Turning to stone

Turning to stone : discovering the subtle wisdom of rocks by Marcia Bjornerud,  (2024) 306 pp

It’s summer and time to rock out! Geologist Bjornerud has a delightful style which reflects her enthusiasm for her specialty and also gives a glimpse of her journey to all things rock. Using chapters on a variety of minerals, she takes us time traveling to the formation of Earth and, in turn, we visit extreme research environments such as Norwegian archipelago Svalbard above the Arctic Circle and Ellesmere Island in northern Canada where new discoveries abound. Are all significant rocks located in the most inhospitable places? Along with the rock hunting we get an intimate feel for the slow-moving field of geology (think glacial) and Borgeaud’s equally slow and arduous climb up the academic ladder. In the chapter basalt we are introduced to plate tectonics and volcanos, in sandstone we learn of purifying and fragile aquifers. Interspersed on this rocky road we learn about the exploitive effect of human activity on the environment. She tells the story of native culture and its relationship to the land and leads us through the devastation of industrial logging of the lumber barons, the mining of copper and the monoculture of modern agriculture. Grim. Going against canon, Bjornerud confesses to considering rocks as integral to the living world, not animate, but certainly vital.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

 

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson 544 pp.

Bill Bryson takes on the history of our world from before the beginning. The focus begins with the creation of the universe and the various theories leading to and about the Big Bang. The story then moves on to the solar system, the Earth's changing geology, plate tectonics, volcanos, etc.. Finally Bryson moves on to the evolution of the first creatures and eventually Homo sapiens. Interspersed in these scientific theories are the stories of the scientists who spent hundreds of years trying to explain it all and the conflicts and arguments over who was correct. I found the science in this book fascinating because of the bits I didn't know and anecdotes about the personalities of those who did the research. But I admit that, had I not listened to the unabridged audiobook version, I probably never would have finished it.