There is another essentials of geology book by Marshak that I saw and was curious so I bought both just to see what the differences were. Out of the two I would recommend this one because of the layout of the graphics and texts. I don't know why, maybe it's the size(it's more of a square) but it reads much better than marshak's which I found to be a chore to slog through because of how cramped all the text is in a similarly thick book. Other than that they both have pretty much the same chapters, contents, and order. Although the graphics will be different they show the same things. Marshak's did have a chapter on mining, oil and the like which I found wanting in Tarbuck's but it didn't make up for my personal preference in Tarbuck's.Overall a very fun book to read through! I have never taken a geology course but I have a job working with drill bits and because I encounter geological terminology all the time now I needed a quick refresher and this more than did the job! Personally the chapters on groundwater alone were worth the book because I never knew how it worked before and it was something extra I got out of it.I'll give it 5 stars, even though I will say that a chapter on mining/oil drilling/quarrying is definitely a warranted addition because if you're gonna include a chapter on climate change at least add one of something that's relevant in terms of geology(i.e. groundwater pollution through oil drilling, mountain top removal for coal).