"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Born to humble parents, Smith was also a child of the Industrial Revolution (the year of his birth, 1769, also saw Josiah Wedgwood open his great factory, Etruria, Richard Arkwright create his first water-powered cotton-spinning frame, and James Watt receive the patent for the first condensing steam engine). While working as surveyor in a coal mine, Smith noticed the abrupt changes in the layers of rock as he was lowered into the depths. He came to understand that the different layers--in part as revealed by the fossils they contained--always appeared in the same order, no matter where they were found. He also realized that geology required a three-dimensional approach. Smith spent the next 20 some years traveling throughout Britain, observing the land, gathering data, and chattering away about his theories to those he met along the way, thus acquiring the nickname "Strata Smith." In 1815 he published his masterpiece: an 8.5- by 6-foot, hand-tinted map revealing "A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales."
Despite this triumph, Smith's road remained more rocky than smooth. Snubbed by the gentlemanly Geological Society, Smith complained that "the theory of geology is in the possession of one class of men, the practice in another." Indeed, some members of the society went further than mere ostracism--they stole Smith's work. These cartographic plagiarists produced their own map, remarkably similar to Smith's, in 1819. Meanwhile the chronically cash-strapped Smith had been forced to sell his prized fossil collection and was eventually consigned to debtor's prison.
In the end, the villains are foiled, our hero restored, and science triumphs. Winchester clearly relishes his happy ending, and his honey-tinged prose ("that most attractively lovable losterlike Paleozoic arthropod known as the trilobite") injects a lot of life into what seems, on the surface, a rather dry tale. Like Smith, however, Winchester delves into the strata beneath the surface and reveals a remarkable world. --Sunny Delaney
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 4.80
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # JT-0Y6B-V5PO
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Following the hugely successful hardback, this extraordinary tale of the father of modern geology looks set to be the non fiction paperback for 2002. Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological map of anywhere in the world. Its maker was a farmer's son named William Smith. Born in 1769 his life was beset by troubles- he was imprisoned for debt, turned out of his home, his work was plagiarised, his wife went insane and the scientific establishment shunned him. It was not until 1829, when a Yorkshire aristocrat recognised his genius, that he was returned to London in triumph- The Map That Changed the World is his story. Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological map of anywhere in the world. Its maker was a farmer's son named William Smith. Born in 1769 his life was beset by troubles. This title tells his story. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780140280395
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Language: ENG. Seller Inventory # 9780140280395
Book Description Condition: New. pp. xiv + 338. Seller Inventory # 7125049
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Seller Inventory # 9780140280395
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. BRAND NEW ** SUPER FAST SHIPPING FROM UK WAREHOUSE ** 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE. Seller Inventory # 9780140280395-GDR
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological map of anywhere in the world. Its maker was a farmer's son named William Smith. Born in 1769 his life was beset by troubles. This title tells his story. Seller Inventory # B9780140280395
Book Description Condition: New. In eng. Seller Inventory # ria9780140280395_new
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 352 pages. 7.72x5.08x0.94 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __0140280391
Book Description Condition: New. 2002. New Ed. Paperback. Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological map of anywhere in the world. Its maker was a farmer's son named William Smith. Born in 1769 his life was beset by troubles. This title tells his story. Num Pages: 352 pages, illustrations, facsimiles, maps, glossary, bibliography, index. BIC Classification: BGH; HBTP; RGV; WNW. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 197 x 130 x 24. Weight in Grams: 254. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9780140280395