Jazzy D's Soul Notes

Jan Zalasiewicz "The Planet in a Pebble : A journey into Earth's deep history" (Oxford Univ. Press)






Geologist Zalasiewicz tells the story of how a pebble is created. It could be any pebble, but for purposes of illustration, this one is from a beach in Wales. In telling that story, he tells the geology story of the entire earth. He starts with the stardust from which the planet was created and goes through to the pebble tossed along the Welsh shore, and then into the future and the eventual destruction of the planet.

What was great about this book is that it was not written in an academic tone, but instead is very readable and at times even funny. I think about what I learned from this book, I have a feeling that it is one of those books that taught me more than I could actually put into words, despite having done some geology in the science foundation course with the Open University way back in the late seventies.

Recommended for: geology geeks, and armchair geologists, and definitely recommended for anyone interested in the topic.