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Annals of the Former World.
by McPhee, John
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1998. First edition of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, Original black cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Maps by Allan Cartography. Endpapers designed by Tom Funk. Jacket art by John Clerk. Twenty years ago, when John McPhee began his journeys back and forth across the United states, he planned to describe a cross section of North America at about the fortieth parallel and, in the process, come to an understanding not only of the science but of the style of the geologists he travelled with. As clearly and succinctly written as it is profoundly informed, this is our finest popular survey of geology, and a masterpiece of modern nonfiction writing.
Synopsis
Annals of the Former World is a book on geology written by John McPhee and published in 1998 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. The book presents a geological history of North America, and was researched and written over the course of two decades beginning in 1978."Most mountain ranges around the world are the result of compression, of segments of the earth's crust being brought together, bent, mashed, thrust and folded, squeezed up into the sky-- the Himalaya, the Appalachians, the Alps, the Urals, the Andes. The ranges of the Basin and Range came up another way, The crust-- in this region between the Rockies and the Sierra-- is spreading out, being stretched, being thinned, being literally pulled to pieces. The sites of Reno and Salt Lake City, on opposite sides of the province, have moved apart fifty miles. The crust of the Great Basin has broken into blocks... irregular in shape. They... suggest stretch marks. Which they are."
Read More: Identifying first editions of Annals of the Former World.
Reviews
On Nov 27 2010, Wyantry said:
All John McPhees series of boks on geology, collected into one volume; and this time WITH MAPS!Anyone that has read one or more of McPhees books on geology: 1] Basin and Range, 2] In Suspect Terrain, 3] Rising From The Plains, 4] Assembling California, and 5] Crossing The Craton will enjoy having these individual books in one collection.The Narrative Table of Contents is worth reading as well, in it McPhee explains the rationale and history of his more than twenty-year series of sojurns traversing North America along the line of Interstate 80, accompanying several different geologists.Several concepts of geology, from an explanation of the glaciation of New England, to the advent of Plate Tectonics explaining the accretion of California are explained in an entertaining essentially non-geological manner, with numerous literary references.As a geologist, I recommend this series of books to anyone with an interest in the land-forms and origin of North America.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Raptis Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 145124
- Title
- Annals of the Former World.
- Author
- McPhee, John
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1998
- Keywords
- Annals of the Former World First Edition, John McPhee First Edition
Terms of Sale
Raptis Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed.
About the Seller
Raptis Rare Books
Biblio member since 2012
Palm Beach, Florida
About Raptis Rare Books
Founded by Matthew and Adrienne Raptis, Raptis Rare Books is an antiquarian book firm that specializes in literature, children's books, economics, photo books, signed and inscribed books, and landmark books in all fields. Our business model is simple: we strive to handle books that are in exceptional condition and to provide exceptional customer service.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
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