A Brief History of Geology

by Kieran D. O'Hara

Geology as a science has a fascinating and controversial history. Kieran D. O'Hara's book provides a brief and accessible account of the major events in the history of geology over the last two hundred years, from early theories of Earth structure during the Reformation, through major controversies over the age of the Earth during the Industrial Revolution, to the more recent Twentieth Century development of plate tectonic theory, and on to current ideas concerning the Anthropocene. Most chapters include a short 'text box' providing more technical and detailed elaborations on selected topics. The book also includes a history of the geology of the Moon, a topic not normally included in books on the history of geology. The book will appeal to students of Earth science, researchers in geology who wish to learn more about the history of their subject, and general readers interested in the history of science.

Genres: Geology, Nonfiction, History

290 pages, Hardcover

Published March 31, 2018

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the second half of this, which is basically the 20th century history of the science, as I am already well-acquainted with the earlier history. It's a good book, but the isotope and trace-element chapter is pretty technical, so general readers may want to skim that one. And general readers are likely to want to read the earlier history too, which looks promising. The book is brief, well-written and factual. 3.3 stars for the second half.

Here are a couple of short "reviews" from the back cover of the book, apparently solicited by the publisher but worth a look : https://books.google.com/books?id=uHV... The Google Preview will give you a good idea of the writing style and contents of the book. I couldn't find any independent reviews (besides mine).