Fletcher's textbook (on what is essentially North American geology, or geology plus physical geography/geomorphology in Europe and especially the UK and Ireland) is 679 pages long, very well organized, well illustrated and comprehensive in its coverage.
On the opening page of the Preface, Fletcher asks the reader: ‘Why publish another Physical Geology text?’, a question I asked myself on beginning this review. To test the three reasons Fletcher gives, I compared his work to four of the standard (North American) books in this class. Fletcher states that his book is organized around two-page sections (for ease of reading), which it is. This is innovative and a positive step. Critics may say that some geological concepts cannot be reduced so dramatically, yet Fletcher does this effectively, which will keep the student's attention. Students do have short attention spans in these days of moving images and instantaneous web access, making reading daunting, so Fletcher is to be applauded. None of the competitors deploy this method. Fletcher also uses Bloom's Taxonomy to develop extensive, critical and comprehensive exercises for each chapter. The competitor texts do all use ‘revision questions’, many of which are rather an afterthought to the chapters. In Fletcher's book, they are a key element. Finally, Fletcher discusses relevant and controversial issues such as peak oil and natural hazards. Many of the competitor texts do consider such things, but not as comprehensively. Fletcher considers ‘global warming’, as opposed to climate change, possibly a mistake in my personal view.
Neither Fletcher nor his competitors from the US market cater well for non-North American or even non-US geology students. In this regard, Fletcher has closed his market even further than his rivals, with a chapter on US geology. This is no criticism — US students need to know about their geological heritage, as do my students here in Belfast, so we teach them this, but not many of them want to learn about, see any relevance for, nor have much interest in the geology of another country. His book will be popular in the US I am sure. However, this mix of global and also country-specific outlook is reflected in the content of the book (and its competitors), being about geology and physical geography, making for a mixed bag of information, some of which is relevant to A level and geology/geography undergraduates in many countries outside of the US, some of which isn't.
In short, the factual content of Fletcher's well-written, well-illustrated book is about the same as the other comparator texts on the market. What makes it different is the layout and the exercises, for which Fletcher is commended.
