The field of physical geology continues to evolve with new tools, new ideas, new approaches. And Understanding Earth - always the leader in innovation - continues to evolve, too. Working closely with Frank Press and Ray Siever, the new co-authors, John Grotzinger and Tom Jordan, have introduced a wealth of recent data and applications to keep the science in the text on the cutting edge.
Yet, the 4th edition effectively fulfills the book's enduring goal: to help students understand what physical geology teaches us about the world and what it brings to our lives. More than any other introductory physical geology textbook, Understanding Earth is designed to bring the worldview of the working geologist to an audience not only new to this specific field, but in many cases to science in general. Students aren't merely presented with concepts and processes - they come to learn how we know what we know, and how that knowledge impacts their lives as citizens and consumers.
A student website is available at: http://whfreeman.com/understandingearth/
An instructor's website is available at: http://whfreeman.com/understandingearth/
Supplements:
Study Guide 0-7167-5776-1
Lecture Notebook 0-7167-5778-8
Instructor's Resource Manual 0-7167-5781-8
Instructor's resource CD with Powerpoint presentations 0-7167-5782-6
Slide Set with Lecture Notes 0-7167-5779-6
Overhead Transparency Set 0-7167-5780-X
Test Bank with 1,200 multiple-choice questions (CD-ROM 0-7167-5783-4 & printed version 0-7167-5784-2)

'I think this is an absolutely outstanding book, far ahead of anything I have encountered in my several decades as a teacher' - John Feehan , University College Dublin, UK

PART 1: THE DYNAMIC EARTH
In the Beginning and Now
Plate Tectonics: The Unifying Theory
PART II: ROCKS, DEFORMATION, AND THE GEOLOGIC RECORD
Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks
Rocks: The Products of Geologic Processes
Igneous Rocks: Solids from Melts
Volcanism
Weathering and Erosion
Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
The Rock Record and the Geologic Time Scale
Folds, Faults, and Other Records of Rock Deformation
PART III: SURFACE PROCESSES: INTERACTIONS OF CLIMATE AND ROCKS
Mass Wasting
The Hydrologic Cycle and Groundwater
Streams: Transport to the Oceans
Winds and Deserts
Glaciers: The Work of Ice
Marine Processes
Landscapes: Tectonic and Climate Interactions
PART IV: INTERNAL PROCESSES, EXTERNAL EFFECTS
Earthquakes
Evolution of the Continents
Exploring Earth's Interior
PART V: EARTH SYSTEMS AND SOCIETY
Geobiology
Energy and Mineral Resources from the Earth
Earth Systems and Human Impacts

FRANK PRESS has made pioneering contributions to the fields of geophysics, oceanography, lunar and planetary sciences and natural resource exploration.
He has been named most influential scientist in the U.S by U.S.News& World Report surveys three times and is currently with the Washington Advisory Group

RAYMOND SIEVER is an internationally known expert in sedimentary petrology, geo-chemistry, and the evolution of oceans and the atmosphere. he is a long-time memeber of Harvard University's department of earth and Planetary Sciences

JOHN GROTZINGER researches the chemical development of the early oceans and atmosphere and the environmental context of early animal evolution at MIT

THOMAS H.JORDAN is based at the University of Southern California where his specialist topics include the nature of plate-tectonic flow and the question of mantle stratification