The Seashell on the Mountaintop: A Story of Science, Sainthood and the Humble Genius Who Discovered a New History of the Earth - Hardcover

Cutler, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0434008575 ISBN 13: 9780434008575

Publisher: Dutton, 2003

Synopsis

Dubbed "the founder of modern geology" by Stephen Jay Gould, the 17th-century Danish scientist Nicolaus Steno was the first man to discover "deep time": to suggest that the existence of fossils, particularly those far away from where the animals of which they are the remains would have lived ("the seashell on the mountaintop") demanded a much longer history for the Earth than the roughly 6000 years suggested by the Bible. Steno's work was ignored for over a century: he himself dropped his geological studies without completing a university dissertation; he converted to Catholicism and later became a bishop; in 1988 he was beatified by Pope John Paul I. This work tells the story of this passionate and fascinating man, exploring his contributions to geology and his remarkable ideas on science and religion. Steno's work was eventually to transform Western ideas of time, creating not only a long past for the earth, but also the possibility of a future that was not about to be cut short by Armageddon.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Cutler is a palaeontologist and geologist. He works at the Smithsonian Institution at the US National Museum of Natural History. This is his first book.

From AudioFile

Seventeenth-century Danish anatomist Nicholai Steno spent much of his scientific life working for the Medicis in Florence, where he was renowned for his skill in dissection. When he turned his attention to fossils, he invented the basic principles of studying the Earth's strata, demonstated that our planet was much older than was then believed, and showed that fossils are the remains of animal life, rather than animal-like fossils. He is today recognized as the "founder of the science of geology." Grover Gardner gives a straightforward rendition. His performance is all that one would expect from an AUDIOFILE Golden Voice--no histrionics; no unnecessary embellishments; just a clear, enjoyable listen. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0434008575
• ISBN 13: 9780434008575
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Illustrated
• Number of pages: 240