The Essential Earth is a whole new way to open students’ eyes to the physical world around them, to learn how scientists explore it, and what we need to do to both protect ourselves from it (hazards) as well as protect it from us (global change). In just 14 chapters, it offers a well-focused introduction to the basics of geology that emphasize the process of science and how humans interact with our home, Spaceship Earth.

The Essential Earth is NOT an abridged version of Understanding Earth, cowritten by the same authors. It is a wholly re-envisioned book, written specifically for instructors who want a scientifically sound text that a non-scientific audience will embrace—one that is clearer, briefer, more exciting, and less expensive that anything else available.