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Geology of the Malay Peninsula, West Malaysia and Singapore
238 found. The authors have not undertaken the task of determining what o f substance to practical geodesists is to be obtained f r o m recent developments in potential theory or functional analysis. Discussions of equilibrium figures, Earth tides, isotasy and all kinds o f gravity anomaly reductions wilt be o f interest to the academic geophysicist. The book is very much an interdisciplinary one. As such, the organization is not as logical or compact as that of most texts, even in earth sciences. Reading it is more like a visit to a workshop or an attic rather than the museum tour presentation to which students are accustomed. It's not that all the topics are developed to the state-ofthe-art; many would require a monograph almost as large as the whole book. Discussions are not carefully trimmed so as to appear as selfcontained, finished products, as is done in most t e x t b o o k s on classical mechanics, for example. Some readers might find this style of presentation very refreshing. What is frustrating though, is that often loose ends are left or results presented w i t h o u t derivation and the references are inadequate or none are given at all. For example, on page 135 we are told that Cook derived formula (467), but we do not k n o w how, where or when. This greatly reduces the usefulness o f the book to someone trying to learn about a topic new to himself. The translation, credited only with the other copyrights, is less than idiomatic. Many mathematical terms are not right; bounded functions are called " l i m i t e d " . The t e x t is still easier to read than many quite correct but painfully turgid ones; it is unfortunate the manuscript did not pass through the hands of a really good English language editor. Misprints and errors do exist among the plethora of equations and formulae. Users are advised to check before programming. Even though each chapter was written independently, all the formulae are numbered in sequence throughout the whole book: f r o m (1) to (1693). References are numbered from [1] to [462], the first part being those printed in Latin alphabet, the second are Russian and the last are those added as an afterthought, both Latin and
Cyrillic. This organization will in no way hinder current users, but it almost precludes any significant changes in a second edition. A n y attempts at revision could easily lead to an unacceptable number of errors in equation or literature citations, since every one in the book would have to be changed. On the whole it is safe to say that the book will be of value to the geophysical c o m m u n i t y ; the bibliography alone is a useful guide to what is substantial in the very extensive Russian language literature. On the other hand, this is no classic or finest example of anything. Neither lavish praise nor condemnation are due. The most regrettable aspect of th is w o r k is that revisions that could make it better will be very difficult and may never be done. Except for the halftones, which are rather poor, the printing quality and t y p o graphy are excellent. The book was printed in Czechoslovakia. Good craftmanship was lavished on materials that are adequate, but not the best. The price ($32.50 in the U.S.A.) is reasonable for these times, but no bargain. F. Morrison, Rockville, Md.
THE M A L A Y PENINSULA D.J. Gobbett and C.S. Hutchinson (Editors), 1973. Geology of the Malay Peninsula, West Malaysia and Singapore. Wiley, Chichester, 438 pp., £22.00. This well illustrated book is an excellent addition to the regional geology series edited by L.U. de Sitter. Since the "Geology of Malaya" published by Scrivenor in 1931, it is the first comprehensive book which gives a synoptic picture of the present geological knowledge of the Malay Peninsula. Many new data have lately become known; fieldmapping, new palaentological data, radiometric age determinations etc. have contributed largely to a better concept of the geological history o f this part of the world. This book is a compilation of a number o f recent publications and many data from unpublished reports on regional studies o f the Geological Survey of West Malaysia. The
