Lawrence.com

James Lawrence Powell will present his new book of geological history, Grand Canyon: Solving Earth's Grandest Puzzle (Pi Press), at a book signing from 6:00 7:00 PM Thursday, May 5, 2005 at Oread Books in the Kansas Union on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence. The event is free and open to the public.How was the Grand Canyon created? Only in the last few years have geologists reached a consensus that is a fitting climax to an amazing detective story. James Lawrence Powell provides a dramatic account of the making of the Grand Canyon and its investigation by generations of geologists. He brings together both a rigorous explanation of geological processes and the new solution he has termed the Lazarus Theory that explains how the lower part of the Colorado River, below the Grand Canyon, could be younger than the river above the Canyon. He also shows how the investigation of the Canyon in the mid-1800s led directly to our understanding of continental drift and tectonic plates. Powell's narrative is made more compelling by the richness of the characters who participated in the debate, including historic figures John Wesley Powell, Grove Karl Gilbert and Clarence Dutton. The book is illustrated with 16 pages of photographs which bring to life the people and places of the story, as well as maps and geological time charts.James Lawrence Powell is Executive Director of the National Physical Science Consortium, and former Director and President of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. He taught geology for 20 years at Oberlin College, where he served as Acting President. He is the author of two previous books, Night Comes to the Cretaceous and Mysteries of Terra Firma. Powell lives in Buellton, California.