SKU: 39657104789

The Mountains of Saint Francis: Discovering the Geologic Events That Shaped Our Earth

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The Mountains of Saint Francis: Discovering the Geologic Events That Shaped Our EarthModern geologists, Walter Alvarez among them, showed in the last decades of the twentieth century that the history of our planet has witnessed events profoundly more dramatic than even the most spectacular chapters in human history. More violent than wars, more life altering than revolutions understanding the geologic events that have shaped the Earth's surface is the quest and the passion of geologists. In the knowledgeable and graceful prose of

Modern geologists, Walter Alvarez among them, showed in the last decades of the twentieth century that the history of our planet has witnessed events profoundly more dramatic than even the most spectacular chapters in human history. More violent than wars, more life altering than revolutions--understanding the geologic events that have shaped the Earth's surface is the quest and the passion of geologists. In the knowledgeable and graceful prose of Alvarez, general readers are led to explore the many mysteries that our planet guards.

The author has chosen Italy as a microcosm in which to explore this amazing past for several reasons. First, it is the land where the earliest geologists learned how to read the history of the Earth, written in nature's rock archives. Second, it is where Alvarez and his Italian geological friends have continued to decipher the rock record, uncovering more historical episodes from the Earth's past. And third, the lovely land of Italy is unusually rich in geological treasures and offers examples of the key processes that have created the landscapes of the entire world.

The Mountains of Saint Francis begins in Rome. We discover that the landscape of Rome was built by violent volcanic eruptions in the very recent past, almost certainly witnessed by our human ancestors. Next we travel to Siena and come face to face with a fundamental discovery of the geologists--that much of the dry land that we currently inhabit was once underwater, beneath ancient seas or oceans. Then we stop in the small medieval city of Gubbio and contemplate the amazing secret that the limestone rocks kept hidden for 65 million years--that a huge asteroid smashed into the Earth, disrupting the environment so severely that the dinosaurs, and perhaps half of the other forms of life inhabiting the Earth at the time, disappeared forever, opening the way for the rise of the mammals and eventually of humans.

The impact theory that came from those Italian limestones at Gubbio was one of the great geological discoveries of the twentieth century. Just as important to the field of geology was the theory of plate tectonics--the understanding that the outer layer of the Earth is divided into crustal plates that move around, sometimes carrying continents into collisions with one another, like the great collision between Italy and Europe that built the Alps. And yet, to explain the Mountains of Saint Francis requires something more than a collision between continents. These are mountains that are still jealously guarding the secret of their past, and in this book we go along with the geological detectives as they try to uncover that secret. It is a journey that has seen the land of Italy lifted out of the sea, squashed and folded, torn apart, left high and dry when the Mediterranean Sea evaporated away, and then flooded when the Atlantic waters poured back in.

The story of the Earth's history is fascinating in its own right, but with Alvarez as the tour guide, the journey takes on a human dimension, full of stories about the landscape and history of Italy and about the great geologists who uncovered the deep past of this land. It is a journey recounted in warm tones and subtle colors, reflecting the transcendent beauty of Italy itself.



Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 12/01/2008
ISBN: 9780393061857
Pages: 304
Weight: 1.27lbs
Size: 9.28h x 6.44w x 0.98d

Review Citations: Library Journal Prepub Alert 01/14/2008 pg. 62
Publishers Weekly 05/26/2008 pg. 48
Library Journal 06/15/2008 pg. 88
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2008 pg. 627
Booklist 07/01/2008 pg. 22
Scitech Book News 12/01/2008 pg. 56
Choice 06/01/2009
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SKU: 39657104789

