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577 books match the query 'Earth Sciences' and 12 start with h

cover of Hard Road West: History and Geology along the Gold Rush Trail

Hard Road West

History and Geology along the Gold Rush Trail

Keith Heyer Meldahl

University of Chicago Press, 2007

In 1848 news of the discovery of gold in California triggered an enormous wave of emigration toward the Pacific. Lured by the promise of riches, thousands of settlers left behind the forests, rain, and fertile soil of the eastern United States in favor of the rough-hewn lands of the American West. The dramatic terrain they struggled to cross is so familiar to us now that it is hard to imagine how frightening—even godforsaken—its sheer rock faces and barren deserts seemed to our forebears.
       
Hard Road West brings their perspective vividly to life, weaving together the epic overland journey of the covered wagon trains and the compelling story of the landscape they encountered. Taking readers along the 2,000-mile California Trail, Keith Meldahl uses the diaries and letters of the settlers themselves—as well as the countless hours he has spent following the trail—to reveal how the geology and geography of the West directly affected our nation’s westward expansion. He guides us through a corrugated landscape of sawtooth mountains, following the meager streams that served as lifelines through an arid land, all the way to California itself, where colliding tectonic plates created breathtaking scenery and planted the gold that lured travelers west in the first place.
 
“Alternates seamlessly between vivid accounts of the 19th-century journey and lucid explanations of the geological events that shaped the landscape traveled. . . . The reader comes away with both an appreciation for the arduous cross-continental wagon journey and an understanding of the events that created such a vast and difficult landscape.”—Library Journal
 
“[Meldahl] draws on his professional knowledge to explain the geology of the West, showing how centuries of geological activity had a direct effect on the routes taken by the travelers. . . . Meldahl provides a novel account of the largest overland migration since the Crusades.”—Science News
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cover of Haste: The Slow Politics of Climate Urgency

Haste

The Slow Politics of Climate Urgency

Edited by Håvard Haarstad, Jakob Grandin, Kristin Kjærås, and Eleanor Johnson

University College London, 2023

A powerful argument for not approaching climate change in a hurry, but with a slow politics of urgency.
 
It’s understandable that we tend to present climate change as something urgently requiring action. Every day we fail to act, the potential for catastrophe grows. But is that framing itself a problem?  When we hurry, we make more mistakes. We overlook things. We get tunnel vision.
 
In Haste, a group of distinguished contributors makes the case for a slow politics of urgency. Rather than rushing and speeding up, he argues, the sustainable future is better served by our challenging of the dominant framings through which we understand time and change in society. While recognizing the need for certain types of urgency in climate politics, Haste directs attention to the different and alternative temporalities at play in climate and sustainability politics. Divided into short and accessible chapters, written by both established and emerging scholars from different disciplines, Haste tackles a major problem in contemporary climate change research and offers creative perspectives on pathways out of the climate emergency.
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cover of Henry Darwin Rogers, 1808–1866: American Geologist

Henry Darwin Rogers, 1808–1866

American Geologist

Patsy Gerstner

University of Alabama Press, 1994

The life and legacy of a pioneer who helped shape American geology.

Henry Darwin Rogers, 1808–1866: American Geologist is the first comprehensive biography of Henry Darwin Rogers, one of the pioneering figures who helped establish geology as a professional scientific discipline in the United States. Written by historian Patsy Gerstner, this meticulously researched study traces Rogers's life from his early education and scientific interests to his leadership of the groundbreaking geological surveys of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

At a time when American science was still in its formative stages, Rogers distinguished himself through extensive fieldwork, influential publications, and innovative theories about the formation of mountain systems. His investigations of Pennsylvania's Appalachian region led to one of the first distinctly American theories of mountain elevation and helped advance understanding of the earth's geological structure. Gerstner places these achievements within the broader context of nineteenth-century scientific institutions, professional rivalries, and the growing importance of state-sponsored research

More than a scientific biography, the book offers a compelling account of the emergence of American geology and the individuals who transformed natural history into a rigorous scientific enterprise. It is an indispensable resource for understanding the history of science, the development of geological thought, and the evolution of scientific professionalism in the United States.

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cover of Historic Illinois from the Air

Historic Illinois from the Air

David Buisseret

University of Chicago Press, 1990

"A distinctive and skillful effort to bring facets of Illinois history to a popular as well as an academic audience."—John Hoffman, Illinois Historical Survey, University of Illinois Library
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cover of Historical Atlases: The First Three Hundred Years, 1570-1870

Historical Atlases

The First Three Hundred Years, 1570-1870

Walter Goffart

University of Chicago Press, 2003

Today we can walk into any well-stocked bookstore or library and find an array of historical atlases. The first thorough review of the source material, Historical Atlases traces how these collections of "maps for history"—maps whose sole purpose was to illustrate some historical moment or scene—came into being.

