Applied Principles of Hydrology (3rd Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)For an introduction to hydrology this is a good book, but it's a little too basic and laymen for my tastes. This criticism aside, the information in this book is nevertheless good and adequate to provide you with decent background information in hydrology.
If you've had any education in basic meteorology, climatology, oceanography, etc... you won't find this book very useful since it is mostly a recap of 101 courses in the physical sciences, but for the rest of us who haven't had much experience in these fields, this book is not only very informative, but it is a very interesting read... who would've known the molecular structure of water was so unique and life-sustaining?! Alter it even a little and life would be impossible, lakes would freeze from the bottom up instead of the top down... and other weird possibilities! For the beginner, this book is easy to read, avoids math, and provides a relatively strong foundation.
I recommend this book the 90% of you who want to learn more about the physical sciences... but for the 10% looking for more details over what they already learned in beginning courses, look for another book since this one will only recap that info.

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Appropriate for courses in elementary hydrology, hydrogeology, or groundwater. Brief paperback format also makes it suitable as a supplementary text for courses in natural resources, ecology and other environmental sciences, geography, city planning, etc.This is the only text to give a complete, non-mathematical exposition of the universal Water Cycle in language accessible to non-specialists. It begins with a discussion of the physical and chemical attributes that make water such a unique substance, and goes on to a step-by-step discussion of various aspects of the Water Cycle.

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Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology (9th Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have found reading this text to be an awful lot of fun. Does that sound strange? Learning how the physical features and materials of the Earth came to be has always been fascinating to me. Part of it is because of the vast amounts of time involved, but also because how the descriptions of what has been observed connects so well with what we have come to know. Certainly, there is a lot left to explain, but many things are pretty well documented.
While the concept of Continental Drift has been around for many decades, I remember some of the descriptions of Plate Tectonics when I was a kid in the 60s and the hoopla the idea of floating continents caused. Adults debated back and forth what they heard in the news without much real information about the ideas. Here we are four decades further on and a great deal of confirming discoveries have been made.
The authors write with a lively style what could have been a dry as dust textbook. I love the way it is organized, the wonderful illustrations, and the "Students Sometimes Ask" feature. Each chapter is summarized well with the main concepts in bullet points. There are review questions so you see if you have internalized the material enough to formulate a proper answer. A list of key terms is also provided (with the page numbers so you can pop back into the chapter to dig into those words that haven't quite stuck in your brain).
The authors also list web sources for materials they provide on their Prentice Hall website. A particularly nice CD comes with the text that not only presents animated slides of the material for each chapter, but it is also narrated. There is also a chapter quiz for the material presented on the CD. This disk is a very nice feature for our more visually oriented age. Sure, I prefer the text, but I bet I could sell studying the CD to young people quite easily.
The physical geology of the Earth is covered very well in the book's (and CD's) twenty-four chapters. After the introduction we dive into plate tectonics, minerals, igneous rocks weathering & soil, sedimentary rocks, metamorphism and a lot more. And like all science texts, the concept of climate change is presented.
I think general readers like myself can enjoy this book and get a great deal from it.


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To understand timely issues such as natural disasters and environmental challenges–and to evaluate solutions to related problems–the average citizen needs a basic awareness of the scientific principles that influence our planet. This trusted book makes an often-complex subject accessible to readers with a strong focus on readability and illustrations. Offers a meaningful, non-technical survey that is informative and up to date for learning basic principles and concepts. Includes a revised and expanded GEODe Earth CD-ROM. Updates and revises art and illustrations to include dozens of new high-quality, photographs carefully selected to aid understanding and add realism. Provides a wealth of new special-interest boxes, including "Earth as a System," "People and the Environment," and "Understanding Earth." A useful reference for anyone interested in learning more about Earth's geology.

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An Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals (2nd Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is an absolute must for anyone working with minerals in any way. Beeing an introduction to rockforming minerals it is very conprehensive. It is very valuable not only as a textbook but also as a handbook in the lab. As the title says it covers the rockforming minerals so dont expect to find exotic minearls. You can though expect to find a relatively detailed introduction to the most important minerals. It far surpasses any student minaralogy to my knowledge.

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This revised edition has entailed a thorough re-writing of the text, taking account of the impressive advances that have been made in all aspects of earth sciences, particularly mineralogy, over the recent years.

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Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design and Construction Review

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(More customer reviews)I study both geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering. This book deals much more with the geotechnical aspects as is named. It doesn't contain chemical issues or any microscopic behaviors you may find in some geoenvironmental books such as Yong et al.
I kind of appreciate the authors' hard work to combine a great deal of knowledge concerning the design of landfills. There are 18 chapters, and each of em talks about every possible component of a landfill (CCLs, GCLs, GM, cover, LCS, etc.) and also some important behaviors such as settlement & stability. A chapter about vertical barriers is not available becoz this is the "landfill" book. The book uses mechanical, macroscopic, and "rule of thumb" approaches.
There are some topics missing in this book. I believe. For instance, it assumes that adsorption is not available (retardation factor equal to unity) in the liner system, and this more or less makes your design too conservative. Subsequently, becoz adsorption is neglected, you won't see the topics about batch test and column leaching test in this book. Also, the way to obtain diffusion coefficients of porous media is not presented.
So far I've gone through some chapters and found errors from place to place. Pages 19, 122,158, 162-163, etc. need corrections.
To finish in a positive way, I believe that this book is "a must" for geotechnical engineers working on landfills. If your background is purely environmental, you'd better look for some other books. And if you are a geoenvironmental engineer, the book is one of the good references for your career. But it's not a bible.

