Marshall McCabe has dedicated many years to researching Quaternary geomorphology and, in particular, the Quaternary geomorphology of Ireland. Glacial Geology and Geomorphology: The Landscapes of Ireland brings this broad and deep expertise together into one comprehensive (and very well produced) volume, focusing, according to the publisher's note, on ‘the dynamic interactions between ice, atmosphere and sea levels during the last major glacial cycle’. The author (p. 12) provides a more succinct, and probably accurate, summary, describing the book as ‘. . . an exercise in historical geology, focusing on description and explanation of glacigenic landscapes and deposits in Ireland’.

The book's ten chapters run to 274 pages and begin with Introduction and Themes which present cursory overviews of the main issues that run through the remainder of the book. The main body of the book follows, with detailed chapters on: Interglacials and Biostratigraphy (Ch. 3); The Last Major Glacial Cycle (Ch. 4); Glacial Bedforms (Ch. 5); The Irish Sea Glacier (Ch. 5); Terrestrial Deglaciation (Ch. 6); The Eskers of Ireland (Ch. 8); Ice Sheet Readvances around the North Irish Sea Basin (Ch. 9), and Late-glacial Sea Levels and Ice Sheet History (Ch. 10). Each chapter contains comprehensive site descriptions that borrow heavily from the author's own published (and unpublished) work. Each chapter is very well illustrated with numerous, good quality colour photographs and detailed stratigraphic logs. Glacial Geology and Geomorphology consequently contains a great deal of detailed, site-specific information.

As is evident from the chapter titles, the book is not classified solely by landform or area. It is not therefore designed as a field guide, which has already been adequately covered by the series published by the Quaternary Research Association (many of which McCabe has written or contributed to). However, neither is Glacial Geology and Geomorphology structured as one would expect a student text to be: classified by, for example, key glacial time periods or processes. Instead, the book is structured around important themes. While this does result in the text revisiting certain processes, places, landforms, and events, it also allows the author to present a full and detailed coverage of each chosen theme. Consequently, if one wished to obtain information on, for example, the Irish Sea Glacier (as I have myself as background to a field trip) Glacial Geology and Geomorphology provides all the necessary information in one chapter: the reader does not have to skip between separate chapters dealing with different relevant field-sites, time periods or glacial processes. While this structure is a little unconventional, it works for the interested reader because the themes have been chosen carefully and the index is comprehensive, allowing references to field sites or landscape features to be found rapidly. That said, it is not the simplest format for a student or field-trip leader to navigate quickly.

Glacial Geology and Geomorphology: The Landscapes of Ireland is not a textbook considering glacial geology and geomorphology, and nor is it a field guide considering the landscapes of Ireland: it is an authoritative integration of the two. The book is produced to a very high standard, evidenced by good-quality paper and printing (including many, high-quality colour photographs and diagrams). The text is written to an expert standard, is richly illustrated, and always interesting. If one is seeking a comprehensive, research-level summary of the ways in which advancing and receding ice masses have contributed to the current surface geology of Ireland then this is now their essential text.