Hancock, Paul L.; Skinner, Brian J.; Dineley, David L.

The Oxford Companion to the Earth

Publisher: G. Bell, February 15, 2001.
Edition: First
Book Condition: New
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 0198540396 / 9780198540397

Here is a wealth of information on planet Earth, ranging from the heights of the ionosphere down to the red-hot molten core.
Written by some 200 expert contributors and illustrated with over 600 pictures, including 16 pages of color plates, The Oxford Companion to the Earth offers 900 alphabetically arranged entries that cover everything from deserts and wetlands to mountains, caves, glaciers, and coral reefs. There are articles on natural phenomena such as tornadoes and tsunamis, volcanoes and earthquakes, jet streams and weather fronts; on the history of Earth, including the origin of life, Burgess Shale fauna, dinosaurs, and the Ice Ages; on key figures, such as Agassiz, Cuvier, Darwin, and Lamarck; and on such important ecological concerns as acid rain, the ozone layer, industrial waste disposal, and the greenhouse effect. The Companion also examines the great sources of wealth to be found on Earth, from coal and oil to gold, silver, and diamonds, as well as many curious land formations, from sinkholes and fjords to yardangs and quicksand. There are brief entries on rock types, from amber to travertine, and extensive essays on cutting-edge aspects of the earth sciences, such as seismology and marine geology. The Companion includes extensive cross-references, suggested further reading, an index, and many useful appendices, with a geological timescale, facts and figures about the Earth, and a table of chemical elements.
The Oxford Companion to the Earth is a unique reference work, offering unrivaled coverage of our home planet. Generously illustrated and vividly written, it is a treasure house of information for all lovers of natural history, geology, and ecology, whether professional or amateur.

From Library Journal

This excellent one-volume resource offers concise explanations of Earth phenomena and processes, with over 800 entries written by 200 experts. Intentionally broad in scope, it covers earth-related topics, such as environmental science, planetary science, economics, geochemistry, palaeobiology, and plate tectonics, but also includes articles titled "Music and the Earth Sciences," "Wine and Geology," and "Geoscience in the Media." Each entry is well written, with information suitable for undergraduates as well as researchers needing an overview. Many entries include brief references. The over 600 black-and-white illustrations are very useful, and the appendixes include the usual geological time scales, a very brief table of solar system facts, a periodic table, and scientific units, conversion tables, and abbreviations. The book is similar to Sciences of the Earth (LJ 8/98) in style and coverage, but the latter is more a history of the discipline. The multivolume Encyclopedia of Earth System Science (LJ 2/15/92) provides more depth in certain areas but lacks the breadth of the current work. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries. Teresa Berry, Univ. of Tennessee Lib., Knoxville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Fat, solid, and rewarding, the Companion undertakes to give us "concise, readable, friendly, and stimulating accounts of the many phenomena, processes, and natural materials that make the Earth such a dynamic and fascinating planet." It succeeds admirably. From "acid rain," with an excellent explanation of the pH scale, to "zoogeomorphology," the effects that animals have on the surface of the Earth, it provides a wealth of clear information. It also offers entries that one might not expect, among them one on references to geology in literature and one on the possible connection between geology and the quality of wine.

EDITORS OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

From Booklist

A "Note to the Reader" states that "A Companion is a special type of reference book," and this one is that on several levels. It is applicable to many libraries and users: a large library's ready-reference shelf, a small library's need to have an economical overview of a discipline in which it has few holdings, and the collections of earth scientists, engineers, and other professionals.

More than 900 entries, signed by some 200 scientists, cover climatology, geology, geophysics, oceanography, paleontology, and other Earth sciences. Although language is somewhat technical, care has been taken to make concepts accessible. Definitions are carefully incorporated into explanations. Graphic analogies and word images are used to explain phenomena. For example, Folds and folding uses the analogy of a telephone book being flexed to explain flexural slip. Line drawings, black-and-white photographs, charts, and tables occur throughout the volume. There are also 16 pages of color plates. Many of the entries have several suggestions for further reading. Appendixes include geological time scales; data on planets in the solar system; the periodic table; and scientific units and notation, conversion tables, and abbreviations. The volume concludes with a thematic list of entries and an extensive index. The endpapers have eight paleographic maps of Earth showing the movement and configuration of landmasses from the late Proterozoic to modern times.

Synthesizing single-volume reference resources such as this one are valuable because they provide discipline-specific overviews of information in conditions of exponential information growth. This volume is a good value for its price and is recommended to public and academic libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

`"...a marvelous, eclectic, pleasurably eccentric volume, a book that goes far beyond the mere study of the soil beneath our feet"' Observer`"Anyone with an interest in our planet will be drawn to this book"' Yorkshire Gazette and Herald`"The Companion is a book that is worth opening at any page."' TIME`"Fat, solid and rewarding"' Scientific American"This book is strongly and unequivocally recommended both for libraries and personal use. It fulfils its aims of being a readable companion and reliable hive of information, written by experts but in an interesting and understandable manner."`"...an enjoyable, informative and entertaining reference book destined to become the friend of the professional and amateur alike"' THES`"...the editors of and contributors to The Oxford Companion to the Earth have produced an enjoyable, informative and entertaining reference book destined to become the friend of the professional and amateur alike."' The Times Higher

Book Description

An authoritative resource on the planet Earth and the various fields of Earth Science

About the Author

The late Paul L. Hancock was Professor of Geology at the Department of Earth Science, University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Brian J. Skinner is Professor of Geology and Geophysics at Yale University and a past president of the Geological Society of America. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

Item #7016

Price: $62.97

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