Evolution of the Earth | 
 enlarge | Authors: Donald R. Prothero, Jr., Robert H. Dott, Donald Prothero, Jr., Robert Dott
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math
Category: Book
Buy Used: $40.00
New (14) Used (36) from $40.00
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 345602
Media: Paperback
Edition: 7
Pages: 576
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.9 x 0.6
ISBN: 0072528087
Dewey Decimal Number: 551.7
EAN: 9780072528084
Publication Date: July 15, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Evolution of the Earth reveals the logical framework of geology, shows relations of the science to the totality of human knowledge, and gives some idea of what it is to be a participant in the discipline. In keeping with the preference for a "How do we know?" rather than "What do we know?" approach, the authors stress what assumptions are made by earth historians, what kinds of evidence (and tools for gathering that evidence), and what processes of reasoning and limitations of hypotheses are involved in reconstructing and interpreting the past.Each chapter begins with a list of highlights entitled "Major Concepts". Many chapters have a summary timeline that puts the entire sequence of events into a quick visual reference frame. The use of dioramas and reconstructions of extinct animals and plants has been greatly expanded, so that students can get a more vivid concept of typical life in any part of the geologic past. In many places, the authors have supplied a full page of color photos of classic fossils from each period to improve the visual recognition of the organisms that give life its distinctive history. The areas of hottest controversy, such as mass extinctions, dinosaur endothermy, the origin of life, and controversies over late Proterozoic tectonics and glaciation, have been given separate sections so that students can appreciate the different sides of the debates. (Electronic images are available on CD-ROM through your local McGraw-Hill Sales Representative.)
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good geoscience book and science book in general September 9, 2007
Dean Welch
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
My only previous exposure to geology or geophysics came from books/classes about the solar system where the Earth is taken as just one example of a planet. This is the first book I've read dedicated to the subject and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
At a high level its coverage includes, the origin of the Earth, geologic time scales, the Earth's interior, the origin of the Earth's magnetic field, volcanoes, plate tectonics, how the continents have varied with time, the interaction of the oceans with land masses and past climate fluctuations.
This book actually covers a lot more material than I expected, including paleobiology and ecology (which I enjoyed reading, but sometimes found it a little too political). There is actually quite a lot of material on paleobiology. It does overlap a fair amount with one of the authors other books, 'Bringing fossils to life', but it wasn't excessive and was well done. There is an appendix with some very nice high-level cladograms.
Although this book doesn't require any particular background, it covers a lot of material and requires some effort to learn it. The authors put in some effort to actually teach the subject and the book illustrates some very interesting science. It also provides some nice illustrations of how science is done.
One nice thing about this book is that it has a lot of color photographs and drawings. That's somewhat unusual among the (non-astronomy) science books I've seen at this level. I found it made the appearance much nicer.
Overall, I liked it a lot and learned a lot from it.
Straightforward and Interesting April 4, 2006
Kathryn A. Lucas (Glendale, CA USA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
What I like most about this book is its readability. The tone is very engaging and makes you want to read on. The illustrations (almost all in color) are plentiful and are an invaluable accompaniment to the text.
I would agree with other reviewers that the biggest drawback to this book is its price. The price is way too high, in my opinion, particularly for a paperback book. For that kind of money, I want something sturdier, that will stand up to years of use. This is the only reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5.
 Good book for paleontology and geology teaching. March 16, 2006
Eliseu Vieira Dias (Curitiba, Brazil)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the most recent edition of a very useful book for students and teachers of paleontology and geology.
Superb if it's as good as the first edition April 21, 2001
magellan (Santa Clara, CA)
16 out of 22 found this review helpful
I used the first edition of this book by Dott and Batten as an earth science major back in the early 70's, and thought it excellent. I don't know how the new edition stacks up, but the original book was as fine a piece of writing for a textbook as I had ever come across, and geology boasts better than average writers for such things. For example, there is the redoubtable Arthur Beiser, whose many books maintain both a high level of readabilty as well as scholarship.One major change in the content of the book would no doubt be in regard to the theory of orogenesis, or mountain-building. The first book placed great emphasis on the geosynclinal theory and orthostatic rebound mechanisms. This one is sure to emphasize plate tectonics as the geosynclinal theory seems to have waned in popularity. The original version of this text was one of the best science texts I ever used in college. If this later edition is half as good it will still be better than 90% of the others.
Good Book October 20, 2000
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Overall a good introduction to historical geology. Most subjects are presented in an appropriate manner, with colorful illustrations to supplement the concepts discussed. Only concerning the formation of dolomite rocks does this book fall short of maintaining a thourough examination of historical geology concepts. The only disadvantage that this book has is its price, which is probably due to the amount of illustrations.
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