Earthshock: Hurricanes, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, and Other Forces of Nature

Andrew Robinson does a wonderful job of coupling easy to understand text with explosively colorful visual imagery to create a book that can be enjoyed by either the novice naturalist or the most educated expert. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on earthquakes and volcanoes where he graphically depicts the geophysics behind the natural phenomenon and couples the graphs with brilliant pictures, allowing the reader to visually and geophysically relate to these topics.

I found this book fascinating. The text was easy to understand, written in plain English rather than pseudoscientific gibberish, and was accompanied by excellent maps, photos and illustrations. I was particularly fond of the sections regarding asteroid collisions, global warming, and the next ice age. (Who would have thought Regency England had a mini ice age?)