Four Centuries of Geological Travel: The Search for Knowledge on Foot, Bicycle, Sledge and Camel - Special Publication no 287 (Geological Society Special Publication)

In the last four centuries geologists have traversed the globe, searching for economically important materials or simply to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. Geologists have often been at the vanguard of scientific exploration.

The microscopist Robert Hooke explored the Isle of Wight, and Charles Darwin the Cape Verde islands and parts of South America. The volcanic wonders of Italy and central France attracted native and foreign visitors including Lyell and Murchison. The Tyrrell brothers faced great hardship in northern Canada, as did the actor and mineralogist Charles Lewis Giesecke in Greenland. The development of Sydney, Australia depended on finding limestone for building. French geologists relied on camels in the Sahara, while Grenville Cole trusted his tricycle to carry him across Europe.

Four Centuries of Geological Travel: The Search for Knowledge on Foot, Bicycle, Sledge and Camel focuses on the complexities of geological exploration and will be of particular interest to earth scientists, historians of science and to the general reader interested in science.

Also available:

The Role of Women in the History of Geology- ISBN 1862392277
Myth and Geology - ISBN 1862392161
THE HISTORY OF METEORITICS AND KEY METEORITE COLLECTIONS: FIREBALLS, FALLS & FINDS - ISBN 1862391947

The Geological Society of London

Founded in 1807, the Geological Society of London is the oldest geological society in the world, and one of the largest publishers in the Earth sciences.

The Society publishes a wide range of high-quality peer-reviewed titles for academics and professionals working in the geosciences, and enjoys an enviable international reputation for the quality of its work.

The many areas in which we publish in include:

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-Volcanology, magmatic studies and geochemistry
-Remote sensing
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-Regional geology guides

This book makes a welcome contribution to recent literature on the role of fieldwork in the history of science. As the title and subtitle suggest, the volume provides a broad-ranging historical account of travel in the service of geology. It contains 29 chapters, the majority of which focus on one or two geologist travellers.

There are good accounts of the development of geological field standards (by Oldroyd); of geological training and geological careers (Kolbl-Ebert); of different styles of writing about fieldwork (Klemun); modes of transportation (Wyse Jackson); geological equipment (Vaccari); the significance of iconic places in the history of geology (Taylor); the globalisation of travel (Good); and of whose geological travel accounts actually counted (Herbert). Four Centuries of geological travel is certainly worth reading for these chapters alone, --Simon Naylor, University of Exeter Review was featured in Geographical Journal Vol 175 No. 2 2009

This compilation of papers draws together some remarkable stories of geological and endeavour and demonstrates and 'protogeology' can be traced back to end sixteenth Europe where it gradually turned into geology.

This series of papers focuses on uncertainties and complexities of geological exploration, travelling and fieldwork, and shows that many of these factors have not substantially changed through time. This is a useful reminder for all of us involved in such activities, and is as such recommended reading. --T.J. A. Reijers Geo-Training & Travel, Anderen, the Netherlands

This compilation of papers draws together some remarkable stories of geological and endeavour and demonstrates and 'protogeology' can be traced back to end sixteenth Europe where it gradually turned into geology.

This series of papers focuses on uncertainties and complexities of geological exploration, travelling and fieldwork, and shows that many of these factors have not substantially changed through time. This is a useful reminder for all of us involved in such activities, and is as such recommended reading. --T.J. A. Reijers Geo-Training & Travel, Anderen, the Netherlands