Understanding Earth Sixth Edition

This is an amazingly good book. It is well-written and up-to-date, covering just about everything in modern Earth and Planetary Science. There are lots of pictures and diagrams, most of which actually help you understand the text.On the first page, the authors state, “We have organized the discussion of geology in this textbook around three basic concepts ... (1) Earth as a system of interacting components, (2) plate tectonics as a unifying theory of geology, and (3) changes in the Earth system through geologic time.”The first 8 chapters (of 23) cover the basics. Beyond that are a number of chapters that are not classical geology (e.g., ch. 9 “Early History of the Terrestrial Planets”, ch. 16 “The Climate System”) and many that are more in-depth treatments of topics introduced earlier (e.g., ch. 16 “Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Wasting”). A good deal of the latter part of the book reads like an Environmental Science text.I have long had an interest in Earth history, plate tectonics, etc. and have read quite a lot but I always felt I lacked a firm geological foundation. This book filled so many holes in my knowledge, including many I never knew I had :)The copy I bought had been used by several students. Interestingly, there was a good deal of highlighting in the first 8 chapters and in chapters 12 & 13 (“Volcanoes” and “Earthquakes”) but nowhere else.

I got the loose leaf edition. It turned out to be bound. Perfect. The text is easy to comprehend and has lots of good visuals. The book arrived in half the predicted time.

I haven't started reading "Understanding Earth", but found that it arrived in good working order. I hope to take the online course associated with this reading material. The preview was really encouraging and the timely fashion that this book arrived in will keep me considering amazon for my scholastic needs.

I've read several introductory textbooks on physical geology, and the one written by Grotzinger & Jordan is simply the BEST ever, to me! It presents the hard learning geological concepts in such a way that the reader can grasp the idea with little effort. Very well illustrated with photos, diagrams, tables and graphics and, of course, an elegant text envolves the whole explanation. Also, the book has a very reasonable price for its quality. Cheers up!

I was dreading taking a geology class as a computer science major, but I quickly learned I had a soft spot for it. The class itself was the main reason, but the book was pretty good also (for a text book). There are a TON of really colorful pictures and diagrams that help explain and provide visualization for concepts that we would not normally be able to see in the field. This helped keep my eyes from wandering off the page to other things, making it a decently easy and educational read.As far as GeologyPortal goes, it wasn't too bad! We watched videos made by our professor (Jerry Magloughlin) and overall the portal helped emphasize the lessons.

Well, this book got me an A because my teacher was a Ph.D. and was REALLY intent on testing us on every jot and tittle in this book so without it I would have been doomed. I love geology so it was interesting learning about the nature of the inner earth and how rocks form. This book is quite thorough in explaining all that.

Just a wonderful, fun, informative book, with great illustrations and exemplary writing. I understand this is the classic intro book in the field, but you shouldn't think of it as a "textbook." Simply one of the best science books out there, the whole awesome, wonderful "ongoing pre-history of the world." Highly recommended.

Well I received the wrong book in the first place, and I was too preoccupied to put in a complaint or request a switch. So, I'm very unhappy with my situation.