<p>Year by year the Earth sciences grow more diverse, with an inevitable increase in the degree to which rampant specialization isolates the practitioners of an ever larger number of subfields. An increasing emphasis on sophisticated mathematics, physics and chemistry as well as the use of advanced technology have set up barriers often impenetrable to the uninitiated. Ironically, the potential value of many specialities for other, often non-contiguous ones has also increased. What is at the present time quiet, unseen work in a remote corner of our discipline, may tomorrow enhance, even revitalize some entirely different area. The rising flood of research reports has drastically cut the time we have available for free reading. The enormous proliferation of journals expressly aimed at small, select audiences has raised the threshold of access to a large part of the literature so much that many of us are unable to cross it. This, most would agree, is not only unfortunate but downright dangerous, limiting by sheer bulk of paper or difficulty of compre hension, the flow of information across the Earth sciences because, after all it is just one earth that we all study, and cross fertilization is the key to progress. If one knows where to obtain much needed data or inspiration, no effort is too great. It is when we remain unaware of its existence (perhaps even in the office next door) that stagnation soon sets in.</p>

Catastrophic Episodes in Earth History (Topics in the Earth Sciences)

Claude C. Albritton Jr.

Science & Math

Chapman & Hall

Accessible, entertaining work addresses Earth's age as it explores the work of Hooke, Buffon, Lyell, Cuvier, Darwin, Agassiz, and others, detailing discoveries that led to knowledge of Earth's astonishing antiquity — from Steno's contemplation of fossilized shark's teeth in 1666 through Holmes' time scales of 1960. Nominated for the American Book Award. 29 black-and-white illustrations.

The Abyss of Time: Changing Conceptions of the Earth's Antiquity After the Sixteenth Century

Tarcher

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Claude C. Albritton Jr.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Claude C. Albritton Jr.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Claude C. Albritton Jr.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Catastrophic Episodes in Earth History (Topics in the Earth Sciences)

The Abyss of Time: Changing Conceptions of the Earth's Antiquity After the Sixteenth Century