A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 (P.S.)

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Geologically speaking, 1906 was a violent year: powerful, destructive earthquakes shook the ground from Taiwan to South America, while in Italy, Mount Vesuvius erupted. And in San Francisco, a large earthquake occurred just after five in the morning on April 18--and that was just the beginning. The quake caused a conflagration that raged for the next three days, destroying much of the American West's greatest city. The fire, along with water damage and other indirect acts, proved more destructive than the earthquake itself, but insurance companies tried hard to dispute this fact since few people carried earthquake insurance. It was also the world's first major natural disaster to have been extensively photographed and covered by the media, and as a result, it left "an indelible imprint on the mind of the entire nation."

Though the epicenter of this marvelously constructed book is San Francisco, Winchester covers much more than just the disaster. He discusses how this particular quake led to greater scientific study of quakes in an attempt to understand the movements of the earth. Trained at Oxford University as a geologist, Winchester is well qualified to discuss the subject, and he clearly explains plate tectonics theory (first introduced in 1968) and the creation of the San Andreas Fault, along with the geologic exploration of the American West in the late 19th century and the evolution of technology used to measure and predict earthquakes. He also covers the social and political shifts caused by the disaster, such as the way that Pentecostalists viewed the quake as "a message of divine approval" and used it to recruit new members into the church, and the rise in the local Chinese population. With many records destroyed in the fire, there was no way to distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants, and thus many more Chinese were granted citizenship than would have otherwise been. Filled with eyewitness accounts, vivid descriptions, crisp prose, and many delightful meanderings, A Crack in the Edge of the World is a thoroughly absorbing tale. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

Unleashed by ancient geologic forces, a magnitude 8.25 earthquake rocked San Francisco in the early hours of April 18, 1906. Less than a minute later, the city lay in ruins. Bestselling author Simon Winchester brings his inimitable storytelling abilities to this extraordinary event, exploring the legendary earthquake and fires that spread horror across San Francisco and northern California in 1906 as well as its startling impact on American history and, just as important, what science has recently revealed about the fascinating subterranean processes that produced it—and almost certainly will cause it to strike again.

Customer Reviews:

Things I should have read in geology class.......2007-09-24

A considerable amount of time was exhausted by Mr. Winchester in the research, writing and editing of this bestseller. If my geology course in college, which was a very long time ago, had a book of this substance, I may have spent more time reading and preparing for class.

The book does not lead right in to the California earthquake of 1906. You must read a few hundred pages from the creation of the world, the movement of the continents, the history behind the chosen name for San Francisco and other cities, the gold rush days, the segregation of the Chinese, then the climactic earthquake.

The book is more of a history and geology lesson than a book with a plot and characters that are followed from beginning to end. This is the book you want to read for that one up on everyone else when earthquakes are the topic at the dinner party (humor emphasized).

Plate tectonics for idio-dummees(R).......2007-09-02

(Trying not to infringe on any copyrights with the title up there)

Simon Winchester's book is an excellent, concise easy-to-read, summary of many disparate but inter-related topics: the development of San Francisco in the late 19th/early 20th Century; the history of white settlement in California; the birthing of the new science of geology; and, most importantly, the science of plate tectonics and the reasons why, when and where earthquakes occur.

Yes, the geology and earth sciences is not covered at a PhD level. It wouldn't be readable if it were. And the history of California is not examined in sufficient depth (no pun intended), but then the book would have to be 10,000 pages. The book strikes the right balance between breadth and depth, the personal and the historic, the academic and the understandable. If you've read Winchester's excellent "Krakatoa" book -- and if you haven't, what are you waiting for? -- you'll enjoy this similiarly-styled treatment of another geologic event.

Tremors and digressions.......2007-08-29

Many of the reviews here seem upset that the author "rambles", which frequently is code for not compressing a story into easily digestible quanta. If you have any patience at all, you'll enjoy this book. I honestly find Mr. Winchester's "digressions" enjoyable, and find they add color to what could be a dull narrative. The geology of earthquakes, the reaction of a city to a disaster, the technology that had recently been developed to detect earthquakes being put to the test (and found wanting) - these stories, while fascinating, are natural stories. This book manages to make even that insurance claims made after the quake and fire interesting and even a vital part of the story.

