John McPhee's wonderful and Pulitzer-winning non-fiction natural history The Annals of the Former World about geology—specifically North American geology as exp

John McPhee's wonderful and Pulitzer-winning non-fiction natural history The Annals of the Former World about geology—specifically North American geology as exposed in highway road cuts! This title which was collects a series of books originally published in series and only collected in a single volume subsequently, happened to have been written over the years during which plate tectonic theory was still being fiercely debated, indeed some of the characters contested it. By that happy accident the book is thus simultaneously several things: - a marvelous natural history of the United States revealed through characteristically engaging and evocative personal narratives - a look at North American geology which over the course of the books collected is increasingly revealed - a very effective communication of what geological _deep time_ really means, and - a fascinating look into the inner workings of scientific inquiry and discourse: messy, passionate, exquisite, invaluable Of particular local interest is the must-read Assembling California, the final book collected, which contains a duly famous second by second account of how the Loma Prieta earthquake went down. A nice introduction: https://californiacurated.com/2024/09/06/looking-back-john-mcphees-assembling-california-a-journey-through-geology-and-time/ https://californiacurated.com/2024/09/06/looking-back-john-m...