Introduction to Planetary Science: The Geological Perspective

The authors' stated intention is that this book should be used as the basis for a capstone course for senior undergraduates and beginning graduate students majoring in the Earth sciences. The authors argue, and I agree, that a planetary science course like this can provide excellent opportunities to revisit and apply, in an appealing and engaging manner, many of the themes encountered during an Earth sciences degree. It is disappointing that this attractive book misses many opportunities to do so. The book unfolds in a methodical fashion, beginning with some cultural and astronomical scene‐setting before discussing the origin of the solar system and the origin and evolution of the Earth. There is then an excursion into orbits and seasons, before dealing with meteorites and cratering, the Moon, and then Mercury, Venus, Mars, the asteroids, and thence via Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and their satellites to the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud. The final chapters deal with the Earth as a cradle of life and with extrasolar planets.