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A Crack in the Edge of the World

America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
Jun 03, 2017zipread rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
There is no mistaking the fact that Winchester is knowledgeable and engaging author with a sizeable repertoire of books to his credit: most of them about topics few authors would dare to tackle: Atlantic, Pacific. One would not be surprised to see him take on the Cosmos as a topic. (Done by someone else you say? "Crack" shows the author to be not merely an accomplished writer of prose; in fact often enough Winchester's prose verges on poetry and lyricism. Who could have guessed that dull old Geology could become such a musical subject? When it comes to the crack at the edge of the world, when it comes to California and the San Andreas Fault; when it comes to Plate Tectonics and the theory of Continental Drift one must, however, ask, is there anything new here? To a large measure: no. It would not surprise me to learn that this theory is now taught in Kindergarten with Plasticine and construction paper. So, it the book still worth reading? By all means. It's about the details. Its about the personalities, the geologists, the scientists. What you learned in school was bare bones. This book is about the flesh. Dig in. This book features an extensive bibliography.