The Little Book of Planet Earth by Rolf Meissner

Even though I am not a geologist, this little book appealed to me, because there is so much to learn about our earth. At the end of the preface, the author Rolf Meissner introduces the book with these words: "This book presents the current state of research on our planet's evolution and structure."

Starting with the evolution of scientific thought, Meissner provides vital information about the geological development of our planet together with its moon, from the time of its birth to the present. He says, "Looking back at 7 to 8 billion years of pre-solar and pre-terrestrial history, it was the very beginning--the solar nebula, created by a supernova--which provided the iron for the Earth's core. The iron in our blood and the calcium in our bones and teeth also go back to this giant explosion." This little paragraph alone is food for thought for any earthling.

Meissner agrees with Heraclitus's claim that everything moves. The book--in its entirety--addresses the role of seismology, earth's magnetic field, plate tectonics, the formation of mountain ranges and basins, earth's rotation, shape, gravity, tides, minerals, rocks, formation of the atmosphere, radioactive dating and the application of its techniques, carbon dating, the crust of the earth and its depth, petroleum exploration and exploitation techniques, coal and other resources, evolution of life, the last 600 million years, human evolution and climate, nuclear energy, and our limited resources.

Written in clear, concise language, the book consists of fifteen chapters with a preface and acknowledgements in the beginning and an epilogue, a further reading list, and an index at the end. Inside the book are numerous illustrations, charts, and photographs.

Meissner's instructional style is flawless, also. He first introduces a subject; then, after giving information about what has happened around that subject, he explains it in detail, making the information easy to understand by the lay people.

The Little Book of Planet Earth is 192 pages with ISBN-10: 0387952586 and ISBN-13: 978-0387952581.

The author Rolf Meissner is a meteorologist and a professor of geophysics. After teaching in the University of Mainz in Germany and the University of Hawaii, he worked as a researcher at the Institute of Geophysics of Kiel University in Germany where his research centered on the structure and the evolution of the earth's crust, natural resources, and the composition and structure of planets. He retired in 1996.
A few of his books are:

The Continental Crust: A Geophysical Approach (International Geophysics Series)

Geschichte der Erde

Continental Lithosphere: Deep Seismic Reflections (Geodynamics Series) 

In spite of being a layperson, I have enjoyed this book thoroughly. The chapter on biological evolution mesmerized me, while the other chapters did not stay far behind. I recommend this book to anyone who has a bit of curiosity about the earth, and I feel everyone needs to take an interest in the subject, because it may help the understanding of changes our planet has started to experience.