Turning to Stone

Author Marcia Bjornerud
Narrator Rebecca Stern
Publisher Headline
Run Time 9 hours and 41 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Biography and non-fiction prose, History, History of other geographical groupings and regions, Popular science, Science: general issues.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

'Vast and arresting' SPECTATOR
'A remarkably human take on the geological world' NEW STATESMAN

Rocks are the record of our creative planet reinventing itself for four billion years. Nothing is ever lost, just transformed.

Marcia Bjornerud's life as a geologist has coincided with an extraordinary period of discovery. From an insular girlhood in rural Wisconsin, she found her way to an unlikely career studying mountains in remote parts of the world. As one of few women in her field, she witnessed the shift in our understanding of the Earth, from solid object to an entity in a constant state of transformation. In the most tumultuous times of her own life, a deep understanding of our rocky planet imbued her life with meaning.

The lives of rocks are long and complex, spanning billions of years and yet shaping our own human lives in powerful, invisible ways. Sandstone that filters out pathogens creating underground oases in aquifers of clean water. Ecologite is "the chosen rock" whose formation keeps the planet running. Earth is not just a passive backdrop, or a source of resources to be mined, extracted, and carved out. Rocks are full of wisdom, but somewhere along the way many of us have forgotten how to hear it.

When we are uncertain about where to find truth, a geocentric worldview reminds us that we are Earthlings, part of a planetary community where we can find wisdom in the most unlikely places.

More praise for TURNING TO STONE:
'Marcia Bjornerud writes evocatively' COUNTRY LIFE
'A nuanced celebration of the language of stone' DAVID GEORGE HASKELL
'A unique and timeless book' ROBERT HALZEN

Critics Review

This lyrical, wise book will change your relationship to the living Earth. Marcia Bjornerud offers a nuanced celebration of the languages of stone, from the subtle whispers of sand grains to the delightfully complex inner lives of mountains disclosed by eroding outcrops. Her careful attention not only reveals unexpected stories of stone, but teaches us what it means to be boundlessly curious and caring about our world and one another.

David George Haskell, author of SOUNDS WILD AND BROKEN

Marcia Bjornerud has done it again! With flowing grace, technical mastery, and poetic insight, she takes us on a geological odyssey across the vastness of deep time and to the literal ends of the Earth. Turning to Stone interweaves the profound testimony of ancient rocks-granite, basalt, sandstone, and flint-with her inspiring personal journey from curious youth to avid student, from struggling junior faculty member to master field geologist and revered educator. In the process, we share in the eventful, poignant life journey of a gifted scientist who has gained the expertise and nurtured the passion to share astonishing stories of Earth in a unique and timeless book.

Robert Halzen, author of THE STORY OF EARTH

At times intimate and confessional, but the overarching idea is vast and arresting . . . invigorating and necessary.

The Spectator

Wonderfully vivid and clear . . . Turning to Stone is an eccentric and charming introduction to geology.

The Times Literary Supplement

Having extracted profound insight from the substance she has dedicated her life to, Bjornerud demonstrates how the scientific can ascend to the philosophical. Hers is a remarkably human take on the geological world.

The New Statesman

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