Reading Room

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For Educators and Students

Survival Notes for Geology Field Trips
A Reading Assignment for Geology Students
The Reading Room

The Reading Room

People who read my books often ask for more books about geology. Here are some of my favorites. These are not obscure tomes. Most are commonly available in public libraries or at general-service bookstores. Some are available at the Geological Society of America bookstore (www.geosociety.org/). Others can be whistled up through online bookstores.

As a writer, I have my opinions about books about geology. I like to read well-crafted prose, and prefer that it be in the narrative, or storytelling, voice; books that have plots, heroes, and, often, villains.

As a teacher, I like to recommend books that are relatively jargon-free. So here are my picks. I enjoyed each of them (or wrote them!) myself, and have assigned many of them as extra-credit reading in geology courses. Please write to me at webmaster@sarahandrews.net if you have a few suggestions of your own.

Non-fiction about geology that has plots, heroes, and even villains:

Diamonds: the History of a Cold-Hearted Love Affair, by Matthew Hart, presents both the geology and the often chilling, seldom heart-warming business of diamonds, with an all-too-accurate portrayal of the way geologists usually get screwed by the industries they support.

T. Rex and the Crater of Doom, by Walter Alvarez, tells a great story as it offers deep insights into how geologic theories evolve. Available on books on tape.

Dinosaur Lives, by John R. Horner, Edwin Dobb, and Celeste Clair Horner illuminates how paleontology is done, and, among other things, is the clearest summary I’ve seen of the theory of evolution. Someday I’ll get around to reading Digging Dinosaurs, also by John Horner (et al), and maybe his book on T. rex. There are others who spin theories about that dinosaur, but I’ve read Horner, have spoken with him at conferences and admire his thinking.

Fiction (mystery novels) about geology that has plenty of plot, heroes, and plenty of villains:

Here’s a thumbnail of the Em Hansen forensic geology mysteries, each of which takes the reader to a different aspect of geology.

Mother Nature, by Sarah Andrews, goes down the rabbit hole of environmental geology, and is set in California.

Bone Hunter, by Sarah Andrews, is about paleontology in Utah. The subtext here is the rub between science and religion.

An Eye for Gold, by Sarah Andrews, is about gold mining in Nevada, and the debate between mining and environmentalism.

Fault Line, by Sarah Andrews, examines earthquakes. It’s set in Utah, and looks at the friction between science and public policy as it intersects the issues of public safety and geologic hazards.

Killer Dust, by Sarah Andrews, takes on intercontinental dust and terrorism. Set in the U.S. Geological Survey in Florida, it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the way money influences science.

Earth Colors, by Sarah Andrews, is where art forgery meets forensic geology. This book takes our heroine from her native Wyoming to Pennsylvania and Washington DC, with a visit to the FBI forensic labs in Quantico, Virginia.

Tensleep, A Fall in Denver, and Only Flesh and Bones, by Sarah Andrews, all look at petroleum geology in the Rocky Mountains. While these are the first, second, and fourth books in the series, I here list them last because the first two are out of print (but available through libraries) and the third looks at the oil business, but spends little time on oil geology.

Books with no plot, but well written, easy to follow, and nicely illustrated:

Messages in Stone: Colorado’s Colorful Geology, by the Colorado Geological Survey (http://geosurvey.state.co.us/ takes you right to it), edited by Vincent Matthews, Katie KellerLynn, and Betty Fox, is not just a fine discussion of the geology of Colorado, it’s total eye candy, an illustrated paradise.

The Roadside Geology of… series, from Mountain Press (www.mountain-press.com), is designed for the lay reader, but has plenty of information for the professional geologist as well. I’m particularly familiar with Roadside Geology of Hawaii, by Donald W. Hyndman and Richard W. Hazlett, which has concise, easy-to-understand explanations of the hows and whys of volcanoes and a chapter on each island.