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Bedrock: Writers on the Wonders of Geology
Novelists, poets, artists, anthropologists, traditional elders, philosophers, and naturalists come together to create a geological portrait of the Earth — from the violence of earthquakes and erupting volcanoes to epochal patterns in stone and the sinuous flow of rivers. With insights from many cultures and across time, Bedrock wonderfully illuminates the geology of our home planet.
The book is organized into sections that deal with rock and stone; deep time; earthquakes and faults; volcanoes and eruptions; rivers to the sea; mountains and high¬lands; wind and desert; the flow of ice; and the life of the Earth. Insightful, penetrating, and provocative, the works are written from many positions — traditional and indigenous as well as Western scientific. Bedrock bridges specialized science and ordinary existence, providing a fascinating portrait of the forces that have shaped the Earth and giving readers a sense of the geologic experience encompassing their lives.
The book is organized into sections that deal with rock and stone; deep time; earthquakes and faults; volcanoes and eruptions; rivers to the sea; mountains and high¬lands; wind and desert; the flow of ice; and the life of the Earth. Insightful, penetrating, and provocative, the works are written from many positions — traditional and indigenous as well as Western scientific. Bedrock bridges specialized science and ordinary existence, providing a fascinating portrait of the forces that have shaped the Earth and giving readers a sense of the geologic experience encompassing their lives.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Lauret Savoy
8 books66 followersTracing memory threads Lauret Edith Savoy’s life and work: unearthing what is buried, re-membering what is fragmented, shattered, eroded. A woman of African American, Euro-American, and Native American heritage, she writes about the stories we tell of the American land’s origins and the stories we tell of ourselves in this land. Her books include Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape; The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity and the Natural World; Bedrock: Writers on the Wonders of Geology; and Living with the Changing California Coast. She is a professor of environmental studies and geology at Mount Holyoke College, a photographer, and pilot. Winner of Mount Holyoke’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Lauret has also held fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution and Yale University. She is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 10, 2010
I loved this book in a subtle way - the way that you can only love a compilation. Not every piece of writing contained strikes a cord with me, but most do, and most give me something deeper to think about.
Even if it was the way they employed a new metaphor about earth, or a new way of looking at wind, something I had never considered, yet found, on a literary level, beautiful.
Basically this book is a collection of excerpts from ~60 different authors, each describing, in one way or the other, geology. It ranges from pieces of poetry, to excerpts from scientific papers, with fiction and non-fiction prose thrown in between. It was rather nice to read in context where such quotations as, "no vestige of a beginning - no prospect of an end" came from, without having to drag through more than a few pages of Hutton's writing.
I loved this book as a step back from geology, and a look at the geo-poetics that draw us to the land in the first place. I, much more than most, have a deep sense of place, and for me, this book, hit the nail on the head of conveying the sense of place which so richly throughout all time, seeps into our literature. I recommend this book, not only to geologists, but to geologist and others alike that love the land for it's beauty and can visualize the land from the written word. After reading many of these excepts I was left longing to go to the mountains, the desert, any place uninhabited where the land hangs out exposed.
"To a naturalist nothing is indifferent; the humble moss that creeps upon the stone is equally interesting as the lofty pine which so beautifully adorns the valley or the mountain: but to a naturalist who is reading in the face of the rocks the annals of a former world, the mossy covering which obstructs his view, and renders indistinguishable the different species of stone, is no less than a serious subject of regret." -Hutton
On another note I was introduced to a bunch of new authors that I likely would never have picked up on my own. 4.5 starts overall. I only dock it half a star based on the fact that it's a complication, and you can't love all the writing selections the same.
Even if it was the way they employed a new metaphor about earth, or a new way of looking at wind, something I had never considered, yet found, on a literary level, beautiful.
Basically this book is a collection of excerpts from ~60 different authors, each describing, in one way or the other, geology. It ranges from pieces of poetry, to excerpts from scientific papers, with fiction and non-fiction prose thrown in between. It was rather nice to read in context where such quotations as, "no vestige of a beginning - no prospect of an end" came from, without having to drag through more than a few pages of Hutton's writing.
I loved this book as a step back from geology, and a look at the geo-poetics that draw us to the land in the first place. I, much more than most, have a deep sense of place, and for me, this book, hit the nail on the head of conveying the sense of place which so richly throughout all time, seeps into our literature. I recommend this book, not only to geologists, but to geologist and others alike that love the land for it's beauty and can visualize the land from the written word. After reading many of these excepts I was left longing to go to the mountains, the desert, any place uninhabited where the land hangs out exposed.
"To a naturalist nothing is indifferent; the humble moss that creeps upon the stone is equally interesting as the lofty pine which so beautifully adorns the valley or the mountain: but to a naturalist who is reading in the face of the rocks the annals of a former world, the mossy covering which obstructs his view, and renders indistinguishable the different species of stone, is no less than a serious subject of regret." -Hutton
On another note I was introduced to a bunch of new authors that I likely would never have picked up on my own. 4.5 starts overall. I only dock it half a star based on the fact that it's a complication, and you can't love all the writing selections the same.
June 19, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this one to my brother, a retired geologist. I learned a lot from it and many of the stories in it were exceptional.
January 28, 2021
I think I saw a review that called this Geology lite and while, yeah, I’d agree that in terms of learning actual geology it’s not the book... BUT in terms of renewing a love and fascination of the Earth and its processes, it absolutely is. I’m a big fan of short stories, so compilations are also a love of mine. I found the selections excellent and found myself near tears and also adding books to my to read list.
I really appreciate the constant inclusion of indigenous voices in something that would be fraudulent without them.
I really appreciate the constant inclusion of indigenous voices in something that would be fraudulent without them.
December 31, 2025
Liked some of the selections a lot. Didn’t like some of em. Overall not too shabby.
August 12, 2008
This is diet geology. Not that that's a bad thing. Many people are bored by the subject, so it's good that a low calorie book like Bedrock exists. It's a quick read which touches most of general tenets of contemporary geological theory while tossing in a few gems from various, non geologist authors.
April 12, 2015
Beautiful slices of writing about the world. I am going to share many of these descriptive writings in my class to describe the world. Wendell berry, John Wesley Powell, Langston Hughes, Rachel Carson, Lucille Clifton. I was glad to find all the small gems in one place.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews