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Adventures in earth history
preservation is always possible, which may still provide some of the missing links in organic evolution. The illustrations in this book are excellent, particularly the paleogeographic maps, together with ample photographs of geological structures. The appendix consists of concise descriptions of the morphology and relationships between the major groups of animals and plants together with charts of stratigraphic correlation for North America and other parts of the world. Plymouth (Great Britain)
E. I. H A M I L T O N
Adrentures in Earth History, edited by Preston Cloud, W. H. F r e e m a n a n d C o m p a n y , San Francisco, 1971, X V + 9 9 2 pp., price 164 s. cloth, 74 s. paper.
Adventures in Earth History is an anthology of published papers which trace the development of geological study concerning the origin of the universe, the age of geological systems, principles of stratigraphy, physical and chemical development of the Earth, the origin of life and the manner in which it developed through geologic time, relations between organic evolution and ecology, concluding with papers describing the rise of man, his present position and future as a product of terrestrial evolution. The papers selected concern challenging problems, they are both comprehensive and readable and do not require any formal education in geology. Unfortunately the Editor was not able to select papers freely because of length, problems of copyright and the restriction of limiting selections to the English language. The various sections of the book are preceded by a general introduction to the topics and a list of supplementary reading matter; the book concludes with a number of problems and a glossary of terms. The Editor has achieved his aims in providing an anthology which gets to grips with the real problem of historical geology. The book is written by people who have been directly concerned in contributing to the advances. The problem of what papers to choose must have presented the Editor with many agonising decisions: in general the choice of papers is good and it is pointless to suggest a long list of alternatives. However, accepting the problems of language (or translation) one paper by the "Father of Stratigraphy", William Smith, could have been selected, while the section on Geologic Time would have been improved by the inclusion of at least one paper dealing specifically with the importance of strontium isotopes in radiometric dating. Students of geology will welcome this volume, but it has a far wider audience and should benefit those concerned with matters of the natural environment in which knowledge of historical geology provides a fuller understanding of natural processes. PI)'mouth (Great Britain)
206
E. I. H A M I L T O N
E. I. H A M I L T O N
Adrentures in Earth History, edited by Preston Cloud, W. H. F r e e m a n a n d C o m p a n y , San Francisco, 1971, X V + 9 9 2 pp., price 164 s. cloth, 74 s. paper.
Adventures in Earth History is an anthology of published papers which trace the development of geological study concerning the origin of the universe, the age of geological systems, principles of stratigraphy, physical and chemical development of the Earth, the origin of life and the manner in which it developed through geologic time, relations between organic evolution and ecology, concluding with papers describing the rise of man, his present position and future as a product of terrestrial evolution. The papers selected concern challenging problems, they are both comprehensive and readable and do not require any formal education in geology. Unfortunately the Editor was not able to select papers freely because of length, problems of copyright and the restriction of limiting selections to the English language. The various sections of the book are preceded by a general introduction to the topics and a list of supplementary reading matter; the book concludes with a number of problems and a glossary of terms. The Editor has achieved his aims in providing an anthology which gets to grips with the real problem of historical geology. The book is written by people who have been directly concerned in contributing to the advances. The problem of what papers to choose must have presented the Editor with many agonising decisions: in general the choice of papers is good and it is pointless to suggest a long list of alternatives. However, accepting the problems of language (or translation) one paper by the "Father of Stratigraphy", William Smith, could have been selected, while the section on Geologic Time would have been improved by the inclusion of at least one paper dealing specifically with the importance of strontium isotopes in radiometric dating. Students of geology will welcome this volume, but it has a far wider audience and should benefit those concerned with matters of the natural environment in which knowledge of historical geology provides a fuller understanding of natural processes. PI)'mouth (Great Britain)
206
E. I. H A M I L T O N