© Columbia University Press
The Earth Machine: The Science of a Dynamic Planet
Paper, 378 pages, 97 color photos, 101 illus., full color throughout
ISBN: 978-0-231-12579-6
$29.95
/ £19.95
May, 2004
Cloth, 378 pages, 97 color photos, 101 illus., full color throughout
ISBN: 978-0-231-12578-9
$90.00
/ £62.00
"This companion volume to the American Museum of Natural History's award-winning Hall of Planet Earth exhibit by Mathez and Webster, the original co-curators, offers readers an accessible guided tour of how our planet works from interdisciplinary and scientific perspectives." — Library Journal
"A handsome and well-written book, in full colour and jammed full of geological information about the earth. . . . I commend the authors for the thoroughness, accuracy and detail they give to so many parts of the Earth Sciences." — Simon Lamb, New Scientist
"This informative book . . . explores the major forces and factors that shaped and continue to shape our planet." — Rotunda
"This book is your engaging and scientific tour guide." — Natural History
"A highly recommended text for any who would wonder what climates were like in past times." — Bookwatch
"This book...is outstanding among the many fine books on the subject available today...A book of unusually widespread appeal. Highly recommended." — T. L. T. Gross, Choice
"By means of well-chosen examples taken from nature as we find it, they provide the best of contemporary approaches to, and conclusions about, the major issues." — Science Books & Films
"A thorough and yet easy-to-understand account of the origins of Earth... The authors definitely know their stuff... But true to their vocations as educators, as well as scientists, they do more than just educate in this volume; they also thoroughly entertain." — Beth Norton, Science Editor
"Have you ever wondered how we know what climates were like in times past, why there are oceans on Earth but not on Mars or Venus, or how Earth's history can be read from a pile of rocks? If these or similar questions have crossed your mind, then the Earth Machine: The Science of a Dynamic Planet is the book for you. Written by Ed Mathez and Jim Webster, two of the scientists who assembled the recently installed Hall of Planet Earth (HOPE) in the American Museum of Natural History, the book is a lively and up-to-date presentation of what scientists know, and still don't know, about how our dynamic planet works.HOPE's life-sized displays are remarkable—the exhibit is unique and should not be missed—and the stories of how the displays were collected and brought to the museum are interspersed throughout the book. The stories emphasize that the study of "The Earth Machine" is a global venture. You may not have a chance to travel to the corners of the globe to see all of the evidence for yourself, so do the next best thing and let Mathez and Webster take you on a voyage of discovery through their engagingly written and beautifully illustrated book." — Brian Skinner, Eugene Higgins Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, and author of The Blue Planet
"The book Earth Machine : The Sience of a Dynamic Planet by E. Mathez and J. Webster is an excellent book for undergraduate students in science but also for a broader public interested in science. Well-documented, well-written, with accurate, modern and beautiful illustration. It seems to me an excellent book which I highly recommend." — Claude Allegre, Laboratoire de Geochimie et Cosmochimie