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Focuses on actual, state-of-the-art design/construction procedures as opposed to a discussion of solid waste management issues and to general descriptions and/or conceptual designs. Provides an integrated package of analytical tools, design equations, and step-by-step construction procedures for all elements of a landfill, giving the reader a better sense of the necessary site investigation, planning, analysis, and organization that go into a landfill design and construction project. The characteristics of landfill containment envelopes and their design/construction are treated in detail. Physico-chemical and engineering properties of solid waste that are relevant and important to landfill design and construction are tabulated and described. Includes explanation of how to evaluate and assess potential problems that affect landfill performance such as sideslope stability, settlement, containment effectiveness, and erosion control. Discusses vertical landfill expansion; how leachate moves across a liner or barrier under both advection and diffusion; compares the containment effectiveness of different liner systems to the combined advective-diffusive transport of dissolved leachate solutes. Includes a detailed explanation with numerical examples and calculations of how to design a gas collection and piping system in a landfill—including the collection and handling of condensate in the gas. Detailed installation and inspection guidelines are provided for both earthen and geosynthetic liner/cover systems—comparing the relative advantages and limitations of each. For professional training courses in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.

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Essentials of Geology (11th Edition) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is intended as a text for the collegiate course in physical geology. The course encompasses a general overview of the physical processes by which the Earth continues to develop, both gradually and by sudden events of great magnitude. Plate tectonics, volcanism, erosion, mountain building and shaping, mineralogy, mass wasting, the impact of man, glaciation, and all other manner of things are clearly discussed in nineteen separate chapters. The color photography and diagrams are remarkably good, and closely follow the text, which is a real boon, especially to a student who is hard-pressed for time. The coverage is up-to-date and accurate in all respects. Many of the photographs, such as the those of the eruptions at Montserrat, are very current.
Given the fact that physical geology is the first of six courses required for any geology degree, and that any well-informed person should have no trouble understanding the contents of this book, I would recommend it to any reader interested in earth science, student or not.

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With the renowned readability of the Lutgens/Tarbuck/Tasa team, the Eleventh Edition ofEssentials of Geology continues to enhance both the approach and the visual presentation that has made this text a best-seller. This revision incorporates a new active learning approach throughout each chapter which offers the students a structured learning path and provides a reliable, consistent framework for mastering the chapter concepts. It also includes new additions to the visual program and current issues, such as climate change, are thoroughly updated.

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Basic Methods of Structural Geology Review

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(More customer reviews)I wish they gave more examples, worked examples, in the mechanics section of this manual. It is a good attempt but it falls short. Honestly, this is one of the better lab manuals in print at the present time, but it needs work.

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Complete coverage of all the basic topics of structural geology.

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Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology (With CD-ROM) Review

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(More customer reviews)Despite the proliferation of introductory physical geology textbooks in recent years, none have surpassed the quality of Tarbuck and Lutgens' "Earth". The text is accurate, up-to-date, well-organized, and exceptionally lucid. The writing flows nicely and presents complex topics and ideas in a way that is easy for non-scientists to understand, while at the same time resisting the trend toward "dumbing-down" that has recently affected many introductory textbooks in Earth sciences. The book is also illustrated wonderfully with diagrams that are effectively designed, beautifully executed, and perfectly matched to the accompanying text. The photographs are likewise outstanding in subject and quality, with great efforts obviously having been made to find excellent pictures that complement the text and clearly illustrate the features and processes being described. The overall quality of the photographs is far better than in most other textbooks of this kind. Substantial improvements have been made for the sixth edition, including the addition of helpful illustrations to the glossary and the addition of many new photographs throughout the book (for example, compare the 5th and 6th edition pictures of drumlins, moraines, igneous rock textures, tsunamis, sinkholes, etc.). After examining many textbooks, I have decided to use this one in the undergraduate course I will teach next year.

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For courses in Physical Geology.This #1 book has a brand new supplements package that will make teaching the course easier than ever. Pairing a great revision with the most compelling educational media available brings to life the Seventh Edition of this best-selling text. A text-dedicated Website, new GEODe III CD-ROM (included with every copy of the text!), and more provide complete state-of-the-art multimedia. Earth: An Introduction to Physical Geology, Seventh Edition retains the hallmark professors have come to expect from Tarbuck and Lutgens-a student-friendly writing style, coverage of the most recent geologic events, and carefully crafted, accurate, and appealing illustrations by the leading geologic illustrator, Dennis Tasa.

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Whole Earth Geophysics: An Introductory Textbook for Geologists and Geophysicists Review

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(More customer reviews)This book achieves exactly what its title says it is - an introduction to geophysics. It balances math and physics with geoscience interpretation such that you don't need to be an expert to learn the main concepts of geophysics. For a science textbook it is extremely easy and enjoyable reading.

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This bookÕs abundant figures and exercises, combined with the straightforward, concise style of the book, put the essentials of geophysics well within reach of students whose primary training is in geology and who possess only a basic knowledge of physics. It is designed to introduce the principal geophysical phenomena and techniques—namely seismology, gravity, magnetism, and heat flow.

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