Guy thinks geologists are mystified by big earthquakes along the Mississippi. They're not. Guy thinks that there are sea vents all over the Artic, making it hotter, increasing the biomass. It's actually upwellings, and there aren't sea vents all over the Artic. Let's not get started on his using the Lochness Monster as a justification for his beliefs.
Guy states that oceans covering mountains means the ocean levels were once higher. He ignores the much more solid evidence that the Earth rose. (Nowhere in the book is uplift significantly discussed.) Guy expresses that wetlands mysteriously drained. It's a matter of historical record that wetlands have been drained by humans' overconsumption of water. Guy refers to isostatic rebound, wherein rocks slowly rise in height after they have been oppressed by glaciers for millennia, claiming it didn't occur all over the planet. But scientists have never claimed this. This is just a strawman argument. Guy later implies that isostatic rebound is the old idea, no longer taught.
Guy doesn't realize that scientists can tell the difference between the land rising and the ocean level dropping. Right now, the ocean level is rising. Guy acts as if it is now known that undersea cables being snapped by landslides was a silly idea. Actually, we still know that this is how they are snapped and we still hear about turbidity currents all the time. Guy seems to think that Plate Tectonics indicates that if one ocean expands the other contracts. In truth, it is far more complex.
Why does he do this? Why does he make these ridiculous claims? The inner motivation is revealed in a few telling lines. Towards the end of the book Guy rejects that we are responsible for Global Warming, simply asserting that the evidence now supports him. (It doesn't.) He states that an expanding Earth will make the Earth hotter, but doesn't explain how this happens. He thinks that the Earth's currents are heated by the Earth's interior, rather than the sun heating the atmosphere. (And that the ozone layer is affected by Global Warming.) Guy also believes an expanding Earth can explain Noah's flood, and thus this reasoning becomes an ipso facto justification for his own interpretation of the Bible. According to Guy, miners heard the screams of hell when they dug down deep enough. At the end of time, Revelations says that there will be no sea, so this fits with Guy's hypothesis as well. He actually states that he looks forward to the day when our planet will be like Mars.
Rest assured, due to Amazon space limitations, I have left *many* errors unmentioned. This is one of the all-time worst books written, with no redeeming features. If this were a movie, it would gain a cult following for being bad. This is the
Manos, the Hands of Fate of books. The only mysterious part of the receding seas- is that they are not receding.
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15 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Gift of the Sea, May 31, 2008
This review is from: The Mysterious Receding Seas (Paperback)
As a structural engineer with forty years of experience in this field, Richard Guy developed a relationship and respect for the seas and oceans. His vast experience, direct observations, as well as acquired knowledge from a keen interest in the subject, is clear and evident throughout the book. His enthusiasm for the subject is contagious. His book is dedicated to showing how sea levels have changed over the millenia and how new land develops, that mankind is oblivious to this fact, and that the creation of new topography is a natural phenomenon, Given that the volume of water in the oceans is relatively constant, the changes in land development are shown from ancient times into the present. It is is a continuing process where estuaries and wetlands are by nature temporary. They will dry up as new land claims their space and displaces the life forms dependent on this habitat. The author provides a fascinating look at the earth and environment, as it used to be in the past and how it is developing for the future. This book opens up new vistas of understanding nature and the vastness of earth changes. The reader comes to realizes how brief and temporary our existence is on planet earth and how large and infinite the possibilities for these change really are ... This book is about earth expansion theory and how this relates to receding sea levels.
Most fascinating and impressive is how the author ties together his knowledge in this field with the development of cities, such as London, New York, Rome and St. Augustine, FL ... all of which were built at riverbanks or swamplands where silt built up. He shows how historically cities arose near the sea for ease of transportation via ships and for people to have access to water. The author shows how shorelines from various areas around the world have changed. For instance, the shoreline around the island of Jamaica has grown by six miles in five hundred years. His knowledge of history is fun reading, for instance he includes interesting tidbits about Columbus and his discoveries in the New World. Another enlightening discussion was about the Florida Everglades and reclamation of wetlands.
Richard Guy shares his knowledge about the Mesopotamian civilization which developed in the mountains of Palestine, Turkey and Asia Minor not in the fertile plains between the Tigris and Euphrates as one was taught or generally believes. Agriculture developed only after the sea receded ... The ancients built high because that is where the ocean was located back then. Throughout the book, numerous facts are discussed but in such a manner that the subject is not dry or boring. The author provides the reader with a feel and sense of understanding of ancient history, the not so distant history such as the development of the Colonies, the country of Italy and its cities, such as Venice and Rome, and an appreciation for geography and to an extent geology. The reader learns about earth plate tectonics and where they lie. He teaches us about why bridges built across or near active fault lines are doomed to have structural deficiencies. The reader learns that the Grand Canyon is constantly experiencng tremors due to the continual earth expansion process that is happening. The reader learns how due to fissures under the sea, lava is pumped onto the sea floor and that there is even prolific fish life in the Arctic waters. The author agrees global warming is occuring, however he attributes the internal heat of the earth as a major factor. Due to the increased heat, he maintains there will be more earthquakes. Sadly, in the distant future, we may likely lose the seas and oceans and planet earth will come to resemble Mars. As there is no bibliography or reference list at the end, the majority of information in the book is based on the author's recollection of facts and information retained from his vast amount of reading and knowledge on this subject. Despite this omission, the book is excellent. It is jam packed with a balanced amount of scientific information, historical facts, and fascinating anecdotes which makes for a pleasant read. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]
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