Basin and Range (Annals of the Former World, 1)

by John McPhee and McPhee

Book Overview

The first of John McPhee's works in his series on geology and geologists, Basin and Range is a book of journeys through ancient terrains, always in juxtaposition with travels in the modern world--a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374516901
• ISBN13: 9780374516901
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.2" x 0.6" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

GREAT BOOK- BASIN AND RANGE

John McPhee's Basin and Range kept me wanting to read more, right up to the very end. His style was very interesting, keeping his story on basin and range full of knowledge. He describes two of North America's past basin and range provinces. An ancient one which was once along America's eastern seaboard and the active basin and range which is centered in Nevada. Even for those who are not knowlegdable on geology this is an easily understood book. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys to read, especially someone that is interested in learning about our natural environment.

A pure and noble quest

Reading John McPhee is such a delight that one wonders what he would be like as a teacher. Not a journalism instructor, for which he is amply qualified, but declaiming on science, particularly geology. McPhee is a master in understandably describing geologic processes and the people studying them. Under his touch, the stable earth is brought to life, compressing time and traversing space. Watching an aircraft descend for a landing, he muses that in another time its approach path would be deep under water. He explains how different the perception of time is in the mind of a geologist from that of our own. All civilization is but an eyeblink in contrast with the rise and fall of mountains and seas. According to McPhee, what geologists face is summarized in one sentence: "The summit of Mount Everest is marine limestone." Not long ago, he reminds us, the world was once considered to be like a drying apple. Some areas shrink driving other places to rise leaving a skin of folds. McPhee describes the history of the idea of plate tectonics and how it confounded this earlier concept. The starting point was an understanding of the earth's age. A Scottish "gentleman," James Hutton was an astute observer and an eloquent speaker. Putting his findings in writing, however, "trampled people with words." Hutton revealed the vast duration of time required to form earth's vistas. He was followed by a herald of Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell. Between them, the age of the earth and of life replaced the established biblical origins. In effect, Hutton had taken the next major step in science after Copernicus. Plate tectonics, a group, rather than an individual's insight, opened new fields of research and provided more detailed views of Earth's processes. Among the pictures are better indicators of finding valuable resources.McPhee's other works provide testimony to his physical courage, which is immense. Join him as he drives a twisting mountain road with a geologist on a quest: "We turned a last corner, with our inner wheels resting firmly on the road and the two others supported by Deffeyes' expectations." McPhee has joined Kenneth Deffeyes to learn about the building of the Basin and Range - the succession of mountain strings and the valleys separating them. Through McPhee, Deffeyes relates how the mountains were thrust up, eroding silt into the lowlands. Mountain building forces also produce other interesting results. Deffeyes, "a big man with a tenured waistline" by McPhee's description, has "pure and noble purposes in coming to Nevada." His quest for "pure science" investigation is one side of Deffeyes' character. The other side is his pursuit of a "noble" metal - silver. Deffeyes knows of how plate tectonics works. He also grasps the history of the Nevada mining industry. The combination may make him a millionaire from refining abandoned mines. But there are risks and he tells McPhee " . . . if anybody comes after me, I want you to

excellent easy reading geology

Mcfee has an amazing ability to help the non geologist understand and enjoy this complicated topic. His writing skills keep one interested and absorbed. Try "Assembling California"and Irons in the Fire",too.

Great little book on the geography of Southern Nevada

No one can touch John McPhee when it comes to giving a subject, any subject, a thoroughly fascinating and fascinatingly thorough investigation. Even if you've never been interested in geology, much less the geology of a very small part of the world, just west of the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe, you'll enjoy McPhee's writing and will likely be buying plane tickets to Reno to put your newfound enhusiasm to work "on site". Obviously, I like McPhee a lot. After reading his "Coming Into the Country", I did indeed buy tickets to Alaska