Applied

Pergamon

Geography,
Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 87-93, 1996
Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain

Book reviews
Geological and Landscape Conservation
Proceedings of the Malvem International
Conference 1993
D OHalloran, C Green, M Harley, M Stanley
and J Knill (eds)
The Geological Society, London (1994)

different to those chosen by the editors, can be

followed. For this it is certainly useful, though it
would be a shame to dismiss it as merely such a
book. As a conventional book, but without the
single controlling voice, it is well worth reading
from cover to cover. Just as a series of letters
can build into a fascinating story and record of
their time, so these papers, when read together
raise themes not explicitly covered within any
one contribution. For example, the many definitions of conservation became apparent. Should
sites be saved for science and for the future, or
so that exploitation can continue for longer? Are
we conserving a series of individual sites, or is
it all part of saving the planet? Tensions also
arise, sometimes within one paper, sometimes
between them, on topics such as quarrying.
While in one place we strive to protect a site
from quarrying, in another place the quarry face
is the site to be valued.
It has to be said that the direct usefulness of
the papers varies. Some explore in detail a
particular form of conservation, a particular site
or series of sites, or the impact of a piece of
legislation. Others are more general, and may be
simple reports on the state of affairs in one
country, or even general aspirations towards
conservation within a country. There are bound
to be a few that to any one reader appear a waste
of space. Even so, there is a strength in the
amount of comparable and contrasting information. What is being said or not said in some
cases could be a cause for concern, but at least
we are being warned.
Whatever your hobby-horse on conservation,
it will be raised here. Rescue geology, the
naturalness of landscapes, setting aside collecting sites and thereby
ensuring a further
generation of aspiring geologists to save sites,
and a plea for road engineers to leave cuttings
through rock exposed with lay-bys nearby, all
crop up (or out)!

530 PP
f70 (E35 to members of the Geological
Society) hardback
Finding a truly interesting and readable book
composed of conference papers is rare indeed, but
here is one such. Too often a cover and title raise
expectations, but the long and sometimes difftcult
papers within fail to full% the promise or even
fully explore the theme. In this case, what at first
sight may appear a weakness, the shear number of
contributions (around 100) and the brevity of
most of them, becomes a strength and results in an
accessible and powerful publication.
With contributions from over 30 countries
worldwide, the book, rather than being regional,
is divided into the themes of sustainability,
landscape conservation, local conservation and
community initiatives, site conservation
and
public awareness, and a short final section on a
proposed International Convention. Such broad
themes can lead to odd juxtapositions,
which,
with the lack of a single authors voice, could
have led to disappointment.
However, by the
very variety and readability of most of the
papers, this too becomes a strength. Every few
pages there is something new to hold the
attention and to provoke comparisons.
There are several cases where narrower
themes are explored through linked series of
papers without interruption. The conservation of
palaeontological
sites and national parks are
very successfully covered in this way.
There are two possible approaches to this
book. One is that of the reference book to be
dipped into, or through which themes, possibly
87

Book reviews

This book is crammed full of information. It

gives the opportunity to spell out the conservation situation around the world, for legislation to
be explained, and for authors to enthuse about,
list and describe important sites, as well as to
voice their concerns about the lowly place that
geological conservation often takes in public
and political consciousness. Within, for those
who persevere, is also a delight of fascinating,
sometimes extraneous information which lubricates the reading in a way that should be
compulsory in all conference proceedings. Do
you know the story behind the baby stones of
Estonia? The editors must be congratulated for
leaving so much in.
More seriously, this book should also be
viewed from a historical perspective. It provides
a clear snapshot of the state of geological and
landscape conservation
across several continents at one point in time, or at least what we
hope it is, and would like it to be. Very
important as a reference book, this is an
essential book for all involved or interested in
geological and landscape conservation.
Bob Toynton
Division of Adult Continuing

Education,

University of Shefield

The River Nile: Geology, Hydrology and

Utilization
Rushdi Said
Pergamon

Press, London

(1993)

f75.00

For more than 2000 years, the story of the River

Nile has been a focus of attention for philosophers, historians, archaeologists and scientists.
This volume examines the history of the river
over geological, archaeological and historical
timescales, and includes chapters on the present
and future states of the river, and the utilization
of its waters. It comprises four parts. Part I deals
with the origin of the river. It examines the
history of the river, focusing on the Egyptian
Nile from its geological birth with the formation
of the massive Nile canyon when base level fell
by up to 4000 m as the Mediterranean sea dried
between 7 and 5.4 million years ago. Part II
88

examines the hydrology and palaeohydrology of

the river and Part III considers the utilization of
water resources over the archaeological period.
Finally, Part IV deals with the present water
budget and considers future demands on the
limited resources.
Many previous works have focused on the
waters of the Nile, especially the Nile flood
which sustains the fertile corridor through the
Egyptian desert. These works have examined
the place of hydraulic civilizations in the history
of human societies and have emphasized the
way in which, following a period of learning to
live with the flood, humans devised ways of
regulating the floodwaters to the benefit of
settled societies. Yet there are many who argue
that the deterministic role of drought and water
shortages was the main factor forcing human
innovation
and technological
advancement.
Most periods of political power, economic
success and social stability based upon effective
central authority coincided with a wet phase
providing good river flows and a reliable annual
flood, but others were achieved or sustained by
advances in water resources management. Said
shows that the timing of the annual flood was
remarkably regular during the periods of economic growth and political power; periods also
of repopulation and land reclamation.
The problem of water shortage is a major
theme of this book. It provides the background to
an impending human disaster if his expert
opinion on the future of flows is to be accepted.
Said writes (p 10): My concern about impacts of
these anticipated
low flows on the rising
demands of the inhabitants of the river is
heightened by my readings on the geological
history of the river, which seem to point to an
even less benevolent Nile in the long run. Said
shows that for much of prehistory the Nile
experienced extensive wet and dry phasesceasing to flow for a million years between
1800000 and 800000 years BP For a long
period after the first confirmed evidence of
human occupation (in the adjacent lands) about
400000 years ago, the river had an erratic
behaviour, being intermittent in character. About
12 000 years ago, the rains came to the Ethiopian
Highlands, northern Sudan and southern Egypt,
and the modem Nile was born. However, Said
also shows how flows have fallen during the