The Oxford Companion to the Earth [Hardcover]

Paul L. Hancock (Editor), Brian J. Skinner (Editor), David L. Dineley (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198540396 | ISBN-13: 978-0198540397 | Publication Date: February 15, 2001 | Edition: 1st

Here is a wealth of information on planet Earth, ranging from the heights of the ionsphere down to the red-hot molten core.
Written by some 200 expert contributors, and illustrated with over 600 pictures, including 16 pages of color plates, The Oxford Companion to the Earth offers 900 alphabetically arranged entries that cover everything from deserts and wetlands to mountains, caves, glaciers, and coral reefs. There are articles on natural phenomena such as tornadoes and tsunamis, volcanoes and earthquakes, jet streams and weather fronts; on the history of Earth, including the origin of life, Burgess Shale fauna, dinosaurs, and the Ice Ages; on key figures, such as Agassiz, Cuvier, Darwin, and Lamarck; and on such important ecological concerns as acid rain, the ozone layer, industrial waste disposal, and the greenhouse effect. The Companion also examines the great sources of wealth to be found in the Earth, from coal and oil to gold, silver, and diamonds, and many curious land formations, from sinkholes and fiords to yardangs and quicksand. There are brief entries on rock types, from amber to travertine, and extensive essays on cutting-edge aspects of the earth sciences, such as seismology and marine geology. The Companion includes extensive cross-references, suggested further reading, an index, and many useful appendices, with a geological timescale, facts and figures about the Earth, and a table of chemical elements.
The Oxford Companion to the Earth is a unique reference work, offering unrivaled coverage of our home planet. Generously illustrated and vividly written, it is a treasure house of information for all lovers of natural history, geology, and ecology, whether professional or amateur.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This excellent one-volume resource offers concise explanations of earth phenomena and processes, with over 800 entries written by 200 experts. Intentionally broad in scope, it covers earth-related topics, such as environmental science, planetary science, economics, geochemistry, palaeobiology, and plate tectonics but also includes articles titled "Music and the Earth Sciences," "Wine and Geology," and "Geoscience in the Media." Each entry is well written, with information suitable for undergraduates as well as researchers needing an overview. Many entries include brief references. The over 600 black-and-white illustrations are very useful, and the appendixes include the usual geological time scales, a very brief table of solar system facts, a periodic table, and scientific units, conversion tables, and abbreviations. The book is similar to Sciences of the Earth (LJ 8/98) in style and coverage, but the latter is more a history of the discipline. The multivolume Encyclopedia of Earth System Science (LJ 2/15/92) provides more depth in certain areas but lacks the breadth of the current work. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries. Teresa Berry, Univ. of Tennessee Lib., Knoxville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Fat, solid and rewarding, the Companion undertakes to give us "concise, readable, friendly, and stimulating accounts of the many phenomena, processes, and natural materials that make the Earth such a dynamic and fascinating planet." It succeeds admirably. From "acid rain," with an excellent explanation of the pH scale, to "zoogeomorphology," the effects that animals have on the surface of the earth, it provides a wealth of clear information. It also offers entries that one might not expect, among them one on references to geology in literature and one on the possible connection between geology and the quality of wine.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1184 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1st edition (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198540396
• ISBN-13: 978-0198540397
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.5 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,982,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Oxford Companion to Earth a solid entry in this series, April 30, 2001

By 

Jill Bemis "Penandtome" (St. Paul, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to the Earth (Hardcover)

"The Oxford Companion to the Earth" is one of the more recent titles to be published by Oxford University Press (copyright 2000). One of the defining characteristics of the "Companion" series is comprehensiveness and this volume is no exception. In 1,174 pages, closeto one thousand entries appear, from "Acid Rain" to "Zoogeomorphology." All the topics one would expect to find in an encyclopedia of the earth sciences are here: volcanoes, plate tectonics, earthquakes, glaciers, the weather and other such standard fare are represented. A pleasant surprise is the unanticipated subject matter, such as "Art and the Earth Sciences," "Geoscience and the Media" and "Wine and Geology." Think of it as a rounding up of the unusual suspects. This kind of inclusiveness is a double-edged sword. While many topics are touched on, many are given only superficial treatment. "History of Geochemistry," for example, is not particularly helpful, as it is litle more than an enumeration of dates and events, without any analysis or context. To be sure, this shortcoming is due partly out of necessity, as an in-depth discussion of every topic would result in an unwieldly tome. I found the longer articles more informative, such as "Mantle and Core Composition," which takes up better than four pages. On the whole, this book presents an overview of a particular topic, rather than an examination of it. While well illustrated,l the majority of visual material consists of line drawings. Photographs, what few there are, have been printed n black and white only and generally are quite small. One of the features of this series that I particularly like are the "extras" presented to the reader. In the case of "Earth," they include paleogeographic maps printed on the end papers and a number of appendices covering the gelogic times scales, comparatative data on the earth and other planets of the solar system, the periodic table of the elements and several pages of scientific units, conversion tables an abbreviations of scientific terms. All in all, I regard this as a worhty addition to the library of anyone who desires a "just the facts, ma'am" approach to topics in the earth sciences.