Abstract
THE work under review is a general survey of the known results relating to the condition of the interior of the earth. In most cases the theories dis cussed are not developed in detail, but summaries of the data and the main conclusions are given. Accordingly a very large amount of material has been com pressed into a small space. It may be said that the main use of the book is to facilitate reference to original investigations; in this the reviewer speaks from his own experience. Perhaps the greatest difficulty that besets geophysics is that its literature is scattered through so many periodicals. It is easy to think of eight British journals that have contained important geophysical (apart, from meteorological) papers during the past ten years, but in Germany the confusion is even greater. The bibliography in this book refers to twenty papers by the author himself, in nine periodical and several non-periodical publications; and the total number of German periodicals including geophysical papers is such that some convenient summary, with references, such as Dr. Gutenberg's book affords, is essential to any one wishing to know what work has actually been carried out. Unfortunately there are signs of insufficient verification; near the beginning of the bibliography we find “Cooker” for “Coker,” without indication that the associated Adams is F. D. and not J. C. or L. H.; and incorrect initials are then attributed several times to L. H. Adams. But the labour involved in compiling a 14.-page bibliography in the circumstances must have been enormous, and the author deserves our gratitude, especially as he has done justice to countries and languages not his own.
Der Aufbau der Erde.
Von Dr. B. Gutenberg. Pp. viii + 168. (Berlin: Gebrüder Borntraeger, 1925.) 9 gold marks.
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JEFFREYS, H. Der Aufbau der Erde . Nature 117, 78 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/117078a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/117078a0