Beginning in the sixteenth century, and continuing down to the late nineteenth, Walter Goffart discusses milestones in the origins of historical atlases as well as individual maps illustrating historical events in alternating, paired chapters. He focuses on maps of the medieval period because the development of maps for history hinged particularly on portrayals of this segment of the postclassical, "modern" past. Goffart concludes the book with a detailed catalogue of more than 700 historical maps and atlases produced from 1570 to 1870.

Historical Atlases will immediately take its place as the single most important reference on its subject. Historians of cartography, medievalists, and anyone seriously interested in the role of maps in portraying history will find it invaluable.
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cover of Hitler's Geographies: The Spatialities of the Third Reich

Hitler's Geographies

The Spatialities of the Third Reich

Edited by Paolo Giaccaria and Claudio Minca

University of Chicago Press, 2016

Lebensraum: the entitlement of “legitimate” Germans to living space. Entfernung: the expulsion of “undesirables” to create empty space for German resettlement. During his thirteen years leading Germany, Hitler developed and made use of a number of powerful geostrategical concepts such as these in order to justify his imperialist expansion, exploitation, and genocide. As his twisted manifestation of spatial theory grew in Nazi ideology, it created a new and violent relationship between people and space in Germany and beyond.
 
With Hitler’s Geographies, editors Paolo Giaccaria and Claudio Minca examine the variety of ways in which spatial theory evolved and was translated into real-world action under the Third Reich. They have gathered an outstanding collection by leading scholars, presenting key concepts and figures as well exploring the undeniable link between biopolitical power and spatial expansion and exclusion.
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cover of How Green Became Good: Urbanized Nature and the Making of Cities and Citizens

How Green Became Good

Urbanized Nature and the Making of Cities and Citizens

Hillary Angelo

University of Chicago Press, 2021

As projects like Manhattan’s High Line, Chicago’s 606, China’s eco-cities, and Ethiopia’s tree-planting efforts show, cities around the world are devoting serious resources to urban greening. Formerly neglected urban spaces and new high-end developments draw huge crowds thanks to the considerable efforts of city governments. But why are greening projects so widely taken up, and what good do they do? In How Green Became Good, Hillary Angelo uncovers the origins and meanings of the enduring appeal of urban green space, showing that city planners have long thought that creating green spaces would lead to social improvement. Turning to Germany’s Ruhr Valley (a region that, despite its ample open space, was “greened” with the addition of official parks and gardens), Angelo shows that greening is as much a social process as a physical one. She examines three moments in the Ruhr Valley's urban history that inspired the creation of new green spaces: industrialization in the late nineteenth century, postwar democratic ideals of the 1960s, and industrial decline and economic renewal in the early 1990s. Across these distinct historical moments, Angelo shows that the impulse to bring nature into urban life has persistently arisen as a response to a host of social changes, and reveals an enduring conviction that green space will transform us into ideal inhabitants of ideal cities. Ultimately, however, she finds that the creation of urban green space is more about how we imagine social life than about the good it imparts. 
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cover of How Oceans Become: Histories and Futures of the High Seas and Deep Oceans

How Oceans Become

Histories and Futures of the High Seas and Deep Oceans

Thomas Brandt, Knut Ove Eliassen, Mats Ingulstad, Gard Paulsen

University of Chicago Press, 0

An anthology grounded in the idea that oceans are human realities, shaped by human interests, interactions, and technologies. 

Historically and geographically diverse, oceans exist in the plural. Oceans become oceans through how they are represented, what resources they are deemed to hold, and the regulatory governance to which they are subjected. These are the three key components of “ocean making” this volume employs to shed light on the complex issues facing ocean governance today.
 

The anthology reaches back to the oceans of the early modern European expansion and up to the current concerns of anthropogenic changes and resource depletion. Chapters address activities and regulatory concerns regarding maritime transport, fisheries, deep-sea mining, wave energy, and whaling, and span from the southern oceans around Antarctica to the current shedding of the icy mantle of the Arctic Ocean. By drawing together scholars from a wide range of disciplines—including history, comparative literature, media studies, political science, law, and anthropology—How Oceans Become opens a multi-layered, interdisciplinary approach to studying the oceans’ entanglements with human cultures and societies. 

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cover of How We See the Sky: A Naked-Eye Tour of Day and Night

How We See the Sky

A Naked-Eye Tour of Day and Night

Thomas Hockey

University of Chicago Press, 2002

Gazing up at the heavens from our backyards or a nearby field, most of us see an undifferentiated mess of stars—if, that is, we can see anything at all through the glow of light pollution. Today’s casual observer knows far less about the sky than did our ancestors, who depended on the sun and the moon to tell them the time and on the stars to guide them through the seas. Nowadays, we don’t need the sky, which is good, because we’ve made it far less accessible, hiding it behind the skyscrapers and the excessive artificial light of our cities. 

