Physical Geography Textbook

Several versions of the textbook, McKnight's Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation, by Darrel Hess and illustrated by Dennis Tasa, are available--any of them will be fine to use in this course.

Top Choice: I recommend that you use the Fourth California Edition of McKnight's Physical Geography by Darrel Hess. This book contains the complete "national edition" of McKnight's Physical Geography, 12th edition, along with a set of field guides describing the physical geography of California--the California Edition gives you much more content but actually costs less than the hardback national edition. This edition of the textbook includes QR ("Quick Response") codes that you can scan with your smartphone to view a wide range of animations, videos, and Google Earth^TM virtual field trips.

Other Textbook Options: Other textbook options include the à la Carte ("loose-leaf") version of the California edition or the national edition textbook (many students like this format because it is easy to carry around just a few chapters at a time). You may also want to consider an "eTextbook" version of the book available from Pearson (www.pearsonhighered.com) or from Vital Source (www.VitalSource.com). You may use an earlier edition of the textbook if you have one--however, it won't have the expanded coverage of topics, improved artwork, and QR code access to media content that you'll have in the new Fourth California Edition of McKnight's Physical Geography.

Study Guide: An optional Study Guide book for earlier editions of the textbook is available used from many online book sellers. Over the years, many students have found the Study Guide helpful (it acts somewhat like a brief "Cliff Notes" version of the book with which you can study), however, the Study Guide hasn't been updated to match the current edition of the textbook.

Web Access and Mastering Geography: For a few dollars more, you can purchase a new book with an access code for the textbook website (www.MasteringGeography.com). From here you'll also have access to the Mastering Geography material--a vast array of study tools, animations, and self-tests designed to help you succeed in a physical geography course. I don't require that students use the website or the material in Mastering, but many students find it helpful.

Viewing Animations without Web Access: If you have a used book (that doesn't have QR codes for your smartphone) and you didn't receive an access code for Mastering, you can still view the animations by either purchasing an access code from the textbook Web site, or by going to the City College Library where several copies of the 9th edition textbook animation CD are on reserve (along with copies of the old Study Guide and the textbook itself).

Google Earth^TM Virtual Field Trips: You may take "virtual field trips" with most of the Field Guides in the Fourth California Edition textbook by downloading KMZ files. Go to my California Edition Field Guides page to access these files.

In the Interest of Full Disclosure: I am the author of the physical geography textbook we use here at City College—the Fourth California Edition of McKnight’s Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation, 12th edition. To avoid a financial conflict of interest, it has always been my practice to donate the royalties I earn from the sale of my books at City College to pay for teaching materials in my department, to support scholarships for our students, and to help fund projects such as The Story of Time and Life exhibit in Science Hall. (Note: Publishers and authors only earn revenue from the sale of new textbooks—revenue from the buyback and resale of used textbooks goes completely to bookstores or online booksellers.)