A copy of Ken Hamblin's magnificent new book, "Anatomy of the Grand Canyon: Panoramas of the Canyon's Geology" arrived today, and after a couple of minutes flipping through it, I knew I had to take it home and savor it leisurely.
The 143 page, large format book is dominated by dozens and dozens of two-page panorama photos from the river, the canyon rims and from the air. Each panorama has an accompanying geologic cross-section to put it all in perspective. Ken has admirably achieved his goal of creating a dazzling geologic tour that is understandable and inviting to the completely uninitiated reader who opens the cover, while still fascinating to the most jaded geologist. The book is visual. Beautiful block diagrams and shaded relief maps show the geology and geomorphology, juxtaposed with striking photos. Text is limited, simple, but compelling.
The picture above is a bit misleading. It is actually more elongated that it appears, ensuring the panoramas are maximized on the page. The production standards are wonderful, although Vulcan's Throne is spelled "Volcans Throne" on p111, the Hurricane Fault is difficult to delineate from another in one of the cross sections, and the figure caption formation names are cut off on p135. These are trivial problems in an otherwise beautiful and engaging volume that I expect to pick up again and again.
The book is published by Grand Canyon Association and sells for $49.95. We expect to carry it in our stores in Tucson and Phoenix.