Choice Review

Hsu writes to inspire students, largely at the beginning level, to study sedimentary processes in a more quantitative manner. This is a laudable goal, but given the unusually broad spectrum of topics in this compact book, complex topics such as rock falls, isotopic fractionation, and groundwater flow generally receive superficial treatments. The discussions are also dated; all but a handful of references cited were published during or before the 1980s. This book is best read as historical narrative, a personal account of a time when sedimentology advanced rapidly, by a scientist who played an important role in many of the key discoveries. It would be difficult to use as a primary resource, even for a course on the physics of sedimentology. Most importantly, there is little incentive to acquire the second edition if one already owns the first (Physical Principles of Sedimentology, CH, Jun'90). Despite a change in title and some cosmetic reorganization, all the chapters are the same and only two of the nearly 90 subheadings in the second edition are new. The vast majority of the text and illustrations has been reproduced verbatim from the first edition. ^BSumming Up: Optional. General readers; lower- and upper-division undergraduates. B. M. Simonson Oberlin College