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krobart's review against another edition
4.0
Beginning in 1978, John McPhee began a series of journeys across the United States along the length of I-80. His goal was to form a picture of how the geology of the country evolved over time.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/basin-and-range/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/basin-and-range/
stevenyenzer's review against another edition
2.0
This book should have been right up my alley. I’m a huge fan of this kind of “pop naturalism,” both modern (Bill Bryson) and older (George R. Stewart). But Basin and Range just didn’t do much for it. McPhee’s writing is slick but lifeless, the narrative was disjointed, and I never felt like he took a truly deep dive into a topic.
caroparr's review against another edition
4.0
Though I read this when it was first published in the New Yorker thirty years ago, I found it much more interesting now that I’ve seen some of basins and ranges he explores. His mnemonic for remembering the eras (?) of the Paleozoic has stayed with me and might be the building block for my learning them all in order (one can dream).
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
3.0
Tough book to read, especially the first third. Beautifully written, but I'm not sure the author had any intention of being well understood by the general public all the way through. And yet the first third especially is written as though for the general audience, but one who loves long words without knowing their meanings. The book becomes much more understandable as the author covers geologic periods and plate tectonics and even mining. Definitely not an introduction to geology, it barely covers in a useful way the term basin and range or if it did it was beyond me - or perhaps the whole book in the end became the definition of basin and range. I do plan on going on to the next book.