Foundation of Modern Geography and Geography in America at the Dawn of 21st Century - Book Report/Review Example

Comparison of Geography Books Comparison of American Geography Books Geography is a fundamental field that concerns the nature and how different aspects of environment and development. However, the ultimate aim of this context is to compare and contrast one the chapter geomorphology in the two American Geography books namely; Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century and the Foundations of Modern American Geography. The later book is the second edition of the initial one. This context compares the geomorphology chapter as brought out in the two books. It looks at both similarities and differences of the concepts of geomorphology in the two books. Similarities The Chapter of geomorphology in Foundation of Modern Geography outlined the concepts of physical land forming processes and environment such as mountains, hills, rivers, oceans, lakes, and mapping among others (Gaile and Willmott 1989, 36). The same is observed in Geography in America at the Dawn of 21st Century because it also outlined the concepts of physical land forming processes and environment such as mountains, hills, rivers, oceans, lakes, and mapping among others (Gaile and Willmott 2003, 32). Besides, geomorphologists wrote geomorphology chapter in both books. Moreover, in both books, the geomorphology chapter begins by describing the aspects of landforms and land forming processes. Differences However, the differences on the chapter in both books are profound and cannot be neglected. First, in Foundation of Modern Geography, the research conducted by geomorphologists revolve around land processes such as volcanicity, weathering, formation of block mountains and other related activities(Gaile and Willmott 1989, 55). In the book, Geography in America at the Dawn of 21st Century, research in geomorphology chapter was conducted by geomorphologists who revolved around the role and significance of science theory and social relevance of geomorphology (Gaile and Willmott 1989, 49). Besides, the geomorphology specialists that who structured geomorphology chapter in Foundation of Modern Geography consisted of some unprofessional geographers who relied on what they saw other than conducting thorough research (Gaile and Willmott 1989, 67). The geomorphology specialists who wrote geomorphology chapter in Geography in America, at the Dawn of 21st Century consisted of professional geographers and incorporated geographers from regions like Europe (Gaile and Willmott 2003, 47). Moreover, the Geomorphology chapter in Foundation of Modern Geography entails the original work and foundation of landforms and land forming processes in America while the geomorphology chapter in Geography in America, at the Dawn of 21st Century entails critical research and modification of the original work done by the geographers who wrote the initial book. In addition to that, the context in geomorphology found in Foundation of Modern Geography consisted of physical landforms and land forming processes that outlined the outer descriptions without much explanation of the concepts because they were not critically researched(Gaile and Willmott 1989, 68). The geomorphology found in Geography in America at the Dawn of 21st Century consisted of thorough research on physical geography, which includes climatology, hydrology, biogeography and pedology (Gaile and Willmott 2003, 50. Their contribution to modern geography was vibrant. Other obvious differences include the following. The context of the chapter in the initial book contains geography that is fragmented and incoherent because some geomorphologists who participated in writing it had not trained, meaning that they strived to give a clear basis. Besides, most of its work was shallow because it was not well researched since the geographers focused on physical occurrences (Gaile and Willmott 1989, 69). The second edition, on the other hand, contain content that was deeply researched and proofed because it was done by professional geomorphologists who decided to incorporate things that were left out concerning the environment and land. The context is extremely concrete and extremely researched to come up with supported evidence of every aspect of their writing especially on weathering and scale issues (Gaile and Willmott 2003, 62). Therefore, the geomorphology chapter of the second edition proves to be more detailed and well researched than the geomorphology chapter of the first edition of Geography in America (Gaile and Willmott 1989, 184). It is clear that research changed between the two editions because the studies were conducted in two different periods with different geomorphologists ; unprofessional geomorphologists and well-trained professional geomorphologists respectively. Research Questions that Guided Researchers List of research questions that guided the geographical research done by geomorphologists on the geomorphology chapter, in the book, Foundations of Modern American Geography is as follows; I. What are the main land forming processes in America? II. Why does the world contain land forming processes that are related to soil and landscape evolution? III. Does the scope of geomorphology go beyond research and frontier? IV. What are the main effects of land forming processes such as weathering and vulcanicity? V. What are some of the techniques in geomorphology and the related evolution? In order for the geomorphologists, to come up with geomorphology chapter in, Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century, they had to consider the questions below, among others (Gaile and Willmott 2003, 78). I. What is so crucial to geomorphology that was not covered in the first edition? II. What are some of the important advancements in the topical specialties on geomorphologies? III. Is there any advancement in the research of fluvial geomorphology? what is the proof? IV. What is the proof for land forming processes that occur beneath the earth’s surface such as the presence of molten rock and magma? V. Why should academic geomorphologies conduct frequent meetings and organizations for discussion issues concerning scientific inventions and occurrences? Research Questions that were excluded In order to examine the geographical research questions that were not included in the geomorphology chapter, in both books, it is essential to note key issues that were handled well. Therefore, for the Foundations of Modern American Geography, the research questions that would have been considered are as follows. a) Why did the non-academic geomorphologists resist the technological advances in geomorphology that occurred in the period between 1970 and 1980? a) Why was remote sensing and geographical Information Systems (GIS) not incorporated by the non-academic geomorphologists? b) What were the technical findings of non-academic geomorphologists concerning sensitive issues like the effects on land forming processes? Under the second edition, which is, Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century, the geography research questions that would have been considered include the following (Gaile and Willmott 2003, 58). Note that this was the greatest chapter covered by geomorphologists in the entire book. a) Is there an outstanding relationship between scientific theory and geomorphology? b) Is there existence of integrative framework between chaos theory and the entire concept of non-linear dynamical systems? c) Was the information integrated about mass wasting, periglacial and glacial geomorphology sufficient or can more extensive research be conducted? Bibliography Gary L. Gaile and Cort J. Willmott, (2003). Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. USA. pp 1-312, ISBN-13: 978-0198233923 Gary L. Gaile and Cort J. Willmott, (1989). "Foundations of Modern American Geography" Geography in America. Merrill Publishing Company. P1-324 Read More