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Environmental and Engineering Geoscience

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A Practical Guide to the Study of Glacial Sediments

(David J. A. Evans and Douglas I. Benn)

¹ Department of Geology, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3 Canada

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

David Evans and Douglas Benn's A Practical Guide to the Study of Glacial Sediments (2004) is the much-anticipated follow-up to the authors' earlier book Glaciers and Glaciation (1998). Many consider their earlier book to be the best publication on the subject since Flint's text (1971), and I am happy to report that the authors have produced another book of that quality.

As the title implies, the book is intended as a practical guide for the study of glacial sediments, and the authors succeed in getting relevant information to the reader succinctly and practicably. The book comprises nine chapters grouped into topical sections edited by Evans and Benn, with contributions from their colleagues at the Universities of Glasgow and St. Andrews. Unlike most books with multiple-authored sections, the sections flow seamlessly together, providing a laddered approach to the fundamentals of the study of sediments. Commonly, such multiple-authored works vary widely in writing style, but this work holds together well, as the major theme and template of subject presentation are maintained throughout.

The initial chapter contains a short discussion of the objectives and scope of the book. Most readers are inclined to skip over an introductory chapter to get to the specific topic of interest. However, included in the chapter is a refreshing discussion of the philosophy of critical thinking in scientific investigation, inductive and deductive processes, and the use of analogues, with subtle encouragement for . . . [Full Text of this Article]