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Picture atlas of the Arctic
BOOK REVIEWS
139
fisheries is thus far from complete. In such an example as this, the one-sided selection of the team of authors makes itself again felt. Another reflection of this one-sidedness is the presence of a 4-pp. article on " G o v e r n m e n t (U.S.) development of marine resources", whereas similar contributions on other national governments are lacking. No less than 7 pp. are devoted to the Peru Current, but the Gulf Stream is not even mentioned in the index. Another aspect of imbalance is that the article on antimicrobial substances contains 95 literature references, that on ecology 12 and that on coral reefs none. As if hardly any literature exists on this latter subject! The price per page I of The Encyclopedia of Marine Resources amounts to U.S. $ 0.038. For The Encyclopedia of Oceanography, a Reinhold publication under the editorship of R. W. Fairbridge (reviewed in Earth-Science Reviews~At&s, vol. 3, no. 3, 1967, p.197) this is U.S. $ 0.024. Oceanographical information is also included in the International Dictionary of Geophysics, edited by S. K. Runcorn and published by Pergamon (Cf. Marine Geology, vol. 6, no. 5, 1968, pp.415-417; and Earth-Science Reviews~Atlas, vol. 4, no. 2, 1968, p.103), which costs U.S. $ 0.064 per page. De Kerchove's International Maritime Dictionary (Van Nostrand, 2nd ed. 1961) costs U.S. $ 0.031 per page. In conclusion: the price of The Encyclopedia of Marine Resources is not unreasonable, but for marine earth scientists who want most encyclopedic information for the least money The Encyclopedia of Oceanography'is still the best buy. A. A. MANTEN (Utrecht)
Picture Atlas of the Arctic. R. THORI~N. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1969, 590 illus., 475 pp., Dfl. 165.--. This book is essentially a collection of photographs illustrating the physical, and to a lesser extent the economic, geography of the north. There are nearly 600 photographs many of them 7 x 8 inches in size or larger, some taken from the ground, some from the air, some vertical, some oblique, some stereopairs. Such a rich collection cannot fail to describe, far better than words alone would do, the characteristics and variety of the arctic scene. In this atlas the term Arctic means north of the Arctic Circle rather than north of the tree-line and this definition has been followed fairly rigorously so that many regions with an Arctic climate have been excluded. The material has been divided into nine chapters: "The Arctic Ocean", "Drifting Ice Stations", "Arctic Alaska", 1 T h e thickness o f the work here reviewed is 4 cm, implying a shelf index (price per c m of shelf space which the b o o k occupies) o f £ 2.18.6.
Marine Geol., 9 (1970) 137-144
140
BOOK REVIEWS
"Arctic Canada", "Greenland", "Iceland", "Norwegian Islands in the Arctic", "Arctic Scandinavia" and "The Soviet Arctic". Each chapter consists of a few pages of text followed by the relevant pictures. This is a convenient and suitable arrangement though the first two chapters might well have been combined as it does not seem logical to separate the drifting stations from the Arctic Ocean over which they drift and which they have done so much to study. The Norwegian islands and Arctic Scandinavia have been treated much more generously than the other areas; together they account for nearly half the book, and nearly ten times as much as the whole of the Soviet Arctic has been allotted. The treatment is almost wholly descriptive with little attempt to compare the different arctic areas, and relate them to one another. An analysis of this sort would have made a very appropriate final chapter. At the least a good general map of the arctic as a whole should have been provided, even if only as an end-paper. The text throughout contains a great deal of concentrated information on the physiography, resources, and state of development of each area compiled from a wide variety of sources. Some of the statements are no longer up-to-date but this is largely a measure of how rapidly change is taking place in the north. The author explains in the preface that the terms of reference given him by the publishers allowed him to touch on all sciences with the exception of botany and zoology. This was an unfortunate restriction. Polar bears, musk-ox, walrus, cotton grass and brightly coloured lichens are too much a part of the arctic scene to be ignored. An even greater omission lies in the few references to the native peoples and the ways they have adapted to their environment. A picture atlas of the arctic that does not cover these aspects leaves out so much that is vital and becomes like a stage setting without actors. Most of the photographs seem to be of excellent quality, but their reproduction does not do them credit. Far too often they appear grey and flat. A process that gave more contrast, and a few coloured plates would have lent much more life both to the book and the Arctic it depicts. Long captions interpret each photograph and add greatly to their value and interest. There are maps giving the names of most of the places mentioned in the text, but it is not always easy to locate the pictures. Coded maps showing where each photograph was taken would have been a major improvement. G. W. ROWLEY (Cambridge)
The History of the Earth's Crust. R. A. PHINNEY (Editor). Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1968, 244 pp., U.S. $13.50. One of the major difficulties in finding solution for the continental drift was hidden in the evolution of oceanic crust. Moreover, the whole question of the Marine Geol., 9 (1970) 137-144
139
fisheries is thus far from complete. In such an example as this, the one-sided selection of the team of authors makes itself again felt. Another reflection of this one-sidedness is the presence of a 4-pp. article on " G o v e r n m e n t (U.S.) development of marine resources", whereas similar contributions on other national governments are lacking. No less than 7 pp. are devoted to the Peru Current, but the Gulf Stream is not even mentioned in the index. Another aspect of imbalance is that the article on antimicrobial substances contains 95 literature references, that on ecology 12 and that on coral reefs none. As if hardly any literature exists on this latter subject! The price per page I of The Encyclopedia of Marine Resources amounts to U.S. $ 0.038. For The Encyclopedia of Oceanography, a Reinhold publication under the editorship of R. W. Fairbridge (reviewed in Earth-Science Reviews~At&s, vol. 3, no. 3, 1967, p.197) this is U.S. $ 0.024. Oceanographical information is also included in the International Dictionary of Geophysics, edited by S. K. Runcorn and published by Pergamon (Cf. Marine Geology, vol. 6, no. 5, 1968, pp.415-417; and Earth-Science Reviews~Atlas, vol. 4, no. 2, 1968, p.103), which costs U.S. $ 0.064 per page. De Kerchove's International Maritime Dictionary (Van Nostrand, 2nd ed. 1961) costs U.S. $ 0.031 per page. In conclusion: the price of The Encyclopedia of Marine Resources is not unreasonable, but for marine earth scientists who want most encyclopedic information for the least money The Encyclopedia of Oceanography'is still the best buy. A. A. MANTEN (Utrecht)
Picture Atlas of the Arctic. R. THORI~N. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1969, 590 illus., 475 pp., Dfl. 165.--. This book is essentially a collection of photographs illustrating the physical, and to a lesser extent the economic, geography of the north. There are nearly 600 photographs many of them 7 x 8 inches in size or larger, some taken from the ground, some from the air, some vertical, some oblique, some stereopairs. Such a rich collection cannot fail to describe, far better than words alone would do, the characteristics and variety of the arctic scene. In this atlas the term Arctic means north of the Arctic Circle rather than north of the tree-line and this definition has been followed fairly rigorously so that many regions with an Arctic climate have been excluded. The material has been divided into nine chapters: "The Arctic Ocean", "Drifting Ice Stations", "Arctic Alaska", 1 T h e thickness o f the work here reviewed is 4 cm, implying a shelf index (price per c m of shelf space which the b o o k occupies) o f £ 2.18.6.
Marine Geol., 9 (1970) 137-144
140
BOOK REVIEWS
"Arctic Canada", "Greenland", "Iceland", "Norwegian Islands in the Arctic", "Arctic Scandinavia" and "The Soviet Arctic". Each chapter consists of a few pages of text followed by the relevant pictures. This is a convenient and suitable arrangement though the first two chapters might well have been combined as it does not seem logical to separate the drifting stations from the Arctic Ocean over which they drift and which they have done so much to study. The Norwegian islands and Arctic Scandinavia have been treated much more generously than the other areas; together they account for nearly half the book, and nearly ten times as much as the whole of the Soviet Arctic has been allotted. The treatment is almost wholly descriptive with little attempt to compare the different arctic areas, and relate them to one another. An analysis of this sort would have made a very appropriate final chapter. At the least a good general map of the arctic as a whole should have been provided, even if only as an end-paper. The text throughout contains a great deal of concentrated information on the physiography, resources, and state of development of each area compiled from a wide variety of sources. Some of the statements are no longer up-to-date but this is largely a measure of how rapidly change is taking place in the north. The author explains in the preface that the terms of reference given him by the publishers allowed him to touch on all sciences with the exception of botany and zoology. This was an unfortunate restriction. Polar bears, musk-ox, walrus, cotton grass and brightly coloured lichens are too much a part of the arctic scene to be ignored. An even greater omission lies in the few references to the native peoples and the ways they have adapted to their environment. A picture atlas of the arctic that does not cover these aspects leaves out so much that is vital and becomes like a stage setting without actors. Most of the photographs seem to be of excellent quality, but their reproduction does not do them credit. Far too often they appear grey and flat. A process that gave more contrast, and a few coloured plates would have lent much more life both to the book and the Arctic it depicts. Long captions interpret each photograph and add greatly to their value and interest. There are maps giving the names of most of the places mentioned in the text, but it is not always easy to locate the pictures. Coded maps showing where each photograph was taken would have been a major improvement. G. W. ROWLEY (Cambridge)
The History of the Earth's Crust. R. A. PHINNEY (Editor). Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1968, 244 pp., U.S. $13.50. One of the major difficulties in finding solution for the continental drift was hidden in the evolution of oceanic crust. Moreover, the whole question of the Marine Geol., 9 (1970) 137-144