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The Changing Earth Exploring Geology and Evolution (With Geology of Texas 5th Edition) 2009
Customer Edition with Texas Geology
754 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 21, 2012
[Review after "Historical Geology"]***3stars
I've liked this book. It's readable and mostly understandable (lol, the harder to grasp concepts are not the author's fault). There are LOTS of pictures, charts, tables, etc. Sometimes, that's a negative, though, as you often have to chase them down pages later to find the ones referenced in the text. I'm a little too lazy for all that mad scientist page-flipping. But that's really the only negative. I really enjoyed the two-page "Geo-Insight" sections.
[Review after "Physical Geology"]****4stars
That's right, I bumped it up a star after taking the second class in my two-part geology education. Both classes used the same textbook (nice because cheap). I don't have much to add here except:
1.) I hated all of the "What Would You Do"s. My professor happened to like them and latched on with all possible strength so I got stuck really trying to demonstrate I know my sh*t each chapter. Some of them are really hard! I later figured out that they're located on the same page in which their content is discussed, so... that's a little easier than flipping through the whole chapter looking for where they possibly could've gone over a solution to such a real-life problem.
2.) Chapter 16 is so scary I feel it's worth mention. My professor had us do this chapter after Chapt. 9 (Seafloor) so I was ready to come ashore and forget about sea canyons and turbidity currents and the mind-boggling depths. Little did I know, Chapter 16 (Shorelines and Shorline Processes), with it's sunny beaches and pictures of surfers was hiding more than one tidbit that would haunt me for the rest of my life!
Exhibit A. "Waves with differing lengths, heights, and period may merge, making them smaller or larger. Under some circumstances, two wave crests merge to form rogue waves that are three or four times higher than the average. These waves can rise unexpectedly out of an otherwise comparatively calm sea and threaten event eh largest ships. During the last two decades, more than 200 supertankers and container ships have been lost at sea, many of them apparently hit by these huge waves."
Exhibit B "What Would You Do? While swimming at your favorite beach, you suddenly notice that you are far down the beach from the point where you entered the water. Furthermore, the size of the waves you were swimming in has diminished considerably. You decide to swim back to shore and then walk backt o your original starting place, but no matter how hard you swim, you are carried farther and farther away from the shore. Assuming that you survive this incident, explain what happened and what you did to remedy the situation."
You're horrible people, James S. Monroe and Reed Wicander! But I do appreciate you teaching me how to escape rip currents and also that comparatively low waves= bad.
3.) I found something depressing, too. The two or more times the authors say,"Most people reading this will not become geologists"..........WTF?! What if I WANT to be a geologist? As I read it, full of self-doubt, it's a very disheartening thing to say! It could just be me, being a crybaby, but I recommend they remove that in later editions.
I've liked this book. It's readable and mostly understandable (lol, the harder to grasp concepts are not the author's fault). There are LOTS of pictures, charts, tables, etc. Sometimes, that's a negative, though, as you often have to chase them down pages later to find the ones referenced in the text. I'm a little too lazy for all that mad scientist page-flipping. But that's really the only negative. I really enjoyed the two-page "Geo-Insight" sections.
[Review after "Physical Geology"]****4stars
That's right, I bumped it up a star after taking the second class in my two-part geology education. Both classes used the same textbook (nice because cheap). I don't have much to add here except:
1.) I hated all of the "What Would You Do"s. My professor happened to like them and latched on with all possible strength so I got stuck really trying to demonstrate I know my sh*t each chapter. Some of them are really hard! I later figured out that they're located on the same page in which their content is discussed, so... that's a little easier than flipping through the whole chapter looking for where they possibly could've gone over a solution to such a real-life problem.
2.) Chapter 16 is so scary I feel it's worth mention. My professor had us do this chapter after Chapt. 9 (Seafloor) so I was ready to come ashore and forget about sea canyons and turbidity currents and the mind-boggling depths. Little did I know, Chapter 16 (Shorelines and Shorline Processes), with it's sunny beaches and pictures of surfers was hiding more than one tidbit that would haunt me for the rest of my life!
Exhibit A. "Waves with differing lengths, heights, and period may merge, making them smaller or larger. Under some circumstances, two wave crests merge to form rogue waves that are three or four times higher than the average. These waves can rise unexpectedly out of an otherwise comparatively calm sea and threaten event eh largest ships. During the last two decades, more than 200 supertankers and container ships have been lost at sea, many of them apparently hit by these huge waves."
Exhibit B "What Would You Do? While swimming at your favorite beach, you suddenly notice that you are far down the beach from the point where you entered the water. Furthermore, the size of the waves you were swimming in has diminished considerably. You decide to swim back to shore and then walk backt o your original starting place, but no matter how hard you swim, you are carried farther and farther away from the shore. Assuming that you survive this incident, explain what happened and what you did to remedy the situation."
You're horrible people, James S. Monroe and Reed Wicander! But I do appreciate you teaching me how to escape rip currents and also that comparatively low waves= bad.
3.) I found something depressing, too. The two or more times the authors say,"Most people reading this will not become geologists"..........WTF?! What if I WANT to be a geologist? As I read it, full of self-doubt, it's a very disheartening thing to say! It could just be me, being a crybaby, but I recommend they remove that in later editions.
October 27, 2015
Good textbook. Quite lengthy but excellent if you're interested in geology.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews