The Continental Drift Controversy 4 Volume Hardback Set

Resolution of the sixty year debate over continental drift, culminating in the triumph of plate tectonics, changed the very fabric of Earth Science. This four-volume treatise on the continental drift controversy is the first complete history of the origin, debate and gradual acceptance of this revolutionary theory. Based on extensive interviews, archival papers and original works, Frankel weaves together the lives and work of the scientists involved, producing an accessible narrative for scientists and non-scientists alike. Volume 1 covers the early 1900s when Wegener first proposed that the continents had once been joined together in a single landmass. Volume 2 describes the growing paleomagnetic case for continental drift in the 1950s and the development of Apparent Polar Wander Paths. Volume 3 recounts the golden age of marine geoscience as the discovery of geomagnetic reversals led to the rapid acceptance of seafloor spreading and the birth of plate tectonics. Volume 4 explains the discoveries in the mid 1960s which led to the rapid acceptance of seafloor spreading theory and how birth of plate tectonics followed soon after with the geometrification of geology.

All volumes in this set: Volume 1: Wegener and the Early Debate Volume 2: Paleomagnetism and Confirmation of Drift Volume 3: Introduction of Seafloor Spreading Volume 4: Evolution into Plate Tectonics