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Earth in Upheaval
by Immanuel Velikovsky
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Pocket Books (1977)
ISBN: 0671810642
EAN: 9780671810641
Mass Market Paperback: 284 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 16962
Condition: Collectable Very Goo
Comments: DELTA, 1955. 1ST EDITION. SOFTCOVER BOOK AND PAGES ARE IN GOOD CONDITION, clean & tight, slightly tanned. Fast ship w/FREE tracking. AIRMAIL.
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Customer Reviews
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Viva Velikovsky
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-04-22
12 out of 12 customers found this reveiw helpful
As I reread "Earth In Upheaval" I am struck anew by Velikovsky's disciplined scholasticism and breadth of source material, by his compunction to always include other points of view (and flaws therein), and by his clear writing style.
It is understandable why Einstein had "Worlds In Collision" open on his desk when he died, why Clifton Fadiman, who was for many years editor-in-chief of the Reader's Digest, said that Velikovsky wrote about 50 times better than most of his critics, and why it was predicted that 99% of the books on geology, archeology and ancient history would have to be rewritten.
I suggest serious Philalethists (lovers of truth) read Velikovsky in his entirety. His day is approaching.
Just one question: How can we get some new editions published, maybe on the internet, so students can see for themselves for a change why Velikovsky may well be the (persecuted) Copernicus or Gallileo of the 20th century?
A final point: although I had read "Earth In Upheaval" 30 years ago, and I've glanced at it again several times since before my recent re-read, one particular factoid stikes me hard with it's import...Velikovsky refers to beaches and fossils hundreds of feet up off the coast of South America along with aerial views of settlements, untolled numbers of them, UP TO AND EVEN INTO THE PERENNIAL SNOW LINE!!! Now how can you explain that without a catastrophic theory?
Philip Neri Lyons
goodoldphil@yahoo.com
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Interesting to read about catastrophes, explanations weak.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2004-12-23
6 out of 11 customers found this reveiw helpful
While the evidence for the general principle of evolution is overwhelming, when applied to a particular species, it can be weak. For example, when looking at the giraffe, one can ask how evolution could create an animal with such a large neck. Furthermore, the length of the neck would evolve gradually, so there should be creatures with necks of intermediate lengths.
Velikovsky argues that evolution often proceeds in dramatic steps as a consequence of a climactic catastrophe. He cites the discoveries of scraps of warm weather creatures in cold climates where it appears that they died suddenly. Large numbers of wooly mammoths were apparently quick-frozen, as some have been found frozen with grass still in their mouths. He also cites evidence that indicates that large areas of land have shifted their height relative to sea level over the last several thousand years. Remains of cities appear high in the Andes, in regions where the harshness of the climate seems to eliminate the possibility that the area could support a large number of people. He uses this to argue that the area has risen higher above sea level in the last few thousand years. He also cites instances where trees and other land debris appear in an undisturbed state under the ocean. It is as if the land level fell dramatically at some point in the past.
There is no question that there have been dramatic changes in the climate over the last few thousand years. Some of the recent work in the mathematical area of chaos points to the possibility of a feedback loop causing sudden changes in climate or even the output of the sun. The fact that there was an ice age a few thousand years ago is well documented. However, what caused it remains unknown. Only a few centuries ago, there was a little ice age, where the winters in Europe were particularly harsh, and a volcanic explosion caused the famous year without a summer, where snow fell nearly year round.
Therefore, while Velikovsky is correct when pointing out the evidence for dramatic changes in climate, there is reason to believe that the causes are simply components in the natural cycle of the world. Only a small variation in the energy output of the sun could cause a dramatic change in the climate of the world. A sudden explosion of a volcano could release a large amount of sunlight blocking dust, or the rapid movement of a continental plate could lead to a dramatic change in climate by blocking the flow of ocean currents.
I enjoyed reading the evidence concerning dramatic changes in the climate thousands of years ago. There is reason to believe that the last several thousand years have been rather peaceful in terms of the magnitude of natural disasters. Where I do not find the book interesting is when Velikovsky tries to explain the catastrophes. There is no reason to believe that they are the consequences of the proximity of other planets, as he so fervently suggests.
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Exciting Read!
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-01-14
11 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
This was not only an exciting read but it was bold courageous and I am sure blaspheme to the died in the wool adherent to evolution. In his book Immanuel Velikovsky deals with something that has always struck me strange, coal, how did it form, sometimes in layers fifty foot think. The lignite that I find around the area of my home in the Pacific Northwest is chalk full of fossil. Some so perfect I can clearly count the striations in the leaf formation. I have never been able to accept the explaination for coal and how it comes about. I believe Velikovsky has explained it perfectly to my satisfaction.
Many call his science flawed, yet today evolution is being disproved by the study of the stars and the youngness of the universe.
Why if evolution is taking place have we seen nothing in times of written history, only extinction.
I am a woodsman and experienced hunter, I know the woods are full of game and yet in my many years of hunting I have only found one skull of a young bear.
This I have never been able to understand, when there is so much condenced discovery of fossils in certain areas. What caused this? In this book Immanuel Velikovsky explains well beyond normal reasoning why.
In reveiws of this book many have said that the book is not science, I believe that the preponderance of evidence is always science and that theory is without merit when science proves it wrong. As I said earlier to the adherent of evolution this book is blaspheme, the reason is because evolution, is a religion, it is and has to be accepted by faith. The evolutionist is the adherent of the religion and is offended when his or her belief system is attacked...
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Much more interesting than 'Worlds in Collision'.
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-07-05
0 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
The second most famous book by Immanuel Velikovsky, 'Earth in Upheaval', is much more interesting than 'Worlds in Collision'. One of the main reasons why is because Velikovsky does not focus too much on Biblical stories and ancient stories from ancient cultures. That's what killed 'Worlds'; although the ancient stories were a little interesting, they were boring for the most part. I also doubt if the history was accurate too. I doubt if all the events described all happened at the same time.
Here Velikovsky is a little more scientific, but his science if very flawed. I doubt most scientists would take him seriously. Recommended reading for those who are interested in alternative archeology.
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Thoughts in Upheaval
Rating  (4)
Date: 2002-03-15
6 out of 9 customers found this reveiw helpful
Though Velikovsky's theories are varied and somewhat happen-stance, his suggestions make one take notice or our planet's strange past. Like many other researcbers Velikovsky tries too hard to make "everything" fit his ideas when one or two would be satisfactory. By making everything "fit" together he tends to discredit even his most sound concepts. Still, an enlightening read.
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