Plates vs Plumes: A Geological Controversy

“Nevertheless I strongly recommend this book both for students and researchers. It is ideal for use in classroom discussion projects, or in “lunch time discussion” meetings. It is clearly written and well illustrated and includes hundreds of useful references as recent as 2010.”  (Bull Volcanol, 3 April 2012)

“As such, it is a valuable work for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, but also for researchers from many specialties in geology, geophysics, geochemistry and geography.”  (Pure and Applied Geophysics, 1 April 2013)

"It is highly recommended to all OUGS members, who could consider reading the first and last chapters, together with one or two of the main chapters, as a minimum." (Open University Geological Society Journal, 1 November 2011)

"In general, I found the book crisply and clearly written, easy to read, and liberally illustrated. It is also a wonderful summary of a wide range of volcanic provinces in time and space, as well as a provocative review of what we think we know and don't know of Planet Earth and deep mantle dynamics. It will be an invaluable resource for teachers of Earth science, ranging from geomorphologists to volcanologists." (Geobulletin, 1 March 2011)

"This is knee-deep geophysics, but too fascinating to put down. As the title says, there are conflicting views of how and why the earth recycles itself...very strong views. . . It goes to great lengths to explain the theories of continental drift through plate tectonics that took half a century to be accepted by mainstream geology." (Janet Tanaka, 2011)

"This new textbook is ideal for a graduate-level seminar on the ongoing controversy over plumes." (About.com, 2011)

"I have much pleasure in recommending this book, a distillation of global geodynamics information and ideas by a true leader in the field, for the libraries of institutions and individuals." (Current Science, 1 January 2011)

"At the end I may say that this is must read book for igneous petrologists and students." (Journal of the Geological Society of India, 1 March 2011)

"One cannot help being impressed by the breadth of material presented in this book . . . in concluding this review I have to admit to being impressed by the book even though my own work comes in for a fair amount of bashing in it. I was struck by the parallels between the plume controversy and the granite controversy, which in various ways dominated igneous petrology in the first half of the twentieth century." (Mantleplumes, 2011)

"This text is well written and easy to digest for the educated reader. Bullet points make it easy to skim read and pick the sections that interest you. It probably best suits advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students and would make a good text for courses in petrology, geophysics, or basin analysis." (The Observatory, 1 April 2011) "This new textbook is ideal for a graduate-level seminar on the ongoing controversy over plumes."

(Andrew Alden - Andrew's Geology Blog, 18 November 2010)

"This text is well written and easy to digest for the educated reader. . . it probably best suits advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students and would make a good text for courses in petrology, geophysics or basin analysis." (The Observatory - Newsletter of the Royal Astronomical Society, 29 November 2010)