This book came by way of a friend of mine. I didn't get much information except that he assigns it for an earth science class he teaches and hasn't had any complaints. I find pretty much anything interesting so I thought I might actually enjoy it.
Reading the Rocks is a book about the history of the earth, and in some respects, the universe. Besides geology, Bjornerud also talks about evolution and climate change. If you're bored just thinking about this, I'm not. I really thought Bjornerud had an interesting concept in her book. Concept, interesting. Execution...not so much.
I am a big fan of technical books written for the layperson, but I'm not sure that's what Bjornerud was going for. She used a lot of long, technical terms and went into details that made me wonder if she was really writing for a more niche audience. I hate to admit it because I've never done this with a book before, but I skimmed a lot of pages. I know, for shame!
I suppose for a "textbook," this book could be worse, but even with the worst textbooks, have I ever complained to a teacher?
So unfortunately, not a recommend for me, unless you're REALLY into geology. And I mean you go to conferences and think collecting miniature stuffed grand canyon's is the cat's whiskers (actually, that sounds kinda fun). On a side note, I have a stuffed HPV molecule in my office at work. Apparently my co-worker's dad is a sex therapist and that's the kind of thing they give away at THEIR conferences. I don't think people quite understood what I meant when I sent out an email saying, "okay...who gave me HPV?"
Anywho, I guess I'm not talking about the book anymore. For a good laugh, check out this website: giantmicrobes.com
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