Leif's review of Annals of the Former World
Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
This was my first foray into John McPhee's work. And a weighty foray it was : This hefty tome consists of four previously-published McPhee books assembled into one spine, augmented with a fifth chapter.
McPhee's often staccato prose takes the reader on a tour of the geology of the lower 48, as seen largely in the roadcuts of Interstate 80, separated into five major segments : the Appalachians, the Midwest, Wyoming, Nevada, and California. Although I found myself lacking an understanding of various exotic rock names as I read (serpentine ? gabbro ?), McPhee successfully weaves into his description of the physical world a fantastic, much larger, and more profound story that's compelling and universal. McPhee uses the rock in North America to motivate explorations of plate tectonics, the history of geology, and even to some extent the development of modern science in general. This book is ultimately an exploration of how the world we walk on came to be the way we see it today, and as suc...more
McPhee's often staccato prose takes the reader on a tour of the geology of the lower 48, as seen largely in the roadcuts of Interstate 80, separated into five major segments : the Appalachians, the Midwest, Wyoming, Nevada, and California. Although I found myself lacking an understanding of various exotic rock names as I read (serpentine ? gabbro ?), McPhee successfully weaves into his description of the physical world a fantastic, much larger, and more profound story that's compelling and universal. McPhee uses the rock in North America to motivate explorations of plate tectonics, the history of geology, and even to some extent the development of modern science in general. This book is ultimately an exploration of how the world we walk on came to be the way we see it today, and as suc...more
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