How We See the Sky gives us back our knowledge of the sky, offering a fascinating overview of what can be seen there without the aid of a telescope. Thomas Hockey begins by scanning the horizon, explaining how the visible universe rotates through this horizon as night turns to day and season to season. Subsequent chapters explore the sun’s and moon’s respective motions through the celestial globe, as well as the appearance of solstices, eclipses, and planets, and how these are accounted for in different kinds of calendars. In every chapter, Hockey introduces the common vocabulary of today’s astronomers, uses examples past and present to explain them, and provides conceptual tools to help newcomers understand the topics he discusses.


Packed with illustrations and enlivened by historical anecdotes and literary references, How We See the Sky reacquaints us with the wonders to be found in our own backyards.

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cover of How to Lie with Maps

How to Lie with Maps

Mark Monmonier

University of Chicago Press, 1996

Originally published to wide acclaim, this lively, cleverly illustrated essay on the use and abuse of maps teaches us how to evaluate maps critically and promotes a healthy skepticism about these easy-to-manipulate models of reality. Monmonier shows that, despite their immense value, maps lie. In fact, they must.

The second edition is updated with the addition of two new chapters, 10 color plates, and a new foreword by renowned geographer H. J. de Blij. One new chapter examines the role of national interest and cultural values in national mapping organizations, including the United States Geological Survey, while the other explores the new breed of multimedia, computer-based maps.

To show how maps distort, Monmonier introduces basic principles of mapmaking, gives entertaining examples of the misuse of maps in situations from zoning disputes to census reports, and covers all the typical kinds of distortions from deliberate oversimplifications to the misleading use of color.

"Professor Monmonier himself knows how to gain our attention; it is not in fact the lies in maps but their truth, if always approximate and incomplete, that he wants us to admire and use, even to draw for ourselves on the facile screen. His is an artful and funny book, which like any good map, packs plenty in little space."—Scientific American

"A useful guide to a subject most people probably take too much for granted. It shows how map makers translate abstract data into eye-catching cartograms, as they are called. It combats cartographic illiteracy. It fights cartophobia. It may even teach you to find your way. For that alone, it seems worthwhile."—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

". . . witty examination of how and why maps lie. [The book] conveys an important message about how statistics of any kind can be manipulated. But it also communicates much of the challenge, aesthetic appeal, and sheer fun of maps. Even those who hated geography in grammar school might well find a new enthusiasm for the subject after reading Monmonier's lively and surprising book."—Wilson Library Bulletin

"A reading of this book will leave you much better defended against cheap atlases, shoddy journalism, unscrupulous advertisers, predatory special-interest groups, and others who may use or abuse maps at your expense."—John Van Pelt, Christian Science Monitor

"Monmonier meets his goal admirably. . . . [His] book should be put on every map user's 'must read' list. It is informative and readable . . . a big step forward in helping us to understand how maps can mislead their readers."—Jeffrey S. Murray, Canadian Geographic
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cover of How to Lie with Maps, Third Edition

How to Lie with Maps, Third Edition

Mark Monmonier

University of Chicago Press, 2018

An instant classic when first published in 1991, How to Lie with Maps revealed how the choices mapmakers make—consciously or unconsciously—mean that every map inevitably presents only one of many possible stories about the places it depicts. The principles Mark Monmonier outlined back then remain true today, despite significant technological changes in the making and use of maps. The introduction and spread of digital maps and mapping software, however, have added new wrinkles to the ever-evolving landscape of modern mapmaking.

​Fully updated for the digital age, this new edition of How to Lie with Maps examines the myriad ways that technology offers new opportunities for cartographic mischief, deception, and propaganda. While retaining the same brevity, range, and humor as its predecessors, this third edition includes significant updates throughout as well as new chapters on image maps, prohibitive cartography, and online maps. It also includes an expanded section of color images and an updated list of sources for further reading. 
 
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cover of Hurricane Pioneer: Memoirs of Bob Simpson

Hurricane Pioneer

Memoirs of Bob Simpson

Robert H. Simpson with Neal M. Dorst

American Meteorological Society, 2014

In 1951, Robert H. Simpson lifted off in a specially-equipped plane, flying directly into the path of a storm that would send most people running for cover. For more than four hours he observed Typhoon Marge from its eerily calm eye, later describing it in The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society as “a coliseum of clouds whose walls on one side rose vertically and on the other were banked like the galleries in a great opera house.”

For Simpson this was just one of his many pioneering explorations of hurricanes and extreme storms. Over his decades-long career his research led to great leaps in our understanding of tropical meteorology and our approach to hurricane safety. He was the first director of the National Hurricane Research Project and the second director of the National Hurricane Center, though he may be best known as co-creator of the widely used Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, familiar to anyone who has heard a reporter use the words “category five.”

Simpson’s memoirs take readers from his experience with the Corpus Christi hurricane of 1919 to his travels to study weather across the globe. Along the way he crosses paths with other weather greats, including his trailblazing wife, meteorologist Joanne Simpson. Hurricane Pioneer is a riveting first-hand account at a revolutionary time in meteorology.
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