Earth

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 520 pages
• Published by: DK ADULT September 17, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 075663332X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0756633325
• Book Dimensions: 10 x 8.4 x 1.4 inches
• Weighs: 4.8 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
Visually spectacular, this standout guide to our planet offers a thorough look at the Earth's physical dynamics. Divided into five major sections-Planet Earth, Land, Ocean, Atmosphere and Tectonic Earth-the book explores the planet's environment, weather systems and general physical makeup. The large-format volume begins with the Earth's history and anatomy, featuring pages of stunning photographs (one image shows a river of red-hot lava running into the sea), comprehensive layouts and great diagrams (e.g., a cut-out of the Earth's structure, from inner core to the chemical composition of its atmosphere). A chapter on rocks explains the many various types of metamorphic and sedentary stones, for instance, while a chapter on rivers and lakes showcases gorgeous photographs of the endless Amazon, with smaller sidebar photographs of the animals that live in the tropics and color-coded maps of the region. Pretty enough to serve as a coffee table book, this volume also contains a awesome amount of absorbing information.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
How to catalog the earth? Luhr and fellow staff members at the Smithsonian Institution have put together an encyclopedic, picture-rich, gorgeously designed enyclopedia that draws on up-to-date research in numerous fields to tell the incredible story of our planet's birth, place in the cosmos, and evolution, noting all the primary characteristics that make this flourishing blue green planet unique within the solar system. The writing is clear, animated, and engrossing. The page layouts are works of graphic art: loaded with complex visual and textual information, they are nonetheless airy, balanced, and inviting. A grand time line beginning with the big bang and moving through the full spectrum of geological eras serves as an overture to the detailed story of the earth's dramatic coalescence into the world we know. Detailed looks at rocks and minerals segue into multifaceted coverage of the atmosphere, tectonic plates, glaciers, earthquakes, volcanoes, deserts, grasslands, rivers, forests, mountains, oceans and seas, as well as the topography of civilization. This superb and stunning volume should be kept handy along with atlases and dictionaries. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Earth (Hardcover) As a college geography professor I decided to require Earth as the textbook for my physical geography classes. Tired of the exorbitantly priced textbooks which empty students' wallets, I thought it would be worthwhile to order a cheaper, more accessible book which the students might want to read even after the course ended. Now as the semester is finishing I am mostly happy with my choice. Earth cuts down on the jargon which is part of most college geography classes, so I had to alter my lecture and change some of my exam questions. Also, the sequencing of topics is different than most physical geography texts and I found it necessary to tell students that "today's material is found on pages 110-111,116-119, and 252-253," not quite as simple as telling the students to read chapter 11. Nevertheless, my classes have loved using the text, which caters to the shortened attention spans of most students. I think any reader would enjoy picking up this book, thumbing to any page, and reading it for even a mere 5 minutes. The photos are beautiful and the captions alone are informative. Highly recommended!