[.ca] The Earth System (ISBN 0131420593)

This is the best textbook for earth system science:
Earth System Science is a new field, one that evolves much more quickly than textbooks can be revised. This one is as current as you can expect, and it approaches the field of science in a much better way than any other textbook I have seen. In particular, most earth system texts approach the field by morphing from a traditional discipline. Usually, it's a geology textbook revised to include atmospheric, oceanic, and climatic studies. But earth system science requires an interdisciplinary approach from the start, a problem based approach. Our global environmental problems need this approach, and this book covers them in a reasonably detailed and accurate manner.

Not a bad textbook:
I used this book for my Environmental Geology class. Overall I think it's an ok text. It's not as readily understandable an reader friendly as some of the other introductory geology texts on the market that I have read--it's somewhat obsecure at times. I think that it's rather overpriced as well for a black and white paperback textbook. It does however cover a large selection of material in a succint manner, yet with enough detail to satisfy the curiosity of the interested student. Some of the stuff in this textbook is not common to geology texts--principally the aspects that have to do with the biosphere. Overall, it's a reasonable textbook, besides the cost, which I think is inflated. Textbook prices are inflated in general in any case!

Good overview of how our earth works:
I used this book for an introductory environmental studies course. The book is full of information I had never before discovered. The chapters clearly describe how smaller cycles and feedback mechanisms relate the health of the earth as a whole. If you are curious about global warming this book has great factual information to start an understanding of the concept.