Synopses & Reviews
From a Japanese earthquake in 1185 to erupting volcanoes, erosion, and even nuclear blasts, the pieces in Bedrock explain the forces that formed the Earth. Organized by theme, the pieces include the harrowing story of a plane flying through volcanic ash and one man's hilarious hike along the San Andreas Fault. The inclusion of a wide range of cultural traditions, time periods, and nationalities enrich these essays which popularize geology in the tradition of anthologies like The Best American Science Writing. Insightful, penetrating, and provocative, Bedrock combines science and literature to create a book with a broad-based appeal.
Synopsis
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.