FEATURED BOOK REVIEW

Flatiron Books, New York. 306 pages, ISBN: 9781250875891.

Once you begin reading this book, it’s hard to stop. I was quickly drawn into the pages which are clear and informative, revealing the the author’s personal experiences as a student and then as a professor of geology and environmental science. Bjornerud has mastered the art of popular science writing in which the complex and technical aspects of science are translated into a language that most non-scientists can comprehend. This is a rare talent.

This is not a book about displaying unusual rocks in the Chinese, Japanese, or Korean traditions. There are no beautiful photographs of a tokonoma-like setting with aesthetically pleasing rocks and accompanying objects displayed. Instead, this volume takes readers back a giant step that predates the Asian art of viewing stone appreciation. She selects ten rock types, each from a different setting, and with great clarity brings each stone to life. Readers learn early in Turning to Stone that the Earth has been reinventing itself for over four billion years. Each rock has a story to tell about its origin and travels on our planet. Bjornerud instructs us that rocks are not found in the habitats where they were formed. On nearly every page I learned something new about rocks. 

Basalt, a familiar rock to viewing stone collectors, is the focus of chapter two. The author uses the extensive basalt flows under and north of Lake Superior to enlighten readers about the many varieties of basalt. Her marvelous storytelling abilities give readers a much better understanding of this igneous rock type. It’s not just a smooth, hard black rock as many viewing stone collectors believe.

 It was reassuring for me to learn that Bjornerud considers rocks to be “raconteurs, companions, mentors, oracles, and sources of existential reassurance.” The literati in dynastic China realized this as did the scholars in Korea and Japan. I can openly admit to writing a series of short conversations with stones. As a scientist, I readily agree with the author when she writes “The deepest truths are found in nature, not in human traditions”.