FOUR BILLION YEARS AND COUNTING: CANADA'S GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE, edited by Robert Fensome, Graham Williams, Aïcha Achab, John Clague, David Corrigan, Jim Monger and Godfrey Nowlan. Canadian Federation of Earth Sciences and Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2014. No. of pages: vi+402. Price: C$39–95. ISBN 978‐1‐55109‐996‐5 (paperback).

I have a dabbler's interest in aspects of Canadian geology, particularly the Silurian of the Maritime Provinces. The rest of the geology of this vast country, such as the Canadian Shield, Sudbury impact structure and Burgess Shale, I know something of from lectures and reading. But never did I expect to immerse myself in Canadian geology with such a fine introduction as Four Billion Years and Counting. Aimed at a student audience, this is as comprehensive and lively an introduction to the geology of a major region as I have ever seen. Produced on high-quality paper, Four Billion Years and Counting is well written and beautifully illustrated in colour throughout. It is the illustrations that will immediately attract the attention of the casual browser. I would guess that there may be 600+ illustrations, both diagrams and photographs, and all but a very few historical photographs in colour. Such a volume must have been a major commitment of time by the editors over a period of years and I thank them for their indulgence. Four Billion Years and Counting is a splendid accomplishment. The organisation is into three sections, ‘Foundations’, ‘The Evolution of Canada’ and ‘Wealth and Health’. ‘Foundations’ is the sort of initial overview any major text would include, introducing geology in the broad sense, from rock types and gross Earth structure to stratigraphy and the fossil record. ‘The Evolution of Canada’ interested me most, informing me of details of what was a spectacular geological history and evolution. I particularly appreciated the many supporting photographs of the rocks and outcrops. ‘Wealth and Health’ considers broad aspects of economic and environmental geology. A final chapter, ‘Canada's geological heritage’, summarises the rich prehistory and geodiversity of the country. In a book of this size and breadth, there are rare hiccups where minor glitches have sneaked under the radar; I have a short list of questions and corrections that I will pass on to the editors. Most surprising to me as a palaeontologist, I was surprised that “… most of the ecological niches brachiopods once occupied have been taken over by bivalves” (pp. 59–60)—no! This idea was discarded years ago and now only survives in textbooks. Brachiopods are epifaunal organisms with rare exceptions, whereas 75% of bivalves are infaunal. They are both bivalved, as are ostracods, but each group is doing its own thing. This book deserves to become a classic, running through numerous editions, but it is missing one feature—a glossary. For example, “Where the fluids permeate stratified sedimentary rocks, so-called manto deposits may form” (p. 250), but what, exactly, is a manto deposit? I had never heard the term. I found the answer in another book, but a glossary in Four Billion Years and Counting would enable such new terms to be adequately defined without breaking the flow of the text. I recommend Four Billion Years and Counting to anyone with an interest in the geology of North America. It would be an excellent class text for an introductory undergraduate course or more advanced courses on aspects of the geological evolution of the continent. The cost of this book is extraordinarily low, and it deserves to outsell all the competition.

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