About this title: Grounding scientific explanation in accessible, often humorous prose, this multilayered travelogue explores the diversity of America's geology and culture. McPhee unravels the mysteries of the country's geological timeline and reveals the quirks and motivations of his fellow travelers--preeminent geologists investigating the earth's history ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780374105204ISBN:0374105200
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 696 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, New York, U.S.A. :
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780374518738ISBN:0374518734
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 696 p. Audience: General/trade. A near fine to fine copy in pictorial wraps with slight amount of shelf wear; 1st paperback edition, "Pulitzer Prize Winner" sticker on front cover; 8vo., 696 pages., read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Published: 1998-06-10
ISBN-13:9780374105204ISBN:0374105200
Description: Good. A former library book in protective mylar cover with the usual library markings. (Even though we list all former library books as only good, most are Good+ or VG condition! ) No writing or highlighting noted inside. Most books have only expected handling, reading, shelving wear. read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. solid, square, no markings, no loose pages, yellowed from the sun. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 696 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: 8th printing since 1998 1st.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780374105204ISBN:0374105200
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Minor cover scuffing, light top edge wear. Bottom page edges, small moisture stain; back cover and DJ small scar; does not detract overall. Black cloth over boards. 696 p. Maps. diagrams. Audience: General/trade. Pulitzer Prize, gold disc on front. Geology, a North American Primer, non-fiction: End paper hand-designed charts: The Cenozoic Era, The Mesozoic Era (front), The Paleozoic Era, Precambrian Time, The Archean Eon (back). The reader may choose one of ... read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Farr, Straus and Giroux, New York
Date Published: 1999
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. pp. 696 including index--Book Condition VG+ paperback, clean, no marks, decorative endpages unmarked-- read more
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780374518738. read more
Description: ISBN 0-374-10520-0 Octavo (9.5 in. by 6.5 in. ); 695pp.; fine hardcover; very good dust jacket; dust jacket lightly bumped at extremities; crisp; clean; bright. read more
Description: Very Good in Good jacket. This book is in very good to fine condition. The binding is tight and pages are clean. It appears to have had little if any use. The dust jacket is in good condition with some bumps, scuffs and rubs. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780374518738ISBN:0374518734
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover; Eighth Printing
ISBN-13:9780374105204ISBN:0374105200
Description: Fine in Fine dust jacket. Hardcover. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. 1st Edition/8th Printing. Fine Book in Fine Dust Jacket. Price Intact. Erasure mark front end page. Overall, a clean and tight copy to add to a collection or read and enjoy. Dust Jacket protected with a new archival cover. Bubble wrapped and shipped promptly in a box. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover; Eighth Printing
ISBN-13:9780374105204ISBN:0374105200
Description: Fine in Fine dust jacket. Hardcover. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. 1st Edition/8th Printing. Fine Book in Fine Dust Jacket. Price Intact. Overall, a clean and tight copy to add to a collection or read and enjoy. Dust Jacket protected with a new archival cover. Bubble wrapped and shipped promptly in a box. read more
"Sometimes I read the Pulitzer-prize winning books and I just don't get it--I don't know why the judges would choose that book over any other decent book of a particular year--but this book is an exception. It's a masterpiece.
This book is incredibly long and examines a pretty intimidating subject--the geography of America--but McPhee has illuminated the subject in such a way that compliments the multi-dimensional history of a land and its people. At times he "zooms out" to give the reader a mind-boggling view of geological epochs, and at other times, he'll give us close, intimate portraits of people who have studied this land and how they view it. He drops in complex geological terminology with lovely descriptions of landscapes and somehow it all makes sense.
It's taken me a year or so to finally finish this monumental book, partly because it's so long, and partly because I'd stop and re-read portions, or mark pages, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to any serious reader. And honestly, I can't overstate this: this book has changed the way I see this land, and this earth, and has made me proud to be a part of it's complicated history."
"It may seem odd, but this book takes my breath away and makes me feel alive.
It is about geology, and how McPhee spent years with geologists trying to make sense of the science and present it in an interesting and engaging way. I think they call it "big picture" geology and it is one of my favorite topics in life. I love most the paragraphs where he takes us from New Jersey to California say in Triassic time (250 million years ago) and describes the terrain; then turns us around 200 million years later and describes the changes: desert instead of ocean, mountains instead of prairie, etc. I do not have the memory to even memorize a bit of what he writes, but reading it over and over makes my mind fly and I am there, and I am watching the earth turn and the oceans rise and fall and the land change colors and mountains reaching for the sky and then being worn away. I don't know what else to write, it is just that perfect and indescribable."
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