Planet Earth Reading Challenge

I know that some of you already have quite a few reading challenges set up for 2008, but here is another for anyone who still has some space open in their reading calendar. Since 2008 is the UN International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) I thought I'd take the opportunity to brush up on my earth science. I've always been fascinated by geology and associated disciplines, but haven't delved into them much. I did take a geology course in university but it wasn't much of a success because of all the uninspiring memorization that was required. However I find that when geoscience it is presented in the right way, it can be completely fascinating and even mindblowing.

To get started, let's look at the ten themes for the Year of Planet Earth (with links to pdf brochures on each theme):

1. Groundwater
2. Hazards
3. Earth & Health
4. Climate
5. Resource Issues
6. Megacities
7. Deep Earth
8. Ocean
9. Soil
10. Earth & Life

The tricky part of this is finding interesting, accessible books on these topics. One could just buy a basic college textbook and cover the whole gamut at once, but for anyone without a science background that might be hard going. I plan to read Canada Rocks (which was sponsored by the IYPE), but I don't imagine that would be of much interest to readers south of the border.

[MAJOR EDIT FOLLOWS]

A simpler approach might be to divide the earth into its parts. Perhaps you've noticed that the IYPE logo has four coloured sections. They represent the parts of our planet that are studied by earth scientists:

• Lithosphere: the rocky (and molten) part of our planet
• Hydrosphere: the oceans and the water cycle
• Biosphere: evolution and the global ecosystem
• Atmosphere: our thin, blue blanket of air

Of course these parts of our planet all interact and overlap. The size and density of the planet gives it enough gravity to hold on to the atmosphere. The spinning iron core generates a magnetic field that deflects the cosmic rays that would otherwise fry us. Water, as vapour in the atmosphere and in our vast oceans, regulates the temperature of the atmosphere and makes life possible. Life, in turn, modifies all these things—trading oxygen for carbon dioxide, breaking rocks and being turned into them, soaking up water and breathing it into the air, and evolving unfathomable complexity over the last 4 billion years or so.

For practical purposes we have to break these systems up and study them piece by piece until we know enough to put them together again. So, we have the disciplines of geology (study of the lithosphere), oceanography and hydrology (study of the hydrosphere), ecology and paleontology (study of the biosphere), and meterology and climatology (study of the atmosphere).

What I propose for this reading challenge is to read one book about each of these four parts of our planet, or two or three books on geology (since there are so many of them), and one on another topic. To make choosing easier, I've split up a starter list of suggested titles into the four parts: (my picks are in bold)

Lithosphere

• Roadside Geology of ________ (26 titles and counting)
• Canada Rocks: The Geologic Journey by Nick Eyles and Andrew Miall
• A Short History of Planet Earth by J.D. Macdougall
• Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey
• Earthquakes in Human History and Volcanoes in Human History by Jelle Zeilinga de Boer and Donald Theodore Sanders
• Krakatoa: The Day the Earth Exploded by Simon Winchester
• Annals of the Former World by John McPhee
• Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell
• The Seashell on the Mountaintop by Alan Cutler
• Plate Tectonics by Naomi Oreskes
• Reading the Rocks by Marcia Bjornerud
• The Earth in Turmoil by Kerry Sieh
• The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester
• Snowball Earth by Gabrielle Walker
• The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of Earth's Antiquity by Jack Repcheck
• Volcano Cowboys: The Rocky Evolution of a Dangerous Science by Dick Thompson

Hydrosphere

• Ocean by Robert Dinwiddie and Louise Thomas
• Fresh Water by E.C. Pielou
• Cadillac Desert: The West and its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner

Biosphere

• Planet Earth by Alastair Fothergill
• Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth by Andrew H. Knoll
• T. Rex and the Crater of Doom by Walter Alvarez

Atmosphere

• An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
• Oxygen: The Molecule that Made the World by Nick Lane
• Thin Ice by Mark Bowen

Judging by the reviews from readers, these are all very well-written and entertaining books intended for the general reader. Some focus on the story of the earth, and others focus on the stories of the scientists who study it. As always, suggestions are welcome, and I'll be interested to see what people pick to read. Happy Year of Planet Earth!

My picks:

Bling for your blog:

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Comments

[Susan]

Eep. Maybe I should focus on these types of books to bring up the pathetic amount of nonfiction I've gotten through lately?

I was just telling my daughter the other day that I want to start taking a (free) class at the university every semester (once the bedroom's finished, that is) and that the first class I wanted to take was geology.

[Ron Schott]

There are plenty of great accessible-to-the-layperson geology books and your list is a good start. You might also want to check out Apparent Dip's post on great science books, the comments on that post, and the aggregated list in his right sidebar (scroll down a ways).

I offer my Intro Geology students an extra credit opportunity based on reading and discussing popular culture books that cover geologic topics. There's already some overlap with your list, but I think you'll find a few more to add to you list.

By the way I can't praise the John McPhee selections enough. If I had only one author to recommend it would surely be him.

[Sylvia]

Susan, you obviously have excellent timing! I think taking a course in geology counts for this challenge.

Ron, thanks so much for your input! Those are great links. Perhaps you can steer me towards a good introductory geology textbook? I'm looking for something meaty, but most of the offerings seem to pride themselves on being non-technical. I've read good things about "Earth's Dynamic Systems" but I'm open to suggestion.

[Stefanie]

I think I will join you and try to read a few geology books. I came up with the McPhee and Winchester because I have been wanting to read them for ages. To that I will add Rachel Carson as well.

[Sylvia]

Yay!

[Callista]

What a great idea! I'm in! Here's my post: http://smsbookreviews.blogspot.com/2008/01/planet-earth-2008-challenge.html but I don't have a list up yet.

[Sylvia]

Yay!

[Milan]

Some other ecologically related books that people may enjoy:

Alley, Richard. The Two Mile Time Machine. Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future.

Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake. (Fiction)

McNeill, John. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth Century

Monbiot, George. Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning.

Simpson, Jeffrey, Mark Jaccard and Nic Rivers. Hot Air: Meeting Canada's Climate Change Challenge.

Vaillant, John. The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed.

Weisman, Alan . The World Without Us.

The last two, I especially recommend.

I have reviews for all of them linked here.

[Sylvia]

Thanks for the suggestions, Milan. I think they may stray outside the boundaries of geoscience, but they're obviously worth reading also.

[RobinMarie]

It's not quite a book of science, but Bayou Farewell by Mike Tidwell might make a good companion to some of the books you're reading. It's about the times he spent hitchhiking through the (rapidly disappearing) Louisiana Bayou. It's a great blend of anecdotes, statistics and observations about how and why the coastline is melting away, and the effect that is having on the people who live there and the ecosystem they inhabit.

This sounds like a great challenge! I wish I could participate. Have fun!

[Sylvia]

That sounds like a great book, combining the physical and the cultural, which is exactly what the IYPE is about. The book definitely 'counts' since it involves (surficial) geology, hydrology, and climate. Thanks for the suggestion, RobinMarie!

[J.S. Peyton]

A challenge for which I have all year to complete as many (or as few) books as I like? Where do I put my name. I think even I can finish this one.

[Sylvia]

You're in, J.S.! Welcome aboard Spaceship Earth.

[Eva]

I'm in! I've posted my picks here:
http://astripedarmchair.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/excuse-the-rambling/

[Sylvia]

Nice list, Eva, thanks for the link!

[J.S. Peyton]

I think you can go ahead and count me in on this one too. I only have one book picked out so far (The World Without Us by Alan Weisman), but after a bit more research I know that others will follow. Great challenge!

[Sylvia]

Thanks, I hope you enjoy it!

[Sarah]

My husband is a geologist, so I HAVE to join this challenge. I still have to make a list, but I'm excited about this one! And my husband highly recommends T. Rex and the Crater of Doom (which I saw on your list), so that's the first one that I plan on reading. Great challenge!

[Sylvia]

Excellent! Welcome Sarah!

[gautami]

Another Challenge! This one is a good one too. Might as well join it!

[Sylvia]

Enjoy!

[Francesca (Scribacchina)]

Hello! I hope it's not too late to join in. I just discovered your blog through this challenge and they both (the blog and the challenge) look great.
You can find my list here:
http://scribacchina.freehostia.com/Blog/archives/category/words/

[Sylvia]

Hello, Francesca. I'm glad to see this challenge going global!

[sarala]

Is it too late to sign on? It sounds like my cup of tea.

[Sylvia]

Great! Welcome, Sarala!

[sarala]

I've posted my list here http://sharala.blogspot.com/2008/03/planet-earth-reading-challenge.html

I read the Golden Spruce and think it probably would qualify for Biosphere. It is a pretty good read too. Here is my review of this one:
http://sharala.blogspot.com/2007/12/golden-spruce-by-john-vaillant-this-is.html

[Sylvia]

Thanks for posting that, sarala.

[Crafty Green Poet]

I'm currently reading Richard Fortey's Earth - its a good read. I'd also recommend Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything as a very accessible introduction to the history of the earth and the history of science.

Sorry, i know this comment is very late...

[Sylvia]

Not at all, Crafty Green Poet, there's lots of 2008 left. Thanks for commenting! :)

[emmegail]

Love the challenge and would like to join! I'm currently working on my M.S. in Geology and working in the petroleum industry, so I have collected quite a pile of books to read this year!

Here's my post:
http://emmegailsbookshelf.wordpress.com/2008/03/24/
planet-earth-reading-challenge/

Look forward to seeing what everyone reads!

[Sylvia]

Yay, another geologist! Thanks for posting your list, emmegail.