He is of the State University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The book is a classic example of much geologic thought before plate tectonics. We read of Eugeosynclines and Miogeosyncline, Flysch, Nappes, and so many things that beg for translation into modern geological thought. It is good to remember with a book like this that 50 years have passed since it was published, and it reflects thought from the decades before. Those 50 years were marked by a revolution in geological thought.
One would hope that geological observation would still be preserved. Rocks are rocks after all, and if an excess of interpretation has not been injected into maps and diagrams, they are a source of data independent of time. Such is what one would hope, but it is often an unfortunately naive view.
Page 179 - "The concept of the nappe was born at a writing desk, not from field work". The writer goes in a different direction than I would have from here. My thought is, "fine, as long as you confirm the idea with field work". He goes on to present a set of interesting cross sections that explain the same observed structural features in quite different ways. Well, there you have it. Geological cross sections have always been a ripe opportunity for imagination and interpretation.
Tom's Geology Info / [email protected]