A Great Story by a Master Storyteller!.......2007-08-09

This is a wonderful book - endlessly interesting and well read by the author, who is a master storyteller.

"A Crack in the Edge of the World" touches on every aspect of San Francisco and the great earthquake of 1906. Author Simon Wincester provides an excellent background on the geological foundations of the event and the history of San Francisco. The earthquake itself is described from numerous eye witness accounts.

The author concludes with a warning that another huge earthquake in the region is only a matter of time. And he warns that the huge volcano that formed Yellowstone National Park (its last eruption was 1.5 million years ago and lasted 600,000 years) is also due to erupt, spelling catastrophe for the mid-western United States.

Geology, yes. Story , no.......2007-07-25

If you're interested in geology, this is the book for you. It's probably far more entertaining than most geology texts. However, if you expect a story of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, be prepared to wade through more than half of this tome to get less than 100 pages of the story marginally written. Mr. Winchester seems to have a penchant for taking jabs at everything he has a personal bias toward and not staying on the subject. Adding to the tiresome writing is the plethora of footnotes. From these alone a book could be written. Some are actually more interesting than the text. But they tend to disrupt any semblance of flow. A good editor would have been a wise investment. This is NOT a book one would want to read if they had the slightest interest in this historic event. Makes a good paper weight.

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Setting the Benchmark for Science Writing
Explaining the World: A Joy to Read
No index, please
The Prose of Rock and Faultlines
Bravo!

Assembling California
John McPhee
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0374523932

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As an explainer, John McPhee is a national treasure. The longtime "New Yorker" staff writer has taken us inside the world of art museums, environmental groups, fruit markets, airship factories, basketball courts, and atomic-bomb labs the world over. Here he covers the complex geological history of California, the source of much news today. As Californians daily await the inevitable great earthquake that will send their cities tumbling down like so many matchsticks, McPhee piles fact on luminous fact, wrestling raw data into a beautifully written narrative that gainsays a sedimentologist's warning: "You can't cope with this in an organized way," he told McPhee, "because the rocks aren't organized." As always, McPhee enlarges our understanding of the strange, making it familiar--and endlessly interesting.

Book Description

At various times in a span of fifteen years, John McPhee made geological field surveys in the company of Eldridge Moores, a tectonicist at the University of California at Davis. The result of these trips is Assembling California, a cross-section in human and geologic time, from Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada through the golden foothills of the Mother Lode and across the Great Central Valley to the wine country of the Coast Ranges, the rock of San Francisco, and the San Andreas family of faults. The two disparate time scales occasionally intersect—in the gold disruptions of the nineteenth century no less than in the earthquakes of the twentieth—and always with relevance to a newly understood geologic history in which half a dozen large and separate pieces of country are seen to have drifted in from far and near to coalesce as California. McPhee and Moores also journeyed to remote mountains of Arizona and to Cyprus and northern Greece, where rock of the deep-ocean floor has been transported into continental settings, as it has in California. Global in scope and a delight to read, Assembling California is a sweeping narrative of maps in motion, of evolving and dissolving lands.

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A cross-section in human and geologic time, Assembling California is a sweeping narrative of maps in motion, of evolvivng and dissolving lands

Customer Reviews:

Setting the Benchmark for Science Writing.......2006-07-18

What McPhee teaches us is that most of California, like most Californians, originally came from somewhere else. And he explains, clearly, beautifully and accurately, the complex geological history and consequences of those events.

Yes, this is my favorite in the geology series. Partly it's because I originally come from California, and know some of the areas he writes about. Partly it's because each of the geology books is a snapshot of of the plate tectonics revolution, and this book, the fourth, presents the latest and most developed snapshot. But mostly it is my admiration for McPhee's willingness to take on one of the most complex topics in geology, the ophiolite sequence and its implications, and the sheer elegance of his explanations. If this isn't a coursebook on California geology, it should be. The synthesis of so much geology is a staggering effort; combined with the lucid, even elegant explanations, this has to rank among the most formidable pieces of science writing ever.

Because this is a McPhee book, it involves much more than just geology. The history of Spanish and American exploration, the California gold rush, the technology of hydraulic mining, the mining ghost towns and, of course, a breathtaking narrative of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake; even if geology is not fascinating to you, you will enjoy and admire this book.

This is not McPhee's very best book. That's still "Coming into the Country." But it is the best of the geology books and among the two or three best books McPhee has written. And when you are talking of a writer of McPhee's talent, that's saying a lot. My highest recommendation.

Explaining the World: A Joy to Read.......2005-09-03

_Assembling California_, John McPhee

Also recommended as a supplement to McPhee:
_The Behavior of the Earth: Continental and Seafloor Mobility_, Claude Allegre

Plate Tectonics has joined Darwinism as yet another scientific bulwark under attack in today's America, as shown e.g. at earthage.org, and I thought a review of a couple of popular books on the subject I enjoyed recently that give a very pleasurable overview of this field would be in order.

"The Summit of Mount Everest is marine limestone." John McPhee summarizes his tetralogy surveying the geology of the American continent with this phrase, indicating the depth of time, and the magnitude of forces involved in shaping the earth.

Fleshing this sentence out in the most wonderful fashion by following around a regional geological expert -- in this case Eldridge Moores -- and making the geology a personal story, while explaining technical terms by-the-by, and making the flow of time and movement of continents wash over the reader like a tidal surge, is a remarkable achievement.

_Assembling California_ is the most recently written of his geological tetralogy (gathered together in one volume now as _Annals of the Former World_), and shows the development of Plate Tectonics theory since its inception in the late '60s to the early '90s. One of the books indeed features a completely traditional geologist (_In Suspect Terrain_) who professes much doubt in the theory, while Eldridge Moores, on the other hand, is like a Plate Tectonics prophet, using the theory to explain virtually every geological feature on the planet.

This grumpiness and even hidebound intransigence of 'traditional geologists' who see their entire geological worldview literally swept away by the breathtaking scope of Plate Tectonic theory is a fascinating aspect of the human side of science shown in these books. McPhee himself notes this, referring to geosynclines -- a mainstay of the 'old' geology -- as "a rational fiction", and that "he is following a science as it lurches forward from error to discovery and back to error" (referring to an early mis-constructions).

A book I glanced through, _The Colorado Plateau : a geologic history_, by Daniel L. Baars, has an editorial-style Preface written by just such an annoyed 'old geologist', excoriating the "religious fervour" shown by adherents to the new theory. And I might add that, after reading several books with PT as a basis, I found this book (written in the '70s and re-printed), with it's 'old-style' terminology and complete lack of the plate-tectonic grand-scale overview of why such-and-such a geological feature is there in the first place, to be quite unreadable and boring in the extreme.

The other book in this review, _The Behavior of the Earth: Continental and Seafloor Mobility_, is neither boring nor unreadable, while providing an excellent historical approach to presenting PT theory, from Wegener to the current period (1988 was the date of publication, but this is no drawback from this general reader's perspective). It pays very welcome attention to the subject from a History of Science perspective, with careful attention to the scientists who provided each new advancement, while explaining the technical aspects of the theory with many pictures and diagrams. I found it an excellent supplement to McPhee's book, which mostly lacks visuals to fill out his word-pictures, and I referred many times to the seafloor-spreading and ocean-basin maps while reading McPhee. I don't know how available this book is now, but check the library anyway! Highly recommended.

rms

No index, please.......2004-08-28

The comments of others largely capture the brilliant and compelling writing that makes this book a pleasure to read. I was sorry when I finished it. But please, no index, glossary, or anything else! This is a book for the layman. Even with a glossary, in six months we would forget the precise geological meaning of andesite. What is memorable about this book (and McPhee's other writing on geology) is that the geological terms flow around you and wash over you as if you were an expert in the field. Combined with metaphors that are startlingly original yet perfectly apt, the end result is a glimpse of the depth and possibilities for fascination under the surface story. Mundane details like definitions would make this book dry and boring, just another textbook. Instead, you get the big picture, told in a colorful and informative way, that leaves you educated about geology without feeling like a geologist.

The Prose of Rock and Faultlines.......2004-06-05

With a precision of language and detail, John McPhee brilliantly evokes the terrain of earthquakes, desert, mountains, and coastline of California. McPhee's guide through the geological history and present-day is Eldridge Moores, a geological professor at UC/Davis who knows the land of California perhaps better than anyone and who can "see through the topography and see how the rocks lie in three dimensions beneath the topography." McPhee is Moores' interpreter, a writer for whom descriptions and metaphor comes as easily as geology does for Moores. Together, they take the reader through the diversity of land formations to form a complex understanding of all the forces that have been at work on this strip of land forming much of the west coast of the United States.

For those only marginally interested in geology and topography, this is a difficult read, though it is well worth sticking with it. I myself read it in chunks, only a single chapter at a time, since any more tested my patience. The writing is superb, however, and the information imparted is both instructional and fascinating. When McPhee writes seemingly simple sentences such as, "There were orchards of carobs, figs, and pistachios, and an understory of prickly pears," he paints an entire countryside in just a few strokes of language. What he does with the drier subject matter of basalt and limestone is extraordinary.

Bravo!.......2003-07-12

John McPhee is an essayist of significant talent. His ability to parse the technical into terms both enjoyable and understandable is literally striking. Turning a tome on geology into a page-turner must be one heck of a challenge, but McPhee manages to do so with regularity (see also: Rising from the Plains).

Assembling California is no different. McPhee starts in the Sierra Nevada with geologist Eldridge Moores and ends on the San Andreas fault during the Loma Prieta quake. Throughout, McPhee explains that California is actually an accretion of exotic terrains that tectonically migrated throughout the eons. I'll admit that on rare occasion some content rendered me a bit glassy eyed, but the majority of the writing was excellent and the San Andreas fault section was beyond outstanding.

Taken as a whole, Assembling California is a distinguished finale to McPhee's Interstate 80 geology series that began with Basin and Range and later became a compilation entitled Annals of the Former World.

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Geology of Southern California, Bulletin 170, September 1954

Manufacturer: Division of Mines
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000F7T0KO

Product Description

Boxed set. 16 booklets and 34 folded maps in a separate pocket, all items enclosed in a labeled, cardboard slipcase. The booklets consist of a summary, 10 individually-bound chapters (some with folded maps), and 5 geologic guides. There are 9 folded maps in a pocket at the rear of Chapter II. 1: General Features. 2: Geology of the Natural Provinces. 3: Historical Geology. 4: Structural Features. 5: Geomorphology. 6: Hydrology. 7: Mineralogy and Petrology. 8: Mineral Deposits and Mineral Industry. 9: Oil and Gas. 10: Engineering Aspects of Geology. Also: Geologic Guide No. 1: Western Mojave Desert and Death Valley Region; Geologic Guide No. 2: Ventura Basin; Geologic Guide No. 3: Los Angeles Basin; Geologic Guide No. 4: Southwestern Part of the Los Angeles Basin; Geologic Guide No. 5: Northern Part of the Peninsular Range Province.

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just what I was looking for!
lost with a map
Rock Solid

Rockhounding California
Gail A. Butler
Manufacturer: Falcon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1560446390

Book Description

Although known for its gold production, California is a virtual haven for rock and gem collectors. With this informative guide, you can explore the mineral-rich desert regions, comb tide-washed beaches for jade, agate, abalone, fossilized whale bone, and prospect in the mountains and hills for gold, copper, and other minerals and gems. It describes 75 of the state's best rockhounding sites and covers popular and commercial sites as well as numerous little-known areas. This handy guide also describes how to collect specimens, includes maps and directions to each site, and lists rockhound clubs around the state. Rockhounding California offers a complete introduction to this many-faceted hobby and is an outstanding guide and sourcebook.

Customer Reviews:

just what I was looking for!.......2003-10-01

got the book last night, found crystals the next day. I am going for jasper tommorrow. great book!

lost with a map.......2001-07-06

A friend of mine recently got me interested in rockhounding and we went and purchased this book... Anyway, we went to a random site and the maps, although detailed with mileage, don't show distance to site from areas in california. Example, distance from Barstow to Ludlow? YOU have to go there to see the mileagle sign. Secondly, there needs to be better markers on where to turn for these dirt roads. A few sites were passed due to not being where they "should be". I really would hate to take some unmarked road for 10 miles only find it leads nowhere and then have a problem getting back. The lore and history of the sites was nice along with hints of how to dig or uncover rocks but the maps do leave a bit to be desired. Finally, and most annoyingly, all of the photos were black and white and of low quality. How can one tell what green jasper looks like with a black photo? Blooodstone? Rose quartz? This one portion of the book really was what made me not want to purchase my own copy. Maybe future editions will have better maps and at least a few color photos of the rocks,etc. Thanks for your time, Dean

Rock Solid.......2000-06-08

This book really is solid. It's got some of the best information on everything you'll need to be right in the middle of all that this great big state of California has to offer. I have traveled to 14 sites so far, and almost all of them have been productive and well worth the trip. What I like most is the extra types of information given; like the best season to look for gems and minerals at a particular site, and the specific tools you'll need. Especially appreciated are the alternate maps that are recommended, like the USGS and the BLM, which match up right to the book. Way to go and thank you very much!

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The ONLY up-to-date textbook on California geology

California Geology (2nd Edition)
Deborah Harden
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 013100218X

Book Description

This interesting book uses plate tectonics as its central theme; it acquaints readers with California geology. Basic principles in the beginning of the book and tables of highlights for each province enable the reader to understand the whole picture of catastrophic national disasters, California history, mining methods, and societal impacts; it brings the lessons of geology closer to the everyday context of California life. After a comprehensive overview of the basic principles of geology, this book then focuses on the geological highlights of California (young volcanoes, deserts, the Mojave Desert, the Sierra Nevada, the Klamath Mountains, water, the Great Valley, the coast Ranges, earthquakes, faults, and seismic safety, the transverse ranges, and the peninsular ranges). The inside back and front covers of the book contain a wealth of readily available information, with comprehensive geologic, fault, relief, and mountain range maps. A handy desk reference for geologists, this book is also a source of information for anyone interested in the evolution of California's terrain.

Customer Reviews:

The ONLY up-to-date textbook on California geology.......2000-05-02

Deborah Hardin's textbook on California geology is superior to all previous texts inasmuch as she is the first to utilize the theory of plate tectonics to provide a unified framework for her overall exposition. Instead of being bombarded with an encyclopedic but chaotic assemblage of rock types and unconnected microprocesses, the reader is treated to a consistent and comprehensive picture of how California came to be that hangs together remarkably well.

Harden utilized the recent research of countless other geologists to put together this book, and her hard work has paid off. She includes several chapters that provide a conceptual overview of geologic principles, then goes on in successive sections to describe how various forces and processes related ultimately to plate tectonics have been responsible for the evolution of various distinctive landforms and geomorphic regions of California. She also includes a final chapter that is a stand-alone summary version of the "geological history of California." Throughout the book, she makes clear again and again how a clear understanding of the various ways that tectonic plates can interact is absolutely fundamental to understanding how California has come into existence over the past several hundred million years. It's a fascinating story, and Harden's text will help anyone willing to read carefully and study a bit to learn the basics of California geology.

As an added bonus, Harden has included several sections that are linked to present-day environmental hazards, most notably those related to the constant threat of earthquakes in the Golden State. Such information is, of course linked directly to the geology of the state that she has described and explained so well.

The illustrations and diagrams re not terribly elaborate, but they are helpful and reasonably plentiful. Also included are some small-sized versions of the standard California geology and fault maps.

Book Description

This book has quadrangle information to help locate rocks and minerals throughout the state. Has an identification key, color photos, two-color locality maps, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Why Bother?.......2006-04-17

Oh my...I have owned this book since before I even moved to California. I'm glad I didn't let this book's terrible quality stop me from moving to the mineral wonderland that is California. The problem with this book is that it is just small scale maps of california with freaking NUMBERS plopped all over some map. Ok, thanks a LOT for the number 14 (QUARTZ =) over Quartz Hill in Palmdale...yes, it IS made out of Quartz...massive white quartz. The ONLY way this book is of ANY use is if you were to use it in conjunction with other maps and even then, there are scores of better works to choose from on the subject. Don't waste your time.

Review by a professional geologist.......2002-10-16

Good luck on finding mineral sites using this guide. While the minerals may be in the areas indicated, the maps are so crude that the likelihood of your finding the sites is very poor. I have tried using the guide for several years with almost no success.

Rocks and Minerals of California.......2000-06-07

Well worth what I paid for it. This book has lots of information and would make a good reference for the Geology of California.

The maps though, don't say what the major highways/roads are, so you'll need another map. I have the book Roadside Geology of North/Central California, and this book goes really well with it.

Book Description

The Berkeley hills offer great natural beauty and sensitive landscape design that skillfully incorporates the architecture into the natural environment. In the early 20th century, architects inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement worked to integrate the hills' large outcrops of rock (known to geologists as Northbrae rhyolite) into the city's development. At once a historical architectural reference and a captivating art book, BERKELEY ROCKS documents the unique harmony between Berkeley's distinctive geography, homes, and local ideals.

Customer Reviews:

Great Rocks!.......2007-03-18

For much of my life I held hope to be able to own a home in
Berkeley with one of those great rocks filling the front of the lot and obscuring part of the house. It never happened, so finding this excellent book fulfilled part of my wish. The photography really captures the feeling of being near the geologic history of the area and there is a
great source of geologic detail in the text, for anyone who
wants to know why those rocks are there. Excellent photograpy and very informative text.

Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region (California Natural History Guides)

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Excellent for amateurs & pros alike!
Good overall view of geologic scenerio in SF Bay Area
Best Bay Area natural history book I have ever seen!

Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region (California Natural History Guides)
Doris Sloan
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520241266

Book Description

Why does a bit of ocean floor lie on top of Mt. Diablo? Why is Red Rock, that small, knobby island in San Francisco Bay, red? Why is Loma Prieta high? This book is for San Francisco Bay Area residents and visitors who want to explore the geologic world of this spectacular area, to learn about its shapes, colors, and rocky foundations. Doris Sloan illuminates the colorful geologic mosaic that surrounds San Francisco Bay and lucidly explains the complex and fascinating processes that have forged it over millions of years.
In a lively and engaging style, Sloan describes forces such as the movement of tectonic plates, erosion, the waves on the coast, and human activity. She provides background information on the processes, time frame, and rocks that are the key to understanding the Bay Area landscape and geologic history, then turns to distinct regions of the Bay Area and to San Francisco Bay itself.

* Superbly illustrated with 139 color photographs, 41 drawings, and 29 maps
* Covers Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties
* Gives clear, nontechnical explanations of complex topics including plate tectonics and the Bay Area's fault systems
* Suggests locales in parks and open space preserves to view Bay Area geology in action

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for amateurs & pros alike!.......2007-05-14

If you have any interest in California geology, this is the book for you. The pictures are beautiful; the text is well written and easy to understand even for those with no background in geology. It is a wonderful source for planning weekend trips. A great gift for anyone interested in the outdoors.

Good overall view of geologic scenerio in SF Bay Area.......2007-03-22

Well written and easy to understand description of the geologic wrecking yard that is the San Francisco Bay area - even for a layman.

