Summary
From Earth's two longest rivers, which flow through African deserts and Amazon jungles, to Siberia's great Yenisei-Angara river system, which drains into the Arctic Ocean, this appealing new book vividly brings the world's great waterways into focus. Students will discover how these rivers came to exist, their place in history, what makes each unusual, and current environmental challenges. "In the Field" sidebars cover such topics as monitoring salinity, measuring flow, drilling for oil, ice breakers in action, and more. Photographs, line illustrations, a scientific glossary, and resource listings for further information handsomely supplement the text.
Specifications
Black-and-white photographs and line illustrations. 8-page, full-color insert. Further reading. Web sites. Sidebars. Glossary. Index.
About the Author(s)
Laurie Burnham is a former editor of Scientific American, a former editorial director of Shearwater
Books, and the author of numerous scientific articles related to evolution and the environment. She currently consults for Harvard University's Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, provides content advice to Twin Cities Public Television, and teaches editing at the University of Minnesota.
The foreword was written by Geoffrey H. Nash, a geologists with wide experience in surface mapping of rock formations, oil and gas exploration, environmental engineering, and surface water quality. Nash also has interests in paleontology, fossils, and natural selection. He received a B.A. from Knox College in Illinois and an M.B.A. from Boston University.