"[A]n admirably lucid account of the Earth’s history as told via its geological record."―The New Yorker

"We certainly need popular science books like Reading the Rocks to help science fight back... Bjornerud has a rare talent for explaining scientific ideas clearly with intriguing and helpful analogies, similes, and metaphors."―Nature Magazine

"No one escapes the evidence of our Earth's history: arcane, violent, and relevant to all daily concerns. The language of the planet, superbly translated by Bjornerud, illuminates our common past and uncertain future. The four-billion-year-long animated conversation between rocks, water, and life continues." ―Lynn Margulis, author of Symbiotic Planet
 

"The perfect field guide for a geologic field trip through the Earth's history."

―Jill S. Schneiderman, editor of Liberation Science

"A truly exciting book."―Robert H. Dott, Jr., co-author of Evolution of the Earth

"Marcia Bjornerud knows her rocks, in all their interconnected glory to the entire biosphere, and she tells their stories with depth, clarity, and passion."―Tyler Volk, author of Quarks to Culture