Alecia M. Spooner has been teaching various Earth and Environmental Sciences for seven years. She has earned degrees in Anthropology (B.A., University of Mississippi), Archaeology (M.A., Washington State University), and Geology (M.S., University of Washington). Her research includes interdisciplinary studies of paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and archaeology. Currently she teaches at Everett Community College and enjoys developing active-learning science curricula.

Introduction. Part I: Studying the Earth. Chapter 1: Rocks for Jocks (and Everybody Else). Chapter 2: Observing Earth through a Scientifi c Lens. Chapter 3: From Here to Eternity: The Past, Present, and Future of Geologic Thought. Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home: Planet Earth. Part II: Elements, Minerals, and Rocks. Chapter 5: It's Elemental, My Dear: A Very Basic Chemistry of Elements and Compounds. Chapter 6: Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks. Chapter 7: Recognizing Rocks: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Types. Part III: One Theory to Explain It All: Plate Tectonics. Chapter 8: Adding Up the Evidence for Plate Tectonics. Chapter 9: When Crustal Plates Meet, It's All Relative. Chapter 10: Who's Driving This Thing? Mantle Convection and Plate Movement. Part IV: Superficially Speaking: About Surface Processes. Chapter 11: Gravity Takes Its Toll: Mass Wasting. Chapter 12: Water: Above and Below Ground. Chapter 13: Flowing Slowly toward the Sea: Glaciers. Chapter 14: Blowing in the Wind: Moving Sediments without Water. Chapter 15: Catch a Wave: The Evolution of Shorelines. Part V: Long, Long Ago in This Galaxy Right Here. Chapter 16: Getting a Grip on Geologic Time. Chapter 17: A Record of Life in the Rocks. Chapter 18: Time before Time Began: The Precambrian. Chapter 19: Teeming with Life: The Paleozoic Era. Chapter 20: It Should Have Been Called Mesozoic Park: When Dinosaurs Dominated. Chapter 21: The Cenozoic Era: Mammals Take Over. Chapter 22: And Then There Were None: Major Extinction Events in Earth's History. Part VI: The Part of Tens. Chapter 23: Ten (Plus) Ways Humans Act as Geologic Agents. Chapter 24: Ten Geologic Hazards. Index.