239 first introductionary chapter gives a good impression of the very fast development of the geological knowledge in recent times. Through chapters 3--6 the stratigraphic sequence is built up from the Lower Palaeozoic until Cenozoic. Large tracks of the western part of the Malay Peninsula consist of late Cambrian till early Devonian mioand eugeo-synclinal sediments, erroneously considered prior to 1955 as Upper Palaeozoic rocks. No pre-Carboniferous rocks were supposed to occur in West Malaysia at that time. A folding phase has locally taken place between the Siegenien and the end of the Devonian, although in other places as for example the Kinta valley the stratigraphic sequence seems to be continuous from Silurian till Permian. The geosynclinal sedimentation continued through PermoCarboniferous into the Triassic. The Major orogenic phase in the late Triassic caused an abrupt change in sedimentation towards a typical molasse facies of the Jurassic and early Cretaceous, well defined in central Perak and southwest Trengganu. Southwards in Johore and Singapore this differntiation between Jurassic molasse and Triassic pre-orogenic sediments is less clear. This, unfortunately, has prompted one of the authors to place stratigraphic members representing entirely different facies (Pasir Panjang member, Bukit Resam member and Gunong Pulai member) in one and the same formation (Jurong Formation). Inherent to the fact that still large gaps in knowledge exist with respect to the position of rock units within the stratigraphic sequence, inconsistencies occur in different maps of area distribution of Lower Palaeozoic (fig.3.2), Upper Palaeozoic (fig.4.1), and Mesozoic rocks (fig.5.2) which further compared to the color geological map scale 1:1,000,000 show more discrepancies. This should however not be considered as derogatory to the value of the book. It only enlightens more clearly the fast growth of geological knowledge in this tropical forest covered country. Chapters 7 to 10 deal with volcanic-, plutonic activity, metamorphism, and tectonic history. The many new radiometric age determinations have made a large differentiation of phases of intrusive activity possi-
ble. It is gratifying to learn that much of the metamorphic history of the Malay Peninsula has been dissociated from the direct influence of the granite intrusions as considered in the past. The regional metamorphism of Abukuma facies series is related to the orogenic phases; the granitic intrusive activity being rather a result of this regional metamorphism. The tectonic influence of the different orogenic phases has not yet been much differentiated. Much work has still to be done in this field. The schematic tectonic sections through Malaya are highly hypothetical. There are no indications for the presence of oceanic crust towards the east; the geology of the Anambas and Natuna islands in the South China Sea actually points to the contrary. For the suggested thrust planes fanning out sideways are no indication, with the exception of the Kisap thrust in Langkawi. The last chapter deals with the primary mineral deposits. As West Malaysia is the world's major producer of cassiterite, much attention has been paid to this mineral. For the economic geologist interested in tin mineralisation this chapter written with authority is of great importance. Other mineralisations as iron, gold, base metal sultides and barite receive relatively little attention. The richly illustrated book with an appended geological color map of the Peninsula makes it an expensive volume. For every geologist interested or working in the area this book is however an indispensable guidebook, filling the 40-year gap in the geological literature of the Malay Peninsula. B.N.Koopmans, Enschede
VEGETATION LATIN AMERICA
OF
NORTHERN
A. Graham (Editor), 1973. Vegetation and Vegetational History of Northern Latin America. (Papers presented as part of a Symposium at the American Institute of Biological Sciences Meetings, Bloomington, Ind.) Elsevier, Amsterdam, 393 pp., Dfl. 120.00. Of the 9 chapters of this volume 5 are on recent floras and vegetation and 4 on vegetation history. The chapter on the vegetation of
Cyrillic. This organization will in no way hinder current users, but it almost precludes any significant changes in a second edition. A n y attempts at revision could easily lead to an unacceptable number of errors in equation or literature citations, since every one in the book would have to be changed. On the whole it is safe to say that the book will be of value to the geophysical c o m m u n i t y ; the bibliography alone is a useful guide to what is substantial in the very extensive Russian language literature. On the other hand, this is no classic or finest example of anything. Neither lavish praise nor condemnation are due. The most regrettable aspect of th is w o r k is that revisions that could make it better will be very difficult and may never be done. Except for the halftones, which are rather poor, the printing quality and t y p o graphy are excellent. The book was printed in Czechoslovakia. Good craftmanship was lavished on materials that are adequate, but not the best. The price ($32.50 in the U.S.A.) is reasonable for these times, but no bargain. F. Morrison, Rockville, Md.
