Annals of the Former World is the result of a 20-year journey. During that time, John McPhee, author of 25 books and noted writer for The New Yorker, crisscrossed the United States, roughly following the 40th parallel. The geological insights and wonderful descriptions McPhee packed into his accounts of these trips earned his remarkable book a Pulitzer Prize. The third part, Rising From the Plains, takes McPhee to the high country of Utah along the...

The ground beneath our feet feels sturdy and still, but Earth is actually covered in moving plates. These large plates make up the outer layer of Earth's surface and sit on top of another layer made up of molten rock. Borders between two plates are often the site of earthquakes and volcanoes. The plates can slide against each other, crash into each other, move apart, and even create mountains. There is so much to learn about what's going on beneath...

"Famed geologist Walter Alvarez expands our view of human history by revealing the cosmic, geologic, and evolutionary forces that have shaped us. Big History, the field that studies the entire known past of our universe to give context to human existence, has so far been the domain of historians. In The Little Book of Big History, geologist Walter Alvarez--best known for his 'Impact Theory' explaining dinosaur extinction--makes a compelling case for...