Book smart
Robert Dott Jr., professor emeritus of geology; and John Attig, professor, UW-Extension Department of Environmental Sciences, and staff member, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey; “Roadside Geology of Wisconsin“; Mountain Press Publishing, 2004.
When glaciers moved across Wisconsin as late as 15,000 years ago, they carved out one of the campus’s most notable features — Bascom Hill.
With the traveling public in mind, Dott and Attig describe this geological landmark and many others throughout Wisconsin. Their understandable guide includes everything from a primer on geology to driving routes that feature geological points of interest.
Despite popular interest in the Earth’s history, few geology books have been written for a general audience, Attig says.
“There are a lot of people in Wisconsin with outdoor interests and who are environmentally conscious,” Dott says. “Geology forms the roots of it all.”
Dott and Attig spent five intensive years traveling and searching the state for geological formations and noting the mile markers so others could find them, too.
The book is neatly divided into sections based on regional landscapes where events changed the state. For example, evidence suggests active volcanoes in the north more than 1 billion years ago, ancient oceanic coral reefs in the east 400 million years ago and glacial-melt water that gouged out the Wisconsin Dells 14,000 years ago.
Dott and Attig note Wisconsin geology shaped the lives of the people who ultimately developed Wisconsin. Geological differences over time, they write, affected which areas people settled, farmed and mined; how groundwater reached those who needed it; and where roads were constructed.
The authors will donate their share of proceeds to the geology and geophysics department to support the library, Geology Museum, research and field trips.
The authors will sign copies from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25, in the McKay Center at the Arboretum.
— Emily Carlson
David Tenenbaum, senior university relations specialist, “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Home Repair and Maintenance, Illustrated,” Penguin-Putnam, 2004.
How can you fix your house if you can barely identify the working end of a hammer? Tenenbaum says it’s partly a matter of attitude.
Nobody is born knowing how to fix drywall or replace rotted floorboards, he says, but these are skills that most people can learn — if they have some motivation, some tools and some instruction. With simple, highly illustrated coverage of windows, doors, siding, electrical systems and plumbing, the book provides instruction on the most basic level.
The book is also an exercise in reality, says Tenenbaum, the part-time staff writer at The Why Files (http://whyfiles.org), a science, health and environment magazine published by the Graduate School.
The book benefits from Tenenbaum’s 35 years of repairing houses as a pro and as an amateur. “Amateurs often think that pro home-fixers never make mistakes, never feel stupid. But if you’ve never felt stupid, I guarantee you’ve never tried to fix a house,” he says.