Eos, Vol. 79, No.
18, May 5, 1998
B O O K REVIEWS
Geomorphology—A Systematic Analysis
of Late Cenozoic Landforms, 3rd Edition
PAGE 2 2 0
Arthur L. B l o o m , Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle
River, N.J., xi + 4 8 2 pp., ISBN 0-13-505496-6,
1998, $ 9 0 .
Geomorphology is the study of how land­
s c a p e s form. This deceptively simple descrip­
tion e n c o m p a s s e s a b r a n c h of g e o s c i e n c e
that is teeming with fundamental questions
of how landscapes develop similar or differ­
ent morphologies, and whether their develop­
ments can b e explained historically or modeled
theoretically. Geomorphology also involves the
surface processes that inexorably convert rock
into sediment. B e c a u s e the study of either
landforms or landsculpting is linked to active
processes c o m m o n l y occurring on human
timescales, it might b e fair to classify geomor-
phologists as the existentialists of geology.
T h e b o o k ' s opening statement, "Let the
fun begin," introduces a very well written
c o m p e n d i u m of ideas and c o m m e n t a r y cov­
ering the dynamic field of geomorphology.
Presented in 20 chapters, this well-balanced,
fact-filled, informative, and interesting volume
covers the fundamentals of geomorphology;
Cenozoic climate and tectonics; construc­
Plate Tectonics and
Crustal Evolution
PAGE 2 2 0
K.C. Condie, Butterworth/Heinemann, UK, 282
pp., ISBN 0-7506-3386-7, 1997, $40.86.
Ever s i n c e plate t e c t o n i c s revolutionized
Earth s c i e n c e , university courses presenting
Earth processes in the framework of plate tec­
tonics have b e c o m e as plentiful as earth­
quakes. Consequently, this segment of the
textbook market, which includes popular
classroom classics such as Keary and Vine's
Global Tectonics, is heavily contested. Con-
die's b o o k attempts to s e c u r e a portion of the
pie by targeting a d v a n c e d undergraduates,
graduate students, and specialists "who want
to k e e p abreast of scientific a d v a n c e s in this
field," as stated in the preface.
Condie covers many topics, including the
geology, atmosphere, and climate of Earth
and planetary evolution. The b o o k ' s title—
Plate Tectonics (big and b o l d ) and Crustal
Evolution (several font sizes smaller)—sug­
gests a thorough and timely review of plate
tional landforms; erosional landforms; glacia-
tion; and coastal geomorphology.
Bloom methodically presents background
material and develops an understanding of the
s c i e n c e of geomorphology through carefully
selected discussions. Sequentially building on
earlier concepts, the b o o k moves through the
subjects of climatic and tectonic landforms,
opting for a separate chapter on volcanic land-
forms. Each chapter is part essay and part re­
view. The chapters not only review the
literature that has added to our understanding
of a particular landform or process but also dis­
cuss ideas that have turned out to b e "wrong."
Discussion of those "wrong" ideas is as im­
portant as the valid o n e s in developing ana­
lytical abilities. In other instances, the b o o k
highlights competing explanations for a sin­
gle p h e n o m e n o n . References at the end of
e a c h chapter are valuable departure points
for further reading.
Both the breadth and depth of the cover­
age are truly remarkable for a field that in
practice represents many subdisciplines. De­
spite the fact that the b o o k is intended for stu­
dents with only b a s i c geology prerequisites,
it provides truly insightful, sophisticated, and
tectonics as the main course on the menu.
However, plate t e c t o n i c s turns out to b e
merely an appetizer, and c o p i o u s inaccura­
cies and omissions will likely leave an under­
graduate student in a state of confusion.
Condie had to m a k e careful c h o i c e s in
Chapter 1, titled "Plate Tectonics," to present
the b o o k ' s foundation coherently within a
limited s p a c e , without detailed discussion.
Wegener's theory of continental drift is intro­
duced, long after plate t e c t o n i c s — w h i c h is
c o m p a r a b l e to introducing Newton's laws af­
ter the theory of relativity. Readers w h o are
curious about how plates move will find a
short paragraph on cycloid plate motions. No
c o n c e p t s fundamental to plate motions are
explained, including instantaneous, stage
and finite rotations, and Euler poles. In con­
trast, discussion of supercontinents is c o n c i s e
and up-to-date. Chapter 2 presents a good over­
view of the structure and properties of the
Earth's crust, but coverage of yield-strength enve­
lopes and their significance is meager.
Given the primary mission of the book,
crustal evolution in a plate t e c t o n i c frame­
work, it is surprising that Chapter 3, titled
"Tectonic Settings," is not organized a c c o r d ­
ing to plate boundary type (divergent, con­
This page may b e freely c o p i e d .
thoughtful analyses that point out critical ele­
ments of a study or topic. Thought provoking
discussions appear on nearly every page. T h e
author has a k n a c k for immediately recogniz­
ing critical e l e m e n t s of a subject and focus­
ing on them. T h e chapter on Late Quaternary
climatic geomorphology, which reviews cli­
mate proxy data and the landforms that have
resulted from past climates, is particularly
useful, and in s o m e ways, m a k e s this b o o k
unique as a modern geomorphology text.
Several weaknesses detract slightly from
the b o o k . Although acknowledging the im­
portance of remotely sensed images, and in
fact using them throughout the book, B l o o m
does not explain what the images represent
and how they differ from ordinary optical
photographs. Typographical errors are en­
countered as early as in the T a b l e of Con­
tents. Illustrations and photographs are
generally b l a c k and white and their quality is
highly variable. Fourteen c o l o r plates are in­
cluded in the c e n t e r of the book, but why
these particular plates were s e l e c t e d is diffi­
cult to ascertain. Equations, where used, are
presented in a way that unfortunately inhib­
its, rather than promotes, a d e e p e r under­
standing of the topic.
Students w h o read this b o o k will certainly
benefit from an e x c e l l e n t survey of geomor­
phology provided by o n e of the field's most
engaging writers. For professional geomor-
phologists, the b o o k represents a wonderful
collection of essays constituting an authorita­
tive retrospective of the field.—Larry Mayer,
Geology Department, Miami University,
Oxford, Ohio, USA
vergent, strike-slip), but rather contains a curi­
ous mix of subtopics. In a reversal of the se­
q u e n c e of t e c t o n i c events, passive margins
(jointly with cratons) are discussed before
continental rifts. Discussion of passive mar­
gins covers less than half a page, and Condie
does not mention v o l c a n i c margins or funda­
mental processes such as pure versus simple
shear in terms of margin formation. Consider­
ing that passive margins are critical in both
the plate t e c t o n i c c y c l e and crustal evolu­
tion, it would s e e m that they deserve more
s p a c e , given the b o o k ' s title.
Chapter 4 discusses the Earth's mantle
and c o r e comprehensively, with two e x c e p ­
tions. Condie omits major recent a d v a n c e s in
understanding how the g e o d y n a m o works
(Glatzmaier and Roberts; Kuang and Blox-
h a m ) . His discussion of the mantle thermal
boundary layer also fails to mention funda­
mental contributions by Sclater, Parsons, and
McKenzie on o c e a n i c depth-age relationships,
based on the thermal boundary layer or the
plate model. Condie merely states that li-
thospheric thickness is a function of age, but
he does not reveal the nature of this function.
Chapters 5 and 6 (crustal and mantle evo­
lution and the atmosphere; o c e a n s and cli-