THE M A L A Y PENINSULA D.J. Gobbett and C.S. Hutchinson (Editors), 1973. Geology of the Malay Peninsula, West Malaysia and Singapore. Wiley, Chichester, 438 pp., £22.00. This well illustrated book is an excellent addition to the regional geology series edited by L.U. de Sitter. Since the "Geology of Malaya" published by Scrivenor in 1931, it is the first comprehensive book which gives a synoptic picture of the present geological knowledge of the Malay Peninsula. Many new data have lately become known; fieldmapping, new palaentological data, radiometric age determinations etc. have contributed largely to a better concept of the geological history o f this part of the world. This book is a compilation of a number o f recent publications and many data from unpublished reports on regional studies o f the Geological Survey of West Malaysia. The
239 first introductionary chapter gives a good impression of the very fast development of the geological knowledge in recent times. Through chapters 3--6 the stratigraphic sequence is built up from the Lower Palaeozoic until Cenozoic. Large tracks of the western part of the Malay Peninsula consist of late Cambrian till early Devonian mioand eugeo-synclinal sediments, erroneously considered prior to 1955 as Upper Palaeozoic rocks. No pre-Carboniferous rocks were supposed to occur in West Malaysia at that time. A folding phase has locally taken place between the Siegenien and the end of the Devonian, although in other places as for example the Kinta valley the stratigraphic sequence seems to be continuous from Silurian till Permian. The geosynclinal sedimentation continued through PermoCarboniferous into the Triassic. The Major orogenic phase in the late Triassic caused an abrupt change in sedimentation towards a typical molasse facies of the Jurassic and early Cretaceous, well defined in central Perak and southwest Trengganu. Southwards in Johore and Singapore this differntiation between Jurassic molasse and Triassic pre-orogenic sediments is less clear. This, unfortunately, has prompted one of the authors to place stratigraphic members representing entirely different facies (Pasir Panjang member, Bukit Resam member and Gunong Pulai member) in one and the same formation (Jurong Formation). Inherent to the fact that still large gaps in knowledge exist with respect to the position of rock units within the stratigraphic sequence, inconsistencies occur in different maps of area distribution of Lower Palaeozoic (fig.3.2), Upper Palaeozoic (fig.4.1), and Mesozoic rocks (fig.5.2) which further compared to the color geological map scale 1:1,000,000 show more discrepancies. This should however not be considered as derogatory to the value of the book. It only enlightens more clearly the fast growth of geological knowledge in this tropical forest covered country. Chapters 7 to 10 deal with volcanic-, plutonic activity, metamorphism, and tectonic history. The many new radiometric age determinations have made a large differentiation of phases of intrusive activity possi-
ble. It is gratifying to learn that much of the metamorphic history of the Malay Peninsula has been dissociated from the direct influence of the granite intrusions as considered in the past. The regional metamorphism of Abukuma facies series is related to the orogenic phases; the granitic intrusive activity being rather a result of this regional metamorphism. The tectonic influence of the different orogenic phases has not yet been much differentiated. Much work has still to be done in this field. The schematic tectonic sections through Malaya are highly hypothetical. There are no indications for the presence of oceanic crust towards the east; the geology of the Anambas and Natuna islands in the South China Sea actually points to the contrary. For the suggested thrust planes fanning out sideways are no indication, with the exception of the Kisap thrust in Langkawi. The last chapter deals with the primary mineral deposits. As West Malaysia is the world's major producer of cassiterite, much attention has been paid to this mineral. For the economic geologist interested in tin mineralisation this chapter written with authority is of great importance. Other mineralisations as iron, gold, base metal sultides and barite receive relatively little attention. The richly illustrated book with an appended geological color map of the Peninsula makes it an expensive volume. For every geologist interested or working in the area this book is however an indispensable guidebook, filling the 40-year gap in the geological literature of the Malay Peninsula. B.N.Koopmans, Enschede
VEGETATION LATIN AMERICA
OF
NORTHERN
A. Graham (Editor), 1973. Vegetation and Vegetational History of Northern Latin America. (Papers presented as part of a Symposium at the American Institute of Biological Sciences Meetings, Bloomington, Ind.) Elsevier, Amsterdam, 393 pp., Dfl. 120.00. Of the 9 chapters of this volume 5 are on recent floras and vegetation and 4 on vegetation history. The chapter on the vegetation of