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Assembling California Audiobook
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(4.01) - 1,553 listener ratings
Publisher Description
At various times in a span of fifteen years, John McPhee made geological field surveys in the company of Eldridge Moores, a tectonicist at the University of California at Davis. The result of these trips is Assembling California, a cross-section in human and geologic time, from Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada through the golden foothills of the Mother Lode and across the Great Central Valley to the wine country of the Coast Ranges, the rock of San Francisco, and the San Andreas family of faults. The two disparate time scales occasionally intersect—in the gold disruptions of the nineteenth century no less than in the earthquakes of the twentieth—and always with relevance to a newly understood geologic history in which half a dozen large and separate pieces of country are seen to have drifted in from far and near to coalesce as California. McPhee and Moores also journeyed to remote mountains of Arizona and to Cyprus and northern Greece, where rock of the deep-ocean floor has been transported into continental settings, as it has in California. Global in scope and a delight to read, Assembling California is a sweeping narrative of maps in motion, of evolving and dissolving lands.
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"More than a book about California geology. Includes history of California Gold Rush and discovery of plate tectonics in the 1960s. I am listening to the book so trying to visualize the formations the author talks about is challenging but there are hardly any illustrations in the hard copy anyway."
— Susan (5 out of 5 stars)
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“In his usual clean, graceful prose, McPhee takes readers on an intensive geological tour of California, from the Sierra Nevada through wine country to the San Andreas fault system.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“[McPhee] has a talent for relating complex concepts in a simple, interesting manner.”
— Library Journal
Assembling California Listener Reviews
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" My only criticism is that I would have liked more visual material. Otherwise, an informative read. "
— Denise, 2/9/2014 -
" His description of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, tracing the seismic waves from the epicenter and depicting what happened along their route, is spellbinding and terrifying. I loved the portion about the Gold Rush too. "
— Kathleen, 2/5/2014 -
" Creative non-fiction style essays about the geologic and human/cultural history of California. I always enjoy John McPhee's writing, whatever the topic. "
— Beth, 1/29/2014 -
" Ankle Mary was dead on. Rhythmic and really beautifully written for being about, essentially, continental drift and mountain formation. Not sure how much I got out of it, but enjoyable reading. Also, Annie do not read this unless you're about to leave/have already left the Bay Area. "
— Margaret, 1/22/2014 -
" Geology is never far from the minds of Californians, and this book uses that as a template for exploring California. "
— Valerie, 1/17/2014 -
" Classic John McPhee but still enjoyable, perfect after visiting southern California. Great line: "Here is the one thing to remember from reading this book, the rock on top of Everest is marine limestone." "
— Faye, 1/6/2014 -
" so far it is a popular geological history of california, from east to west on I-80. The chapter on the gold rush era mining was entertaining and sort of sad from an environmental point of view. "
— Heather, 12/16/2013 -
" Like all McPhee books, I learned so, so much--about geology, about politics, about water, about geography. Fascinating stuff. "
— Sharonlee, 12/15/2013 -
" Full of delicious nuggets - chert, diabases, gabbro, variolitic basalts, serpentine, ophiolites, protopangaea, plate-tectonic history, transform faults, volcanology, earthquakology, crust, pebbles, faults, dust - it's the colission of geek geology love and writerly prowess. "
— Tim, 12/10/2013 -
" The description of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which I experienced myself, was incredibly interesting. "
— Janet, 11/27/2013 -
" Fabulous, gripping book. Reading this book makes me wonder why I found geology so boring when I was in public school. Now, despite all the science, it was hard to put this book down. I must read more in this geology series. "
— Mardel, 5/27/2013 -
" A multiple-year project to finish this author's Annals of The Former World series ends with completion of this book. It's a fantastic series, and this book is among the best. "
— Vaughn, 5/19/2013 -
" Fascinating discussion of the geologic history of CA. We fly a lot so the book has provided me new insight into the terrain I am watching. "
— Natasha, 7/15/2012 -
" I have read this book - and then again within Annals of a Former World - at least 4 times. It's a book about geology. It is also one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. "
— Arjun, 7/4/2012 -
" McPhee's writing, even on technical subjects like geology, is lucid and powerful. It's a pleasure to learn something from such a word artist. "
— Gary, 11/25/2011 -
" Makes you want to drive/hike/paddle to see many of the formations he describes. A great scientific history of CA for a recent transplant. "
— Stowe, 9/28/2011 -
" Boring but weirdly gripping. No relation. "
— Taft-McPhee, 9/13/2011 -
" this book is great. had to slog through it over a few months, but JESUS! how i learned!! california geology compressed, FINALLY! and no shortage of microbuses or seaweedy beaches either. "
— Gina, 7/7/2011 -
" Interesting information about California Geology. Needs more diagrams to be considered a "science book." John McPhee writes great literature though. "
— Deirdre, 6/30/2011 -
" Boring but weirdly gripping. No relation. "
— Taft-McPhee, 5/7/2011 -
" Well, I liked it. But I'm glad I had some of the vocaublary down before starting, or I would have been trotting off to the dictionary all the time. Geology for poets? "
— Jonelle, 4/20/2011 -
" Classic John McPhee but still enjoyable, perfect after visiting southern California. Great line: "Here is the one thing to remember from reading this book, the rock on top of Everest is marine limestone." "
— Faye, 3/31/2011 -
" The content is great, but the writing is too dry. "
— Brigid, 12/7/2010 -
" Makes you want to drive/hike/paddle to see many of the formations he describes. A great scientific history of CA for a recent transplant. "
— Stowe, 8/12/2010 -
" such a good book, such a good writer. the ending is incredible. wow. "
— Carrie, 8/2/2010 -
" The description of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which I experienced myself, was incredibly interesting. "
— Janet, 1/23/2010 -
" Interesting information about California Geology. Needs more diagrams to be considered a "science book." John McPhee writes great literature though. "
— Deirdre, 11/19/2009 -
" A multiple-year project to finish this author's Annals of The Former World series ends with completion of this book. It's a fantastic series, and this book is among the best. <br/> "
— Vaughn, 6/12/2009
About John McPhee
John McPhee is the award-winning author of thirty books, including Annals of the Former World, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1999. Encounters with the Archdruid and The Curve of Binding Energy were nominated for National Book Award in the category of science. He received the Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters in 1977. His writing career began at Time magazine and led to his long association with the New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965.
About Nelson Runger
Nelson Runger’s voice has been recorded in dozens of audio productions and won him two AudioFile Earphones Awards. His ability to convey difficult, scholarly material with eloquence and ease has earned him critical acclaim, including an AudioFile Best Voice in Biography & History for his reading of Nixon and Kissinger.