Approximately 200 years of the history of the development of the study of geology.

Examples are the nature of Earth's oldest rocks, the origin of continents, extraterrestrial impact and mass extinctions of organisms, rates of organic evolution, and recent developments on the origin of humans.

The fossil record; The record of the sedimentary rocks; Precambrian eras; Paleozoic era; North America; World outside North America; Paleozoic life; The mesozoic era; Mesozoic life; Gondwana formations; The cenozoic era; Cenozoic life; Pleistocene epoch; Introduction to animals and plants.

Geology gives a detailed study of rock-forming minerals and the rocks that are formed by it. The text analyses the forces which act on and within rocks. This subject belongs to physical geology. Historical geology is also covered in the book. This study explores the fossil content of the rock and reconstructs the earth’s history over the past million years. The subjects encourage the reader to go out and examine his surroundings. First chapter of the book focuses on the description of earth. Topics such as the shape, size, and motions of the earth are discussed. The second chapter of the text covers the chemical composition of minerals. Crystal system, crystallography, and crystal habits are included in the chapter. The physical properties and different types of minerals are also analyzed. Volcanism and all aspects of volcanoes are reviewed. The formation of soil and weathering is the topic of another chapter. The book will provide useful information to geologists, mineralogists, volcanologists, students and researchers of geology.

In James Hutton and the History of Geology, Dennis R. Dean provides a more accurate and complete account of Hutton's major geological writings than any that has hitherto appeared. He examines the growth and development of Hutton's thought in the light of his training and experience in medicine, agriculture, and philosophy, locating him within the intellectual milieux of Edinburgh at the height of the Scottish Enlightenment.