Annals of the Former World
Annals of the Former World by John McPheeby John McPhee
Shares rank 19 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
A long, lyrical anthology about North American geology that makes the deep history of the land readable and vivid, and inspires readers to look at rock formations on their travels.
A long, lyrical anthology about North American geology that makes the deep history of the land readable and vivid, and inspires readers to look at rock formations on their travels.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Lyrical prose that makes geology engaging
“It's essentially a 700 page-long ode to geology, using scientific terms for their prosody as much as their meaning.”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Geologists may have solved mystery of Green River's 'uphill' route” Inspires geology-focused road trips
“may inspire circuitous road trips involving many stops dangerously examining road-cuts on busy interstate highways”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Geologists may have solved mystery of Green River's 'uphill' route” Highly recommended anthology by McPhee
“I highly recommend John McPhee's anthology "Annals of the Former World."”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “Geologists may have solved mystery of Green River's 'uphill' route” Described as wonderful
“from the wonderful Annals of the former world”
Comment from 31 May 2026 in “I found a seashell in the middle of the desert”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella Meadows | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Annals of the Former Worldby John McPheeThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“from the wonderful Annals of the former world”
“It's essentially a 700 page-long ode to geology, using scientific terms for their prosody as much as their meaning.”
“may inspire circuitous road trips involving many stops dangerously examining road-cuts on busy interstate highways”
“I highly recommend John McPhee's anthology "Annals of the Former World."”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.