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R. P. Dedic
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
Understand your loss. Celebrate your gain. Live!
Format: Kindle
A quick look at what makes us human; our principal line of relationship to the Cosmos. Maybe not always reverent, but always livable and believable. This is a book, a primer, on how to deal with the mess of life. Written with enough seriousness and tongue-in-cheek humor to be readable and thought provoking.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2025
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Isaac Butterworth
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
An Invitation into the Heart of Reality
Format: Kindle
I love reading Anne Lamott. She helps me feel that it’s okay to be human. She helps me see that prayer is human. It’s the most natural thing you can do. And, really, everybody does it, whether they know it or not. In this delightful book, Ms. Lamott reflects on what she calls three essential prayers: help, thanks, and wow! Such human expressions! She invites us, the readers, into her perspective on life, infused as it is with both the mundane and the mysterious. There are times when it is even threatening. But we are not alone. We have each other, and we have God. (Or, better, God has us.). I don’t know that Ms. Lamott would want to be called an optimist, but she certainly sees the good in the bad (or, maybe after the bad). Life is both, she seems to say, but all is okay. So we ask for help when we’re wise enough (or desperate enough) to do so—both for ourselves and others. And we say thanks because life is full of reasons to be grateful. And there is so much beauty around us—and tragedy too—that we cannot help but erupt with wow! I urge you to read this book. Perhaps, as you read it, you will feel as I did reading it, that you are in a conversation with someone very wise and very compassionate and very real.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2025
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Thyme
West Palm Beach, US
★★★★★ 5
Another Thanks and Wow by Anne Lamott!
Format: Hardcover
I was first introduced to Anne Lamott's writing about 25 years ago when I read her book, Bird by Bird. It was a book about how to write and from that moment she became one of my favorite authors. Help, Thanks, Wow is a wonderful book that I have underlined and reread over and over again. Her writing has a voice that many of us can relate to. It's honest and you can feel her pain. She writes with humor to balance the good with the bad. Something that is so important to learn as we go through life. Her descriptions help you see, feel, and smell when she describes "autumn...the colors are broccoli and flame and fox fur. The tang is apples. The rot smells faintly of grapes..." She tells us how to ask for help when you can't do it all by yourself, but how important it is to say thank you, thank you, thank you and Wow for all the things you are grateful for. I loved when she wrote about how service to others is joy ,but how important it is to be kind to yourself. One of my favorite passages was this one, "This morning at six when I awoke, loneliness was sitting on my chest like a dental X-ray apron, even though I was buried in hairy dog love. Help, I am sad and lonely, and already it looks like today is going to be too long. I prayed...I did a kindness to myself, as I would have a troubled friend..." Her descriptions are all like this one and easy to relate to. I loved this book and have given it to friends who have then bought it for other friends. It is definitely a WOW!!!!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2014
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SJ
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 3
Not bad, but not my cup of tea
Format: Hardcover
After seeing Anne Lamott on TV, I was impressed with her and checked out this book on Amazon. The reviews were good, so I ordered it. I was a bit disappointed on receiving it, as I didn't like the shape of the book (too small) and I didn't like the type style (too hard to read). Then, I struggled to get into the book. I like to highlight insights in inspirational books, and I simply didn't find anything to highlight in this one. I think Anne Lamott is a lovely person and I understand how a lot of people liked this book. However, it just didn't bring any new insights to the table for me and it wasn't written in a way that I found compelling. The good news is, it wasn't too hard to finish, since it is short. I passed it on to someone I hope will enjoy it.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2013
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O. Merce Brown
Whiting, US
★★★★★ 5
I Just Want to Read It Again!
Format: Hardcover
***** What a brilliant book! When I first received "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers" I too was so disappointed that it was such a small book--tiny, short, maybe an hour's read. Ah, but what an hour! Precious. And to be completely truthful, this book actually took me several hours to read, because I had to put it down, think, cry, laugh, and even--yes--pray. This book is worth your time and attention. I am so glad that I have it in hardback because I will keep it forever and reread it regularly; I am finished reading it and I just want to read it all over again. It is a book about getting through life. It is rich, raw, funny (hilarious, like all Annie Lamott) and written in language so stunning I would have to stop and just read and reread sentences. I feel as though my life has been broken open with a whole new attitude towards prayer, and even more, towards being alive. This is not a religious book at all, but a book for anyone who is spiritually-oriented and maybe especially for those who aren't, because the author writes about prayer in a way that every single person can relate to. This is a book about being real and true and simple and clear and about living a worthwhile life. Don't miss this book. Highly recommended. *****
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Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2012

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