Review by Choice Review
McSween (Univ. of Tennessee) and his coauthors wrote Planetary Geoscience in part to create a suitable text for their upper-level undergraduate course of the same name. Although well organized and clearly written, it reviews much information at such a brisk pace that it will challenge all but the best-prepared undergraduates. The three areas that receive the most extensive coverage (multiple chapters) are tools widely used by planetary scientists (e.g., spectroscopy, age dating); physical processes in planetary interiors (e.g., melt generation, active versus stagnant lids); and surface processes (e.g., weathering, wind, mass wasting). Additional chapters are devoted to allied topics: the formation of the solar system and its material makeup; impact cratering; planetary atmospheres; and astrobiology. There are no global summaries of what we know about individual planetary objects, with one exception: the last chapter recaps what we've learned about Mars. The book is profusely illustrated with full color diagrams and photographic renderings of many geochemical and geophysical particulars. Each chapter concludes with key references and study questions. Overall, this work provides a good and very up-to-date account, from acknowledged experts, of how traditional ways of doing geology are now being extended to understand a diverse array of bodies throughout the solar system. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. --Bruce M. Simonson, emeritus, Oberlin College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
