Pioneers of Geology : Discovering Earth's Secrets (Lives in Science)

Rating:
Summary: Pioneers Of Geology Rocks!
Review: Pioneers of Geology: Discovering Earth's Secrets by Margaret W. Carruthers and Susan Clinton [Reading Between The Bones: The Pioneers of Dinosaur Paleontology] is an excellent overview of geology and geologists for the late elementary and middle school aged kid. The book is well-written and kept my attention, even though it is a subject that I know exceedingly well and was written for a younger reader. I am pleased that the scientists were presented in a true-to-life manner. Too often these gentlemen are presented in a 2-dimensional, cardboard fashion that makes it sound like geology has saints that geologists worship. I am particularly pleased with the inclusion of G.K. Gilbert and Gene Shoemaker. G.K. Gilbert is arguably the best geologist from the age of the Great Surveys and is well-known to most students of geology, but is often overlooked in popular writing [perhaps because laccoliths, isostatic rebound, ancient lake shores and deltas, and multiple working hypotheses aren't as sexy as boat trips down the Colorado River or the wonders of Yellowstone]. Gene Shoemaker has gotten more press lately due to the public's fascination with asteroids and comets crashing into the Earth in the past and Jupiter in the present, but his whole life story, including his status as the first planetary geologist and as trainer of the Moon men, deserves to be better known [for young people who are particularly taken with the life of Gene Shoemaker, I also recommend Shoemaker by Levy: The Man Who Made an Impact by David H. Levy]. The book is well-organized, with each chapter subdivided into sections headed by boldfaced subtitles. The book has several helpful appendices that present the reader with a Geologic Time Scale, a cross-section of the Earth, and a map of the Earth's tectonic plates. There is also a glossary, a thorough bibliography, and a well-done index. This book should be in every elementary school and middle school library in the country and would be an excellent gift for the budding geologist.