Exploring Geology
April 3, 2008
If you are looking for an introductory book on geology, this one should be at or very near the top of your list. It’s a textbook for first year college students, but don’t let that deter you. As texts go, this is a dream come true. I’m sure you remember the days (and nights) of reading the first 40 pages in a text, then realizing that you can’t remember a single thing you’d read. This is so different that, were it representative of all texts, I’d almost be tempted to go back to school again, after more than a couple of decades away… almost, but nothing’s that good.
Written by a group led by Steve Reynolds, professor of geology at Arizona State University, this book is unlike any other I’ve ever, and I mean ever, seen. It’s designed and presented with the primary acknowledgement that we are primarily visual in terms of how we perceive the world around us. Of all the senses, seeing is, as they say, believing.
Each two page spread is an entire, self-contained lesson, beginning, middle, and ending. You are guided in that short visual space from the introduction of the topic through detailed graphic presentation of the material, through to the point of reviewing the short list of takeaways which you should have captured before moving on to the next lesson. Here’s the kicker. This book contains 575 pages… and nearly 2700 illustrations, diagrams, and photographs. Need I say more.
For the lay investor, this book should be central in your efforts to better understand the subject of your investments. I love it.
Click here to go to Amazon’s page where you can order the book online.
Enjoy,
Kevin