You can read a million years of history in a pebble. In the sparkle of a stone, in the curve a river, in the slope of a hill, you can learn of giant forces at work long before the first living thing appeared on earth.

The story of the earth is everywhere, in everything. You are part of the story. Your bones and teeth came from the bottom of the sea; the color of your blood came from deep underground. The water you drink, the clothes you wear, the house you live in—all are part of the earth's story.

This book was planned and written to help you learn to read the story of our earth, beginning with the part of it that is right around you. It will turn even a walk in the park into an exciting voyage of discovery. As you do the experiments you will get a clear understanding of the forces that lift up mountains and make and unmake the land and sea of our changing earth.

After you have read this book you will see the earth in a new way—as it was millions of years ago, as it is today, and as it will be millions of years from now.

From the dust jacket