Timefulness

By Marcia Bjornerud,

Book cover of Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World

Book description

Why an awareness of Earth's temporal rhythms is critical to our planetary survival

Few of us have any conception of the enormous timescales of our planet's long history, and this narrow perspective underlies many of the environmental problems we are creating. The lifespan of Earth can seem unfathomable compared to…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

5 authors picked Timefulness as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love the way this book brings perspective to modern issues by emphasizing the idea of “deep time” – that we are part of a long history that makes our current existence possible.

By thinking in this way, we also realize that our current predicament is one that we have the tools to address, and that by doing so, we would be honoring the miracles of nature that lie behind everything we are and do. Along the way, this book also helped me understand – and teach about – a variety of important geological processes.

I’ve been fascinated by geology since I was a teenager: I had a collection of rocks and fossils in my bedroom, including trilobites, ammonites, and crystals of “blue john” from Derbyshire.

So Marcia Bjornerud’s book about her geological perspective on time really resonated with me. She blends scientific insight with personal stories wonderfully. On one page, she is writing about the mind-expanding timescales of deep time while on the next rooting those timescales in personal, human experience.

One particular story she tells about accidentally smashing an ancient crystal in a moment of rare avarice as a young woman stuck with…

From Richard's list on to take a longer view of time.

Bjornerud, a geologist, goes far beyond a basic history of Earth in this philosophical little volume. She introduces the concept of timefulness, or how the world is shaped by time. By exploring topics such as the rise of mountains and the shifting of continents, she sets the stage for a deeper understanding of the changes occurring on our planet today — and how we might be better stewards of our brief moment upon the stage.

From Alexandra's list on on deep time.

If you love Timefulness...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

This remarkable book unfolds the story of Earth’s passage through time, from inception to its present state. The author, a geologist, illuminates the long shaping of the Earth’s natural systems with expertise and clarity. She outlines initial conceptions of Earth’s origin by early historical forefront thinkers, controversies aroused, and then charts the amazing progress gained later in momentous scientific breakthroughs aided by advancing technologies. The understanding of geologic time is stressed as an important concept.

This background, together with the book’s apt black and white illustrations, enables readers to realize Earth’s long-term behavior is a crucial learning curve for humanity.…

From Frederick's list on the glories of global geology.

This book is since it shows just how potent the earth is, not simply a puppet dancing to the imposed rhythm of astronomical cycles but a complex webwork in a delicate balance, where even small changes to intricate natural systems can have large and unanticipated consequences. Becoming aware of its depth in time and resonating with it organically, people can find a new awareness of being in time, which she calls timefuleness. The book encourages not just a new perspective but a different way of being in time.

From Livia's list on the nature of time.

If you love Timefulness...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Want books like Timefulness?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 93 books like Timefulness.

Browse books like Timefulness

Book cover of Through the Time Barrier: Precognition and Modern Physics
Book cover of Some Science Adventures with Real Magic
Book cover of Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,993

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Timefulness, you might also like...

Book cover of Against the Seas: Saving Civilizations from Rising Waters

Against the Seas by Mary Soderstrom,

The scenario we are facing is scary: within a few decades, sea levels around the world may well rise by a metre or more as glaciers and ice caps melt due to climate change. Large parts of our coastal cities will be flooded, the basic outline of our world will…

Book cover of In This Together: Connecting with Your Community to Combat the Climate Crisis

In This Together by Marianne E. Krasny,

In This Together explores how we can harness our social networks to make a real impact fighting the climate crisis. Against notions of the lone environmental crusader, Marianne E. Krasny shows us the power of "network climate action"—the idea that our own ordinary acts can influence and inspire those close…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in time, sustainability, and nthropocene?

Time 10 books
Sustainability 48 books
Nthropocene 21 books