Origin and Structure of the Earth

Abstract

DR. JEFFREY'S book on the earth will be very welcome to the many who are interested in the larger dynamical aspects of our planet, in its present and past states. The book may be divided roughly into three nearly equal parts, dealing respectively with the origin and past history of the earth (considered as a basis for conclusions about its present condition), the theory of isostasy and of the surface features, and, finally, various miscellaneous subjects-seismology, the figures of the earth and moon, tidal friction, and the variation of latitude. Despite the generality of the title given to the book, many branches of geophysics are not touched on at all-terrestrial magnetism and electricity, general tidal theory, and meteorology. This was almost inevitable in a book of comparatively small size, particularly since its aim is not to be merely descriptive, but rather to give in some detail the mathematical reasons for the hypotheses adopted.

The Earth: its Origin, History, and Physical Constitution.

By Dr. Harold Jeffreys. Pp. x + 278. (Cambridge: at the University Press, 1924.) 16s. net.