Charles F. Barker has creatively filled a niche in the annals of New England geology. With great metaphors and abundant, clear and engaging illustrations, he brings 500 million years of geology home to the reader. While geared to upper elementary aged young people, adults, even professional geologists, will find this book interesting. Dr. Barker takes us from moving tectonic plates to glaciers, ground water, sea levels, and even the geologic underpinning of the "Big Dig," and he weaves his story with poetry quotes, a bit of Latin, and some very effective analogies. Teachers of all ages will love this book for themselves and their students. This is an impressive work. It covers a vast amount of geologic time and events clearly and creatively. I loved the engaging artwork and analogies, as well as the quotations from Frost, Dickinson, Thoreau and others. Kudos to Dr. Barker!
Charles F. Barker
Charles Barker is a geologist with an undergraduate degree in geology from Arizona State University, and a graduate degree in Geology from Boston University. He has been drawing and painting since childhood, and enjoys combining Geology and art in his books.
After graduating from Arizona State, he worked on the Geophysical Research Vessel SEAMARK mapping the seafloor offshore California. For his master’s thesis at Boston University, he studied the tidal hydraulics of the Scarboro River Inlet in Southern Maine (serendipitously, only steps from Winslow Homer’s studio, his favorite artist).
He now works at an environmental consulting firm in Detroit, investigating sites of soil and groundwater contamination, and air quality issues. He also teaches introductory geology at Wayne State University where he is part-time faculty in the Geology Department.
