book data
121 ratings, 4.24 average rating, 12 reviews
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published
November 1st 1987
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
binding
Paperback, 224 pages
isbn
0374520658
(isbn13: 9780374520656)
description
Rising from the Plains is John McPhee’s third book on geology and geologists. Following Basin and Range and In Suspect Terrain, it continues...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 156)
Read in October, 2007
This book weaves a narrative about the origins of what seems like every rock formation, creek bed, and gully in the state of Wyoming, intertwined with the life story of a geologist who grew up on a ranch that lay smack in the middle of x (where x equals both "nowhere" and "the state of Wyoming"). The geologist, David Love, is the kind of character I think I'll be lucky to find once every hundred stories I write at work. The story traces the hills and valleys of Wyoming back ...more
Read in December, 2008
This past year I traveled back and forth to Laramie many times. I had not been out there since the 1980s and it seemed to be more or less the same community in the same valley. This book helped me see the big picture of Wyoming and the over-thrush belt. Familiar places (Uintas, Wind Rivers, Tetons) that I never had enough insight or training to understand structurally. Very fun read, at least for a groundwater geek.
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The first sixty pages were difficult to read because I wasn’t grasping the structure of the book. The chapters alternate between McPhee and David Love talking geology on Route 80, the rise and fall of Love Ranch. Once the book gets going, it’s extremely interesting. Many passages are difficult to access, having no knowledge of geology apart from what I learned in grade school. The chapters about John Love, ranch life, and David Love’s growth as a geologist add a human element that refreshe...more
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Enjoyed it and learned. Wish I had take earth science all the way back in High School
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6 comments
I am a huge fan of John McPhee! He is such an amazing scientific writer. He is my next favorite to John Janovy. Any book by either author I'm crazy about. You'll like this one if you love history and science and the Great Plains.
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Read in April, 2001
Elegant, engaging and a so unlike your intro to geography course. McPhee excellently weaves geography and sociology into a top-shelf example of this genre.
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Read in December, 2007
A must for anyone living in Jackson regardless of whether they consider themselves a local or care about geology. I couldn't put it down.
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Read in August, 1994
My absolute favorite in this fascinating series on geology. Who knew that Wyoming had such dramatic wind storms?
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Read in March, 2008
Read this book before interviewing McPhee. What a lovely man. What a way to learn Wyoming.
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