1968 – the summer of revolution: Parisian youth at the barricades, loons, Hendrix's version of All along the watchtower and. . .the appearance of Don Ragan's Structural Geology. Those students who bought the book, and many did, perhaps experienced another great cultural experience of that year – 2001: A Space Odyssey. But how many of them could have imagined that Ragan's book would reappear in a 4th edition, almost a decade after Stanley Kubrick's fictitious dateline?

Like the earlier editions, Ragan's book addresses a number of core methods in structural geology, from essential elements such as the trigonometry for devising true stratigraphic thicknesses to more challenging concepts such as manipulating strain data. Along the way readers are introduced to structure contours and stereographic projection. Rigorous methods of creating block diagrams, documenting variations in 3D structure and calculating the true attitude of planes using drill hole data are also covered. There are lots of careful diagrams and the mathematics, methods and procedures are laid out stepwise. There are worked problems and a comprehensive, if rather last-century, reference list. In many regards then, this is exactly what is required of a structural geology manual.

As so much of the content is timeless it is perhaps not so surprising to find the Structural Geology: An Introduction to the Geometric Techniques re-appearing in bookshops. Although many methods can now be performed on commercial software, including i-phone apps, working through the exercises here should be de rigueur for graduating geologists. The ability to deal with outcrop structural data is a basic requirement in engineering and mining industries. The methods are readily applicable to other subsurface datasets, including seismic. The catch is of course that students commonly find the three dimensional aspects especially difficult to grasp, perhaps increasingly so as the world is increasingly experienced through a two-dimensional screen. Does a textbook like this help the Playstation generation? More pertinently, how many university courses now credit these abilities and skills?

I fear that this book will not be popular with students: it's a bit like asking A Space Odyssey's HAL9000 to compete with the latest i-pad. The style is very old-school. The basic lay-out and feel of Ragan's manual hasn't changed through the four editions. But as a reference book, a source for clearly laid out methods – it serves a very useful purpose. It's up to the class lecturer to provide the inspiration and rationale for all this structural rigour. And to fight against current trends to down-grade fundamental aspects of subsurface earth science from the curriculum.