Rising from the plains

A powerful book on how politics and finance can take great discoveries in geology and twist them around to be used against humanity in the furtherance of war and the gain of wealth. A story similar to the development of nuclear energy. Ron Tambor

Wyoming's full of ignorant people. We've thousands of cowboys who wear their Stetsons and brag of their toughness but who could never make it on the range and who probably don't even know how to saddle a horse. We've ranchers who hate the government but bellyache when their (over)grazing allotment checks arrive late. We've old, white, male politicians who scam the system for their own greed but who have little sympathy for the downtrodden, those without health insurance, for example. These same old, white, male politicians think they know better how a woman should control her body than the woman herself. And we've more trumpers, tea partiers, reactionaries, and just plain stupid people than tons of coal, almost.
But, as John McPhee notes in this great little book, we've a geologic record just about second-to-none. A lot of earth's geologic history happens to lie on and under the 97,000 plus square miles of the (almost) rectangular state. "Wyoming suggests with emphasis the page-one principle of reading in rock the record of the earth: surface appearances are only that," says McPhee (p 29 of the paperback edition). So he and famed geologist and Wyoming native David Love travel the state from Pine Bluffs to Yellowstone and a lot of places in between.
You'll learn a lot about Wyoming's early settlers, including David Love's (Wellesley College) mother and (Scots) father. And you'll learn a whole lot about the Equality State's geology.

Another excellent book by John McPhee. This is about geology, specifically Wyoming geology, but it's also about David Love, an apparently legendary geologist. I say apparently because I don't know anything about geology. Much of the book went over my head. But within the story of Wyoming's geology is the story of David Love and his family - his parents' courtship and marriage, his childhood and college years, his love for his home state, the tension he felt between his environmentalism and his discovery of useful "products" of the land. Those bits I could understand.

I always say this: John McPhee can make any topic interesting.

Very interesting and well-written non-fiction book about the Wyoming and Montana area's geography and the geologist who studied it. Don't ask me to tell you about the geography but this book is worth reading.

Very interesting account of the geology of Wyoming! I really enjoyed all the facts, like why the Wyoming rivers have strange paths, and how Union Pacific got a leg up due to a route in Wyoming, and why people in Pinedale have accelerated tooth decay. I love geology because it literally underlies everything, and this book highlighted that.

Third book in the series, traversing Wyoming, coming out of the plains and into the mountains. McPhee's mix of contemporary travel and social/geologic history is, as always, interesting, dramatic, and informative. Having read (out of order) #4, Assembling California, I am ready for the final volume, Annals of the Former World!

Western history, memoir, geography, and of course, geology. All mixed into one relatively slim volume. People who have vivid mental maps of Wyoming, and have driven I-80 (preferably many times) will be the most avid readers. As I read, I kept wondering why the author/publisher didn't use illustrations. Verbal descriptions of geologic features aren't nearly as instructive as one good drawing. There is a map, but it's pretty general.

Another criticism -- there isn't an Index, which is an omission I don't understand. I know I'll want to refer back to specific discussions, so I ended up making my own brief index, including topics such as selenium, Larmide Orogeny, Never Summer Mountains (in Colorado), Hayden (and watercress), trona, antelope trap ... all referring to tidbits of info that I found interesting.

And here's one quote:

p 195 Before the federal Bureau of Reclamation built a dam there, Flaming Gorge was one of the scenic climaxes of the American West -- a 700 ft canyon in arching Triassic red beds so bright they did indeed suggest flame. ... Some of the high water penetrates beds of trona.

Trona. I'd never heard of it. McPhee explains that trona is 'sodium sesquicarbontate' used in ceramics and textiles, pulp and paper, iron and steel, and most especially, glass. Mining of this mineral has released a lot of salt into the environment, which of course is never good. And to think that I'd never heard of the stuff.

This isn't a book I'd read for pleasure. A few pages at a time were plenty. I had about convinced myself not to pick up another one of his books, but I've changed my mind. I'll watch for a book about an area that I'm more familiar with.

''Most maps are patched together from various papers and reports. Dave has looked at all the rock. It's all in one mind. Most geologic maps are maps of time, not rocks."
-- Malcolm McKenna, quoted in John McPhee's Rising from the Plains



I am nearly finished with the individual portions of Annals of the Former World (Basin and Range ☑, In Suspect Terrain ☑, Assembling California ☑). All I have left is to read the section 'Crossing the Craton' (a forty-page addition to his 40th parallel/I-80 project that filled in the blank in the map and allowed the publishers of 'Annals of the Former World' some additional McPhee text not found in the four main books/sections previously published to incentivize McPhee's fans to fork out the addtional $35 in 1998 to get the whole brilliant McPhee mess).

I read these books a little out of order over a little over the last year. I started off well with 'Basin & Range', 'In Suspect Terrain', but then jumped to 'Assembling California' since a couple of weeks ago I was going to be driving through California and figured it would be nice to have some geology of the geography I was going to be driving through next to me.

While I was a little disappointed with 'Assembling California', I loved 'Rising from the Plains'. I don't know if it was a return to my roots (Wyoming and Snake River and Mormon Country), or the fact that this book seemed just to excite McPhee more. You could tell he loved the Loves (David Love: Yale educated geologist, cowboy; John Love: David's father, mirthful Scot rancher/cowboy, nephew of John Muir; Ethel Waxham Love: David's mother, teacher, writer). He threads this family's golden personality and history with the geology and geography of Wyoming.

These books are dangerous and should not be given to children. I am keeping them locked up with my William S. Burroughs, Henry Miller, etc. If my son or daughter (no field geology sexist me) were to discover these McPhee books too young (s)he might just grow up to be a passionate field geologist. Reading this as I near my 40s, McPhee almost makes me want to take up a hammer, hop on a horse, and ride into the mountains.

I give it four stars, simply because 'Coming into the Country' still exists for me as a slightly better book, but I think the combined energy of all of the 'Annals' is definitely amazing.

Oh, this book was very close to being a 5-star read, but McPhee just got too technical for a novice like me toward the end. Still, I feel blessed to have read this book and the McPhee cared enough about the state I live in to spend the time to write it. For anyone who loves Wyoming or loves geology or both!

A first rate introduction to the geology of Wyoming. John McPhee's superb writing skills are noticable.

This was my first John McPhee book. After reading other reviews of his work and seeing how many people love his writing, I was not disappointed by this book. His writing style coupled with the fascinating subject of geology made this a delight to read. I can't wait to read another one of his books.

McPhee writes excellent nonfiction. Although the geology terminology and explanations were quite technical, I was able to follow the major themes and some threads of information about the geological history of Wyoming. The story of the Wyoming geologist and his family interspersed through the more technical writing makes this an engaging work of nonfiction. If one is familiar with or has an interest in the Wyoming of today, the book is a good read.