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Tales of an old ocean
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also from Oxford, McKerrow's Ecology of Fossils appeared this year. It too would be of use in conjunction with this book. The organisation of the book is quite straightforward with an Introduction and chapter on Facies by Reading, chapters on Alluvial sediments, Lakes, and Deserts by Collinson; Deltas, and Clastic shorelines by Elliott; Arid shorelines and evaporites by Till; Shallow siliciclastic seas by Johnson; Shallow water carbonates by Sellwood; Pelagic environments by Jenkyns; Deep clastic seas by Rupke; Glacial environments by Edwards; Sedimentation and tectonics by Mitchell and Reading, and a concluding chapter on Problems and perspectives by Reading. There are 64 pages of references and a comprehensive 12 page subject index {in which 8 references to Warkestone threw me, where is it I wondered, Texas?, no, its wackestone!). Most of the chapters are reviews and should n o t startle anyone familiar with the field. However, Mitchell and Reading's chapter does go b e y o n d their 1969 paper and provides an original view of the relation of sedimentation to modern plate tectonics and applies it to situations from the geological record. Much of the book, as can be seen from the listing of contents, is concerned with marine sedimentation but with the perspective of land-based sedimentologists. As the latter are in a sense the "users" of much of the marine sedimentology published in this journal, it is an excellent book for marine geologists to read, if only to appreciate that perspective. However, I am sure that it will be widely used in courses of instruction, and should be read by geologists in m a n y fields. I.N. McCAVE (Norwich)
Tales of an Old Ocean. T. van Andel. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, N.Y., 1978, 175 pp., U.S. $ 8.95. This is a very charming and informative book. Dr. Tjeerd van Andel ( J e r r y as he is known to his friends and ex-students of which I am one) is a multitalented marine scientist and a fine writer. In his introduction he says, "it is difficult to think of a science that touches simultaneously on more different aspects of h u m a n affairs than does oceanography." The book proves the comment. Jerry carefully takes the reader through some of the more interesting discoveries made in marine science over the past few years. His emphasis is on the past history of the oceans, and the "tales" include that of plate tectonics familiar to m a n y but also sea level changes and why, climate in the past (and future), the past circulation patterns of the ocean, life in and food from the sea and some comments about resources and ownership. Although the book covers several first principles of modern oceanography, they are n o t presented in a textbook-like manner. The illustrations and graphs, unfortunately in m y opinion, are kept to a minimum. There is another aspect of this book t h a t I enjoyed. At the end he lets us see parts of a journal that he kept on two separate oceanographic expeditions. It gives a nice insight into sea-going operations as well as into the author himself
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This b o o k will be enjoyable to practicing marine scientists and those who are interested in the ocean in general. It would make a very nice gift either to or f r o m a scientist. DAVID A. ROSS (Woods Hole, Mass.)
also from Oxford, McKerrow's Ecology of Fossils appeared this year. It too would be of use in conjunction with this book. The organisation of the book is quite straightforward with an Introduction and chapter on Facies by Reading, chapters on Alluvial sediments, Lakes, and Deserts by Collinson; Deltas, and Clastic shorelines by Elliott; Arid shorelines and evaporites by Till; Shallow siliciclastic seas by Johnson; Shallow water carbonates by Sellwood; Pelagic environments by Jenkyns; Deep clastic seas by Rupke; Glacial environments by Edwards; Sedimentation and tectonics by Mitchell and Reading, and a concluding chapter on Problems and perspectives by Reading. There are 64 pages of references and a comprehensive 12 page subject index {in which 8 references to Warkestone threw me, where is it I wondered, Texas?, no, its wackestone!). Most of the chapters are reviews and should n o t startle anyone familiar with the field. However, Mitchell and Reading's chapter does go b e y o n d their 1969 paper and provides an original view of the relation of sedimentation to modern plate tectonics and applies it to situations from the geological record. Much of the book, as can be seen from the listing of contents, is concerned with marine sedimentation but with the perspective of land-based sedimentologists. As the latter are in a sense the "users" of much of the marine sedimentology published in this journal, it is an excellent book for marine geologists to read, if only to appreciate that perspective. However, I am sure that it will be widely used in courses of instruction, and should be read by geologists in m a n y fields. I.N. McCAVE (Norwich)
Tales of an Old Ocean. T. van Andel. W.W. Norton & Co., New York, N.Y., 1978, 175 pp., U.S. $ 8.95. This is a very charming and informative book. Dr. Tjeerd van Andel ( J e r r y as he is known to his friends and ex-students of which I am one) is a multitalented marine scientist and a fine writer. In his introduction he says, "it is difficult to think of a science that touches simultaneously on more different aspects of h u m a n affairs than does oceanography." The book proves the comment. Jerry carefully takes the reader through some of the more interesting discoveries made in marine science over the past few years. His emphasis is on the past history of the oceans, and the "tales" include that of plate tectonics familiar to m a n y but also sea level changes and why, climate in the past (and future), the past circulation patterns of the ocean, life in and food from the sea and some comments about resources and ownership. Although the book covers several first principles of modern oceanography, they are n o t presented in a textbook-like manner. The illustrations and graphs, unfortunately in m y opinion, are kept to a minimum. There is another aspect of this book t h a t I enjoyed. At the end he lets us see parts of a journal that he kept on two separate oceanographic expeditions. It gives a nice insight into sea-going operations as well as into the author himself
264
This b o o k will be enjoyable to practicing marine scientists and those who are interested in the ocean in general. It would make a very nice gift either to or f r o m a scientist. DAVID A. ROSS (Woods Hole, Mass.)