PalmerBR.Journal of Sedimentary Research

JJoouurrnnaall ooff SSeeddiimmeennttaarryy RReesseeaarrcchh An International Journal of SEPM Colin P. North and Kitty L. Milliken, Editors A. J. (Tom) van Loon, Associate Editor for Book Reviews Review accepted 28 March 2005 Perilous Planet Earth -... More

JJoouurrnnaall ooff SSeeddiimmeennttaarryy RReesseeaarrcchh An International Journal of SEPM Colin P. North and Kitty L. Milliken, Editors A. J. (Tom) van Loon, Associate Editor for Book Reviews Review accepted 28 March 2005 Perilous Planet Earth - Catastrophes and Catastrophism through the Ages, by Trevor Palmer, 2003. Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, United Kingdom. Hardcover, 369 pages text, 129 pages notes, 20 pages index, 44 figures. Price GB^ 45. 00. ISBN 0-521-81928-8. To succinctly characterise the book under consideration, the following quotation from its author is appropriate: "Two particular historical aspects are considered. Firstly, the book looks at the way in which prevailing views about modes of global change have changed dramatically over the years. The move away from support for change through relatively rare catastrophic events, toward theories of uniformity and incremental change, is charted. The author then discusses Less