Annals of the Former World

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: A collection of separate books, plus a new section to the rear, Annals of the Former World is McPhee's Magnum Opus. Truly a great collection of work where McPhee takes the difficult subject of geology and brings it to the lay person. It is intensely difficult to help people see the billions of years beneath their feet and McPhee does it masterfully, never shorting the science while still staying in the zone so as not to lose the lay person. If you like McPhee this is for you.

Warning, it's not a quick read but then again, as it is several books you could read one and then set it down for a time, no need to have to get through the whole tome at once.

Rating:
Summary: Received as a treasured gift, honored by it.
Review: After daily driving the humpbacked esker from Rangeley to Kingfield Maine with a former student, who was tuned in to my love of the geological processes shaping our world, he gave me McPhee's Annals of the Former World. It was a touching gift that I treasure still, and I read it all. When I moved from Maine to Colorado, I made it a point to use I-80 for as much of the trip as I could, and kept the book in the front seat with me, stopping for breaks to appreciate the work even more. This book is a wonder of writing about a subject almost too large to fit between its covers, yet McPhee has done it. Excellent for any amateur who appreciates the great forces acting on our planet, and who does not see every quake and tremor as signs of impending apocolypse, but rather an ongoing reshaping of our beautiful planet.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding if (and only IF) you don't all ready own it.
Review: Anyone who enjoys well written non fiction will enjoy McPhee's latest, regardless of their interest in geology. He has the amazing ability to make any subject interesting, by explaining the science in a plain style while constantly keeping the personalities involved visible. From civil engineering to lighter-than-air flight to the cultivation of oranges, every essay and every book is a joy. If you are a fan of good writing, this one is for you. BUT, if you are a McPhee fan, you might be annoyed by this one. I have over two dozen of Mr. McPhee's books on my shelves at home. Four of them are this book. "Annals of the Former World" is a omnibus edition of "Assembling California", "Rising from the Plains", "In Suspect Terrain", and "Basin and Range". The only new material is a short (36 pages), well written essay "Crossing the Craton" and a poor-to-fair narrative table of contents. That's it, maybe 45 page! s of new material in a a 695 page book. I do feel that somewhere in the publicity for the book mention should have been made of this. If you've never read any of it, get it. If you are buying for a library, get it. If you are considering getting "Annals of the Former World" because you are a fan of the best non fiction writer around today, well, you might want to forget it.

Rating:
Summary: Geology for the masses...........
Review: Comprised of the books Basin and Range, In Suspect Terrain, Rising from the Plains, and Assembling California, "Annals" is a geologic history of America along the roadcuts of Interstate 80 and it is masterfully done. John McPhee's talent as an essayist is to take the technically, though superficially, mundane and present in such a way as to hold the reader captive. Stripping bare the jargon, dismissing the rote explanation, and uncovering the sublime, Mr. McPhee is a first-rate tour guide through the topographies of Pennsylvania, Wyoming, California, and the glacially scored Midwest.

His hook is the braiding of travelogue and human history within the geologic record. This truly comprehensive style of survey is quite effective in developing a page-turning reading experience. When I purchased this book in a museum bookshop, I prepared myself for what I presumed was quite possibly stuffy and dry. However, much to my pleasant surprise, it's the best science-related text I've read in a very long time. Rising from the Plains stands alone as absolutely outstanding, but the combination of all four remarkable books that comprise Annals of the Former World merit a resounding 5+ stars.

Rating:
Summary: As always, McPhee makes geology interesting
Review: Despite a few flaws in the book, I really enjoy McPhee's extended essays. This book is really several books compiled together and I agree with one reviewer that the first one is the weakest of the group.

That being said, McPhee makes geology so accessible and interesting to the novice, that I whole-heartedly recommend his books. Geology is a fascinating subject that doesn't get enough accessible writing for those interested in science who don't possess a college degree in a scientific discipline. McFee hasn't completely plugged the gap, but has slowed the flow. I hope other authors step forward and give us what we want. Good reading geologic history of our planet.

Rating:
Summary: Facinated in spite of myself
Review: I began reading McPhee's essays on geology when they first appeared in the New Yorker. Geology is a subject that I had never been interested in, so I was surprised to find that I was enjoying these "annals" so much that I felt impatient for the next installment.
John McPhee is a writer who can make anything interesting. He knows just how much of himself and his own experience to include, how many anecdotes to use, and how much hard science/fact is interesting and enlightening but not overwhelming for the general reader.
His "Annals of the Former World" will entertain you, expand your knowledge of the history of our planet, and make you think about time in a new way.

Rating:
Summary: One of the great, accessible geology classics
Review: If you're looking for a way to read about geology that doesn't cause you to want to keel over, this book may interest you.
It's well-written and interesting. You'll find that much of geology is a mystery waiting to be solved (if it's possible).
The story following the guy who's looking for all the old silver mines is truly fascinating, particularly in regards to the heaps of money he's made.
While at times it's a bit tough to read, overall I found it fascinating and thoroughly readable.
I recommend this to anyone who's driven through a roadside cut-out (read roads cut through hills) and wondered what all the squiggly lines meant.

Rating:
Summary: Lost
Review: John McPhee labored for decades on this book. He loves the topic and he brings it alive with his superb writing. I'll never forget the Wyoming geologist, Mr. Love.

Rating:
Summary: engrossing
Review: McPhee spent two decades assembling a portrait of the world beneath our feet. Even more compelling is the way he brings to life the people who study it. So often, as we flip through a magazine or click through the channels it is easy to disregard some PhD or another as an out of touch academic who sits in a tower and fiddles while the world turns. McPhee brings these people to life while bringing their ideas to the masses.

Annals of the Former World is a chore. It is long, wordy, and occasionally disjointed. I am a geologist, and I am willing to admit that I had to read it twice in order to really get everything out of it. The end result is being rewarded with an understanding of what this nation is built on. You will never look at a cross country drive the same way again.

Rating:
Summary: Geology Tome meets American Travelogue
Review: This book is a 696-page examination of the geologic life of North America and of those who spend their lives studying this realm. As clearly and pithily written as it is extremely informed, this book is a great popular survey of geology, and a
masterpiece of modern non-fiction. My only complaint about the books is that there is a plethora of scientific jargon (for example Laramide Orogeny, faulted schist, illite, pyroclastic debris, trona, anticline, and gneiss) which I presume is
hard for an author to get away from given the nature of the material. Overall, the books read as they were partly a travelogue and partly a tome on American geology. I strongly recommend this book to all. Annals of the Former World was a book I vastly enjoyed and learned from as well as could imagine myself doing in the future. On the whole, he is thorough enough in his description to pass on all the knowledge he gleaned in a way that is for the most part quite palatable for the non-scientific reader. It was awarded the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction and I am glad others thought this book held as great an impact as I do.