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The Whispers of Rock
The Stories That Stone Tells About Our World and Our Lives
Description
A geologist’s revelatory invitation to discover how our planet’s seemingly inert bones pulse with unexpected vitality
If you listen, can you hear the stones speak? The question seems absurd. After all, rocks are lifeless, inert, and silent.
In The Whispers of Rock earth scientist Anjana Khatwa asks us to think again, and listen to their stories. Boldly alternating between modern science and ancient wisdom, Khatwa takes us on an exhilarating journey through deep time, from origins of the green pounamu that courses down New Zealand rivers to the wonder of the bluestone megaliths of Stonehenge, from the tuff-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia, to Manhattan’s bedrock of schist. In unearthing those stories and more, Khatwa shows how rocks have always spoken to us, and we humans to them. She delicately intertwines Indigenous stories of Earth’s creation with our scientific understanding of its development, deftly showing how our lives are intimately connected to time’s ancient storytellers.
Through tales of planetary change, ancient wisdom, and contemporary creativity, The Whispers of Rock offers the hope of reconnection with Earth. With Khatwa as your guide, you won’t simply hear rocks speak; you, too, will feel the magic of deep time seep into your bones.
If you listen, can you hear the stones speak? The question seems absurd. After all, rocks are lifeless, inert, and silent.
In The Whispers of Rock earth scientist Anjana Khatwa asks us to think again, and listen to their stories. Boldly alternating between modern science and ancient wisdom, Khatwa takes us on an exhilarating journey through deep time, from origins of the green pounamu that courses down New Zealand rivers to the wonder of the bluestone megaliths of Stonehenge, from the tuff-hewn churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia, to Manhattan’s bedrock of schist. In unearthing those stories and more, Khatwa shows how rocks have always spoken to us, and we humans to them. She delicately intertwines Indigenous stories of Earth’s creation with our scientific understanding of its development, deftly showing how our lives are intimately connected to time’s ancient storytellers.
Through tales of planetary change, ancient wisdom, and contemporary creativity, The Whispers of Rock offers the hope of reconnection with Earth. With Khatwa as your guide, you won’t simply hear rocks speak; you, too, will feel the magic of deep time seep into your bones.
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Praise
"Anjana Khatwa’s unique rapport with rocks as time-traveling storykeepers invites readers to commune with our planet's deep geological history. Each page manifests a profound and personal awe and respect for all Earth’s rocks, their origins and character, whether plain or lustrous. I love this soulful, wise, and surprising book."
—Adrienne Mayor, author of The First Fossil Hunters
—Adrienne Mayor, author of The First Fossil Hunters