Best Bay Area natural history book I have ever seen!.......2006-07-08

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and as an avid amateur naturalist, I have collected many regional nature guidebooks-- maybe most of them. I just received this book, having ordered it just based on the title and little else. What a pleasant surprise!-- It is probably the best regional natural history book I have ever seen.

If you are an avid amateur naturalist like me, maybe the following is familiar: You pick up a nice general geology or rock atlas book, and find it beautiful and comprehensive; but when you try to match an actual local observation to this catalog of all possible rocks and structures in the world, you are left with uncertainty. And you quickly lose interest in this guesswork. Well, if you are in the Bay Area, you will feel extremely lucky when you get this book in your hands. It focuses on things you are likely to see here; it shows regional patterns to further help you understand what is what. As a result you will find the topic tangibly relevant, and your local explorations more interesting and fulfilling.

Another amazing aspect of this book is its fullness and quality. You would expect a regionally focused work to be a glorified pamphlet of highlights. On the contrary, this book has the feel of an expensively produced comprehensive geology introduction. (Judging by the cover photo you might not realize (I didn't) that it's a relatively thick (300+ page) book.) It ties everything to the big picture of geologic time. It is full of shiny color photos and color-coded maps. It is extremely well written!-- the writing shows obvious care in making explanations simple and intuitive to nonspecialists. So it is as if we have been given a full geology introduction text (and a great one at that!) written from scratch completely focused on the Bay Area. I might call it the nearest thing I've seen to a "scientific cosmology of the Bay Area"!

I'm not a specialist, but I can vouch for the contents in the following way. Over the years I've collected and bookmarked the most interesting and up-to-the-minute local geology content from the web. For instance, the USGS geologic quadrangle maps. This book seems to collect together all the same good stuff-- and reproduces them in summary form (but in color still!).

In summary, I have not seen a guide written more lovingly for the Bay Area explorer.

Introduction to California Soils and Plants: Serpentine, Vernal Pools, and Other Geobotanical Wonders (California Natural History Guides)

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Superb

Introduction to California Soils and Plants: Serpentine, Vernal Pools, and Other Geobotanical Wonders (California Natural History Guides)
Arthur R. Kruckeberg
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520233727

Book Description

Carnivorous pitcher plants, pygmy conifers, and the Tiburon jewel flower, restricted to a small patch of serpentine soil on Tiburon Peninsula in Marin County, are just a few of California's many amazing endemic plants--species that are unique to particular locales. California boasts an abundance of endemic plants precisely because it also boasts the richest geologic diversity of any place in North America, perhaps in the world. In lively prose, Arthur Kruckeberg gives a geologic travelogue of California's unusual soils and land forms and their associated plants--including serpentines, carbonate rocks, salt marshes, salt flats, and vernal pools--demonstrating along the way how geology shapes plant life. Adding a fascinating chapter to the story of California's remarkable biodiversity, this accessible book also draws our attention to the pressing need for conservation of the state's many rare and fascinating plants and habitats.

148 outstanding, accurate photographs, more than 100 incolor, illustrate California's diverse flora
Covers a wide range of locations including the Channel Islands, the Central Valley, wetlands, bristlecone pine forests, and bogs and fens
Provides selected trip itineraries for viewing the state's geobotanical wonders
Includes information on human influences on the California landscape from the early Spanish explores through the gold rush and to the present

Customer Reviews:

Superb.......2007-03-24

This is the best intro to the soil-plant interface that I've read. It's very well written, documented, researched, and also just fun to read. The author's enthusiasm for his subject area is contagious. Focussing on unique substrates such as vernal pools, serpentine formations, dunes, deserts, and so on, the author shows how geology even more than climate determines which plants grow where in California, especially in the case of serpentine derived soils, which are very poor in nutrients and high in magnesium. Overall a wonderful book on the subject and one that should be in every botanist's library. Be aware that some previous geology and understanding of rock types and minerology is a big help in understanding the text, but you don't have to be a "hard rocker" to benefit from it.

Average customer rating:

Marine Life of Southern California
Donald J. Reish
Manufacturer: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0787210455

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