Links to other sites

Geology.com -- a wonderful and well-organized site with multiple connections to a wide variety of geological material. I haven't explored it all yet, but it is easy to navigate in, and would be worth a visit for expanded explanations of phenomena discussed in the text, as well as links to prehistoric life sites not covered in a physical geology course

New York Times Science Section current earth science news, with links to other aspects of science

Science and Spirit Magazine/website Good magazine and site, with links to many others -- this site explores many current avenues of inquiry about science and spirit/religion and how each informs the other. Antagonists are included.

Geology of Lebanon Excellent map illustrations of the geology north of Israel; includes geological schematic maps of the whole eastern Mediterranean region.

Virtual Fieldtrips links to a variety of museum and other educational institution sites which take you on field trips to different kinds of geological settings, and different emphases. Worth visiting.

Geology Study Guide (not our text) Study guide for another introductory geology text; may have some useful pointers

Colby College Geology Department (Waterville) overview of the activities of this local geology department, which has projects world-wide (including one in Israel)

Geological Survey of Israel This site is incomplete, and doesn't offer much, yet, in the way of the geology of Israel, but keep checking

Geology for Geographs In Hebrew, but also includes a collection of slides in English

Tide Charts Planning a trip to the seashore? you can check the tide for the gauged site nearest your destination

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ A very interesting site from the perspective of one who needs a lot of explanation regarding terminology/everything else. This site has maps of recent quakes, explanations of the rating system, and reports on specific quakes. A pretty spiffy thing for re-enforcing plate tectonics and fault lines....

Books of interest to geology students (and others):

Fagan, Brian, 2000, The Little Ice Age: how climate made history 1300-1850, New York, Basic Books.

Although not well written, and very Eurocentric, Fagan's account lends perspective to the discussion of climate change, and illustrates the interaction between climate and European history, not as a direct cause, but as a shaper of the natural context in which human beings live.

Ryan, W., and W. Pitman, 1998, Noah's Flood, New York, Simon and Schuster.

Also not well written -- difficult to follow in some places -- this is an exciting blow-by-blow account of both an idea and the research that followed it out. It is an excellent look at the day-to-day work and frustrations of research, especially research at sea, and the complications introduced by international relations. It has a good discussion on the possible spread of agriculture and the spread of the flood myth throughout the ancient world. Recommended.

Neev, David, K. O. Emery, Emery Neev, 1995, The Destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jericho : Geological, Climatological, and Archaeological Background, Oxford, Oxford Univ. Press.

Not read yet. KO Emery is an internationallyl-respected geological oceanographer based at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and I would expect this study to be "on the level."

Caldwell, D.W., 1998, Roadside Geology of Maine, Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Co.

The most detailed current guide to geology in Maine, this book will be more helpful after a course in geology. The writing is of very uneven quality, and sometimes difficult to follow. It covers the geology you are likely to see traversing the major roads of Maine, and good generalized geologic maps accompany descriptive text. This book will both help the reader sort out the confusing aspects of the rocks s/he sees along Maine's roads, as well as appreciate the long and varied geologic history that underlies Maine's landscape. (Mountain Press publishes a "Roadside Guide" series to the geology of other states, as well.)

Kendall, D.L., 1997, Glaciers and Granite: A Guide to Maine's Landscape and Geology, [publication data unknown, but currently out of print -- available in some libraries, though]

Kendall's book was the first general geology of Maine on the popular scene (in the late 80's, I think), and some readers may find it too elementary. Its emphasis is on landscape, so it does not cover Maine's geology in as much detail as Caldwell's Roadside Geology, but it gives a good overview, and some good discussions of glacial processes.

Winchester, Simon, 2001, The Map That Changed The World -- William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology, New York, Harper/Collins Publishers.

A new work focusing on the labors of one Englishman and the disproportionate influence he had on both the history of geology and the evolutionists who -- years later -- built on his insights. Science as a human enterprise.

Gould, S.J., 2000, The Lying Stones of Marrakech, New York, Harmony Books (Random House).

Another collection of essays in a brilliant series which this author originally penned for "Natural History Magazine". These pieces deal with the supremely human elements of doing science, and the peculiar byways along which some ideas are elevated to history-changing status, and others are relegated to obscurity -- often wrongfully. Gould's style is dense and carefully constructed; his mind is wide-ranging and well-informed. His essays require the reader to work at it.

Wilson, E.O., 1998, Consilience -- The Unity of Knowledge, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

An attempt to find the underlying structure of knowledge by a brilliant and sometimes controversial scientist. In this reviewer's opinion, Wilson elevates science too far, and gives too little attention to the validity of other constructs for making meaning of experience.

Winchester, Simon, 2003, Krakatoa [The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883]. New York: HarperCollins.

An account of a famous eruption in Java/Sumatra that colored sunsets around the world, and caused untold personal harm.  Winchester's account is wide-ranging, touching on the developments across the world of the later 19th century which allowed this event to be widely and intimately and immediately known in ways inaccessible to earlier generations.  A new volcano is growing on the site of the old.  The author is a geologist, and has written other popular books on geological subjects.

MacKenzie, D., 2003, The Big Splat, or how the Moon came to be. NY: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 232 pp.

An entertaining survey of scientific and popular theories about the origin of our Moon, including a discussion of detractors {people who believe that the Apollo Moon landings were faked) and others.