GLOBAL JIGSAW PUZZLE: The Story of Continental Drift

by Irene Kiefer ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 1978

Less technical than H. Arthur Klein's formidable Oceans and Continents in Motion (1972), with less personality-oriented early history of the theory than Anderson's Drifting Continents (1971) and Golden's sprightly Moving Continents (1972), and (at 70 illustrated pages) shorter than all three-this second-generation YA introduction does allot more attention to recent (1950s on) investigation, research methodology, and refinement of concepts (i.e., Morgan's suggestion of a ""plume"" of rising hot rock to supplement simple convection in accounting for sea-floor spreading). Mostly though, this will be appreciated for its businesslike concision in summarizing the standard arguments and evidence (from the continents' ""jigsaw fit"" on), and in explaining such matters as the different mechanisms of mountain-range formation and the paleomagnetic ""proof"" of drift. And, like Fodor (YNF, above), but with a few more specifics, Kiefer ends with projected ""practical applications"" of plate tectonics which were not considered in the earlier books.

Pub Date: April 19, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION