I just couldn't get into it. ( )

“Take a pebble. A slate pebble, say, from a beach in Wales. Look at its rich grey, cut by veins of white quartz. Look closely. There are other markings too…”

The Planet in a Pebble is the story of the Earth as determined from a single pebble, from the depth of time and across the far reaches of space to its current existence. The many events in the Earth’s past that can be deciphered from the subject pebble include: the Big-Bang; solar system creation; planet creation; volcanic eruptions; magnetic fields, the lives and deaths of extinct organic species; the nature of long-vanished oceans; transformations in the depth of the earth; the creation of fool’s gold and of oil; and tectonics.

Jan Zalasiewicz demonstrates, in an accessible and lyrical manner, how geologists reach deep into the Earth's past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral matter to discover aspects of Earth’s history. However, while the writing style is entertaining and accessible, there is some technical vocabulary that may be confusing for non-geologists, but this can’t be helped in a book like this. None of this technical vocabulary is incomprehensible with a bit of application of grey matter.

The author shows how many stories are crammed into each and every pebble around us, no matter how ordinary the pebble. But this pebble is also a part of the Earth’s amazing journey through time.
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In this book intended for armchair geologists, Zalasiewicz traces the journey of one Welsh pebble from the creation of the earth through the earth's demise in 13 vignettes. He discusses topics such as plate tectonics, the specific minerals that make up layers of the pebble, life on the ocean floor, creation of mountains, fossilization of various creatures that could be found in the pebble, etc. I think it was clever to limit the book to the experience of creating one pebble from the very beginnings of our planet, but sometimes I lost the thread of the pebble's experience in the midst of the science discussed.

Overall, Zalasiewicz's writing is very accessible to the layperson. I've been interested in geology since I started doing a lot of hiking, but don't know much about it except what I learned in a college gen ed lovingly termed "rocks for jocks" by the students because it was known for being easy to pass. I found that, though the words were all understandable, the concepts presented in this book are very difficult. Trying to wrap my head around the creation of our planet and the vast amounts of time that are discussed here was somewhat overwhelming. Both the extremely tiny and the largest movements on our planet are discussed - it's crazy to think about.

As I think about what I learned from this book, I have a feeling that it is one of those books that taught me more than I could actually put into words. I think it's a good piece of the puzzle when taken together with other books I've read, like Richard Fortey's Earth, or books I intend to read, like John McPhee's Annals of a Former World.

I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in the topic. ( )

Zalasiewicz provides a constantly astonishing account of the development of our planet from the Big Bang to the present and beyond to Earth's final (or final perhaps) dissolution. Told from the retrospect of a Welsh slate pebble, which evolves in parallel with Earth, and indeed with Wales, as we know it. Not the least of the virtues of Zalasiewicz' text is his account of climate change on a cosmological time scale. Planet in a Pebble is a wonderful companion to Zalasiewicz The Earth After Us and probably best read before that book. Both require a basic high school knowledge of chemistry, geology and physics. Zalasiewicz writes with engaging eloquence and clarity. ( )

Geologist Zalasiewicz tells the story of how a pebble is created. It could be any pebble, but for purposes of illustration, this one is from a beach in Wales. In telling that story, he tells the geology story of the entire earth. He starts with the stardust from which the planet was created and goes through to the pebble tossed along the Welsh shore, and then into the future and the eventual destruction of the planet.

What was great about this book is that it was not written in an academic tone, but instead is very readable and at times even funny. However, it still covers a scientific topic, and at times I did get lost in all the geological terms (I know it sounds like I may have contradicted myself there, but really, I didn't. As an English lit-history-art type person, I do get overwhelmed by science talk more quickly than I care to admit.) The book read like a script for an episode of Nova, and to tell you the truth, I would have benefited from some Nova graphics and illustrations.

Recommended for: geology geeks, armchair geologists. ( )