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"Twenty years ago, when John McPhee began his journeys back and forth across the United States, he planned to describe a cross-section of North America at about the fortieth parallel and, in the process, come to an understanding not only of the science but of the style of the geologists he traveled with." "Like the terrain it covers, Annals of the Former World tells a many-layered tale, and the reader may choose one of many paths through it, guided by twenty-five new maps and the "Narrative Table of Contents" (an essay outlining the history and structure of the project). Read sequentially, the book is an organic succession of set pieces, flashbacks, biographical sketches, and histories of the human and lithic kind; approached systematically, it can be a North American geology primer, an exploration of plate tectonics, or a study of geologic time and the development of the time scale."--Jacket.… (more)
User reviews
I finally got to read this over vacation, and it's
Having said that however, I really did enjoy this book. I love science in the only way a historian can, by exploring its effects on people, society and culture. It was with that mindset that I began reading Annals of the Former World by John McPhee.
This work is essentially a geological travelogue, an amalgam of five books that describes the history of the formation of the earth. But rather than trying to present it in a dry, linear way that most assuredly would have induced me to put it down within the first dozen pages or so, McPhee chose to structure the book in a unique and effective way; using trips he took across America along Interstate 80 – the only highway that traverses the entire country – as the anchor point to which the narrative always returns. Accompanied by noted geologists along the way, he uses their observations to illuminate how the earth was initially formed and how it evolved.
Much of the book is steeped in geological jargon – rock types, formations, faults, tectonics etc. I learned very quickly that I was not going to be able to stop and look up every one of these terms if I ever wanted to finish the book. So, rather than attempt that I simply let them flow by me as I tried to grasp the overall story that was being told. And you know what? It kind of worked. Occasionally I found myself getting lost, but McPhee is such an excellent writer that he always pulled me back just in time. So while I could not begin to explain to you much of what I read, in my minds eye I understand what he was trying to get across.
My favorite parts of the book however, were those sections that deviated from the science of geology and moved into how the geology he was describing affected people,society and culture. In academic terms geology is as much a humanity as it is a science. It is so complex, and has so many interlocking parts that interpretation of data is often as much intuition as it is analysis. Geology is also more than just the science of rocks; it also has very important implications for how life formed and evolved on Earth, and how societies rose, fell, and rose again. Particularly effective are his narratives describing some of this. His recounting of the gold rush in the mid 19th century, and how the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake in California made its effects felt stand out here. Lastly he includes some old fashioned biography, including sketches of some of the early pioneers in the field of geology and a very moving one of one of his travel partners – Dr. David Love of Wyoming.
I cannot say this book was easy to read; long stretches were almost incomprehensible to me. It required me to internalize and come to grips with descriptions of vast periods of time. But McPhee is such an outstanding writer that he always brought me back into the narrative in such a way that by the end of every set piece I had a grasp of what he was trying to convey. And at the end I felt I had acquired a real appreciation for the stunning complexity of the history of earth’s formation and evolution; and more importantly how that history is intimately entwined, with the creation and evolution of the life forms living on it. It really is two parts of the same story.
If you have the time and have any interest in science, or feel like getting out of your comfort zone for a while, I highly recommend this book!
It was a great help that all the geological ages - Devonian etc.
A geological transect of the US, following I-80 roughly east to west. McPhee does a fantastic job imparting just home much time is involved, our conception of any map or the present is
Hopefully my I-80 days are behind me, would love a more in depth look up here in Cascadia.
The human element is provided by the geologists who accompany McPhee. These people are as fascinating as the subject they love. Their devotion to geology is illustrated in a tribute to Dr. David Love, from pioneer stock in Wyoming, who became a legend in his science.
The Fourth Book, "Assembling California" resonates here in New Zealand with our gold rush of the 1860's and the presence of the Alpine Fault. The accounts from the Loma Prieta Earthquake (1989) make sobering reading.
You feel as if you've achieved something worthwhile when you come to the end.
I also love McPhee's approach of using profiles of individual
(john)
For awhile now I've
It is long! It took me about a year to get through. It is a compilation of five parts, written across twenty years of research, and published together in 1998. The book is mostly about the continental United States. Here's the basic outline:
Book 1: Basin and Range—Nevada and Utah, with geologist Clarence King
Book 2: In Suspect Terrain—Appalachians, with geologist Anita Harris
Book 3: Rising from the Plains—Wyoming, with geologist David Love
Book 4: Assembling California—California, with geologist Eldridge Moores
Book 5: Crossing the Craton—Midwest (essay-length)
To help the narrative along, in each book McPhee accompanies an accomplished geologist, both telling their life story, and getting into detail about the landscapes the love.
One unfortunate artifact in the book is that McPhee began writing when plate tectonics was a relatively new and somewhat controversial theory (when nowadays it is taken for granted). This creates a few unnecessary diversions.
At times, the book becomes quite technical. I can't say that I understood everything that McPhee shared about geology. That said, the reading was still enjoyable the whole way through, and I'd rather have a book that is over my head and enjoyable than one that is dumbed down. If anything, it inspires me to dig in more deeply to geology!
If you're looking for a thorough introduction to the geology of the United States, you've found it!