Rocks, more than anything else, underpin our lives. They make up the solid structure of the Earth and of other rocky planets, and are present at the cores of gas giant planets. We live on the rocky surface of the planet, grow our food on weathered debris derived from rocks, and we obtain nearly all of the raw materials with which we found our civilization from rocks. From the Earth's crust to building bricks, rocks contain our sense of planetary history, and are a
guide to our future. In this Very Short Introduction Jan Zalasiewicz looks at the nature and variety of rocks, and the processes by which they are formed. Starting from the
origin of rocks and their key role in the formation of the Earth, he considers what we know about the deep rocks of the mantle and core, and what rocks can tell us about the evolution of the Earth, and looks at those found in outer space and on other planets. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a
new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Rocks, more than anything else, underpin our lives. They make up the solid structure of the Earth and of other rocky planets, and are present at the cores of gas giant planets. We live on the rocky surface of the planet, grow our food on weathered debris derived from rocks, and we obtain nearly all of the raw materials with which we found our civilization from rocks. From the Earth's crust to building bricks, rocks contain our sense of planetary history, and are a
guide to our future. In this Very Short Introduction Jan Zalasiewicz looks at the nature and variety of rocks, and the processes by which they are formed. Starting from the
origin of rocks and their key role in the formation of the Earth, he considers what we know about the deep rocks of the mantle and core, and what rocks can tell us about the evolution of the Earth, and looks at those found in outer space and on other planets. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a
new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Preface
1: Primordial rocks
2: First rocks on a dead Earth
3: Earth surface processes: the making of sedimentary rocks
4: Rock transformations: the story of metamorphism
5: Rocks in the deep
6: Living rocks, evolving rocks
7: Rocks on other planets
8: Human-made rocks
Further reading
Index
Dr Jan Zalasiewicz is Professor of Palaeobiology at the University
of Leicester, having previously worked at the British Geological
Survey. A field geologist, palaeontologist and stratigrapher, he
teaches various aspects of geology and Earth history to
undergraduate and postgraduate students, and is a researcher into
fossil ecosystems and environments across over half a billion years
of geological time. He has published over a hundred papers in
scientific journals
and is the author of several books for OUP, including The Earth
After Us (2008), The Planet in a Pebble (2012) and, with co-author
Mark Williams, The Goldilocks Planet (2012) and Ocean Worlds
(2014).
This is a thorough and succinct account, accessible to all who
would like a concise introduction on a wide and highly researched
topic -- rocks... Zalasiewicz is a great storyteller who captures
your imagination as concepts are explained using straightforward
prose.
*Amy-Jo Miles, Geoscientist*
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