Geopedia: A Brief Compendium of Geologic Curiosities

by Marcia Bjornerud, Haley Hagerman (Illustrations)

A garden of geologic delights for all Earthlings

Geopedia is a trove of geologic wonders and the evocative terms that humans have devised to describe them. Featuring dozens of entries--from Acasta gneiss to Zircon--this illustrated compendium is brimming with lapidary and lexical insights that will delight rockhounds and word lovers alike.

Geoscientists are magpies for words, and with good reason. The sheer profusion of minerals, landforms, and geologic events produced by our creative planet demands an immense vocabulary to match. Marcia Bjornerud shows how this lexicon reflects not only the diversity of rocks and geologic processes but also the long history of human interactions with them.

With wit and warmth, she invites all readers to celebrate the geologic glossary--a gallimaufry of allusions to mythology, imports from diverse languages, embarrassing anachronisms, and recent neologisms. This captivating book includes cross-references at the end of each entry, inviting you to leave the alphabetic trail and meander through it like a river. Its pocket-friendly size makes it the perfect travel companion no matter where your own geologic forays may lead you.

With whimsical illustrations by Haley Hagerman, Geopedia is a mix of engaging and entertaining facts about how the earth works, how it has coevolved with life over billions of years, and how our understanding of the planet has deepened over time.
Features a real cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design

Genres: Science, Geology, Nonfiction, Nature, Stem

200 pages, Hardcover

Published May 3, 2022

Reviews

[Ahimsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not fair for a book with this information to be so well-written as well. Gems and geology are not things I've ever studied or even been particularly interested in, but Geopedia is so fascinating that it didn't even matter.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever little compendium of rock types, but one targeted rather narrowly for the science minded (and word obsessed) academician or dedicated rock enthusiast. You know who you are. Anyone else, I’m sorry to say, would likely be more entertained watching paint dry.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading encyclopedias isn't really my thing, but I loved this! Bjornerud's writing is informative and amusing. She has deep knowledge of geology that she pairs with Pop culture and literary references to create access points to the technical science. She has picked many fascinating geological time periods, controversies, and discoveries to share.
My only quibble is that the illustrations are cute but not particularly helpful for understanding the content.

[Roy Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read. As a retired career geologist, this was an enjoyable read for its coverage of diverse topics, from primary geologic principles to obscure topics. Concise, with a great sense of humor. Bjornerud related her explanations to food, everyday life, and her career as a geologist. Very entertaining!

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a bit of a rock enthusiast and I still got lost in this one. The author clearly has a sense of humor, but also at times uses terms where I needed more than context to help and neither googling nor my basic identification and gem books were of any help.

Sometimes the explanations themselves were lacking. Like I had some trouble with the Oklo natural nuclear reactor, there's a much better explanation of that phenomenon in Sam Kean's excellent chemistry book, The Disappearing Spoon.

Hardcore geology fans only on this one!

[Brian Hutzell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though the “Pedia” books are written for non-scientists, there were still many words in Geopedia that were unfamiliar to a non-geologist like me. This book clocks in at under 200 pages; an additional 50-100 pages would not make it too cumbersome, and the entries could include more explanation. The appendices are helpful, especially the Geologic Timescale. As with the other Pedia books, I found this one a lot of fun. I only wish I could remember everything it taught me!

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geopedia is a delight. It doesn't condescend to the reader, bur instead reflects the author's genuine love of geology in the way it waxes poetic about different geological subjects for pages at a time. The vocabulary is robust and my be difficult for someone just starting to develop an interest in the field, but it's genuinely a fun read that I would recommend to anyone who's passionate about earth science or who just likes pretty rocks.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enlightening: Bjornerud has excelled at selecting entries that demonstrate the range of languages (and cultures) that have contributed to geological knowledge.

The illustrations are often unhelpful.

[Roger Ruggeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tidbits of geological lore

The geologically curious will delight in these brief and insightful excursions. Never pedantic, the entries are frequently brightened by the author's sly sense of humor.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You have deep evolutionary roots in this planet. You are literally made of Earth--of water that has cycled for eons through clouds and rivers and oceans, and of minerals in the soil, derived from rock that was itself forged from the planet's interior."

[Amanda]

Marcia Bjornerud enjoys geology and it's contagious! This book was perfect for what I needed--to like geology more, and to catch up with what's current in geology (since the last time I checked in was 8th grade 😜)

[Hunter Whitbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, simplistic primer of thought provoking geological terms. The slightly humorous writing kept me quite engaged with the book. I’m now on the lookout for rock formations and patterns the earth shares in parks and forests!

[Anjali · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun but doesn't waste time explaining basic geology to you, it expects you to keep up! loved all the different terms that come from languages all over the world

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and brief. Never gets too stuck on any one thing. I am a newbie to geology and found little interesting nuggets here.

[H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fell flat, not enough fact to be useful, and the attempts at humor felt like dad jokes, which makes it impractical for most readers.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love rocks.

[Mark Fickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

2-3 page geologic fact snacks, with enough story about the earth's history to place them in some context. A great way to satisfy the "I wish I knew more about rocks" wish.

[Glenn L. Krum · Rating 5 out of 5]

quirky fun read

Geologic terms define and explained in understandable detail. Recommended for the interested scientists, be they junior or senior investigators (smile).

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fun (for a geologist) and neat read. Bjornerud covers a wide variety of earth science topics in this engaging little reference book— everything from Acasta gneiss to haboob to taphonomy to zircon, and plenty in between.

While the writing is not especially technical (and so can be enjoyed by the non-geologist), I imagine one would need to be really, really into earth science to get the most out of it. A few words were new to me, but most had been at least casually introduced (some extensively studied) in my junior and senior level geology courses: mylonite in my structural geology class, the darcy in hydrogeology, pedogenesis in sedimentology, etc., etc. Others I only previously discovered due to geomorphology research I am involved in (dreikanter, yardang, etc.).

This would be a great gift for a geology lover. Just make sure they REALLY, REALLY like geology.