Customer Reviews

Windows into the Earth: The Geologic Story of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

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This treasure will turn "topography" into a household word. Dedicated to a fellow geologist recently killed by an avalance while conducting fieldwork, "Windows" is a slick and dramatic feature presentation of volcanism, earthquakes, and geysers. Superb maps and graphs colorfully illustrate variable stratae formed through the eons. An informal and friendly text is scholarly without being stuffy. The writers establish a tone of substance and humor as they discuss multiple upheavals that created Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. This is the kind of book that will impress early rock-ologists and even be hoarded by their more secretive, sedimental parents. The writing never "dumbs down" but is lucid with factual attention to landscape formation without snubbing the human astonishment that continually witnesses it. Thanks to geologist Smith and naturalist journalist Seigel, the book is threaded with lively accounts from park rangers, tourists, and waitresses at the Old Faithful Inn. Appeals to romantics and literalists alike. Studded with beautiful, full-color photographs. Every page is hefty and sleek to the touch, a feast for the eye as well as the brain. Kind of a wonder-book for anyone who seeks the phenomenal in terra firma.

Windows into the Earth is a fantastic book! It is excellent reading for geologist and non-geologist alike. Easy to understand descriptions of the geophysical processes that shape the Yellowstone area, and nice full color pictures and diagrams to help the explanations along. You'll have to visit Yellowstone after reading it to see it in a whole new light.

A friend loaned me this book two months ago. I haven't returned it yet. It is simply the best book on these two parks that I have ever read. The authors accurately portray the very considerable geological power present in each park, and yet do not manage to make either park a fearful place to be avoided. Instead, their writing is a persuasive invitation to visit these wonderful manifestations of nature for an extended period. I was particularly impressed by the visitor's tour set out near the end of the book. I took a part of that tour in 1994, and the narrative is very accurate. I will certainly use my OWN copy of the book when I go back again this autumn. (I don't want anyone to think I don't return borrowed books!) This book is an absolute musthave-mustread for anyone going to the parks or interested in the geological processes that have made the West. Enjoy.

This is an excellent book on the interesting geology of the Yellowstone ecosystem, an area that covers not only the park but a substantial area around it extending to the south to include the Grand Tetons.

The artwork is really excellent: both the photography, which is provided by several local professionals including Tom Mangelson, and the drawings, which make often difficult geologic concepts easily understood.

Yellowstone sits on top of a hotspot very much like the Hawaiian islands except that it's in the middle of a continent instead of the middle of an ocean. This turns out to be an important distinction, one that makes the volcano that created the park one of the largest ever in the history of the planet.

This book is well written and makes the geology accesible and interesting. And at the end, is a stop-by-stop tour of the two parks that will take you face-to-face with all that you have learned.

I was looking for a good geologic history book after finishing John McPhee's excellent "Annals of a Former World." Windows into the Earth seemed like a good place to start, but I was very disappointed. It seems as though the authors wrote each chapter (and sometimes even parts of chapters) independently and then slapped them together with little editing. Although the underlying geology is often interesting, there's little flow or logic to the book as a whole. Key concepts are repeated over and over, as though they're being introduced for the first time each time. Analogies used to make the subject matter more accessable often miss the mark and detract from the whole. This book may be worthwhile if you are visiting the region and want to understand more of what you are seeing, but I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.

I liked this book. It is rare to read about Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons both. This book has good geologic
descriptions of how both were formed. I have visited both areas several times. No one really understood how the Grand Tetons were formed. They were created by a fault-block rise and fall.

I liked the explainations of all the geysers, fumaroles and hot ponds. Yellowstone is a super volcano. It is actually a hot spot which our continental plate moves over. While to some readers, it seems disjointed, I disagree. There are some gems to be gleaned from this.


Sara Howard, Author of "Something Funny Happened on The Way to The Moon" and "The Biggest Explosions in the Universe."

I chose this book for my final project in geology class because I was interested in Yellowstone National parks though I have never been to, and this book was very good not only to read but also to review my studying in the class. Yellowstone and Grand Teton ground systems such as ground movements and heating systems are covered and also advanced my studying. Actually, I had totally no knowledge about geologic activities before I studied in the class, so this book was also really good to review my studying. In addition, this book introduces these parks view points with beautiful and colored pictures, so this book also can be used for a tourbook. It is no doubt that I will go to these parks with this book!

One of my coworkers received this book in the mail at work and I just had to have it. I love geology and am particularly fascinated by the geology of Yellowstone. I haven't finished this book yet, but there probably is no such thing as finishing with this resource. Very exciting!

I work as a guide in Grand Teton Park and I love to visit Yellowstone. This book is the best I've read on the geology of the area. The geology of it all is hard to understand and harder to believe, but this book has helped me the most in understanding and sharing the geology of the area with others.