A Manual of Elementary Geology. Reprinted from the Sixth Edition. Greatly Enlarged

Generally good condition and clean. Spine shows minor wear and missing about one quarter of an inch at the top. The book originally appeared as The Elements of Geology (1838). It was the first modern textbook of geology written on the assumption that geological phenomena could be explained completely in terms of natural and knowledgeable causes. Sir Charles Lyell (b. Nov. 14, 1797, Kinnordy, Forfarshire, Scotland; d. Feb. 22, 1875, London), a Scottish geologist, was largely responsible for the general acceptance of the view that all features of the Earth's surface are produced by physical, chemical, and biological processes through long periods of geological time. Publication of the Principles of Geology placed Lyell among the recognized leaders of his field, compelling him to devote more time to scientific affairs. During these years he gained the friendship of men like Darwin and the astronomer Sir John Herschel. In 1838 Lyell's Elements of Geology was published; it described European rocks and fossils from the most recent, Lyell's specialty, to the oldest then known. Like the Principles of Geology, this well-illustrated work was periodically enlarged and updated. In 1859 publication of Darwin's Origin of Species gave new impetus to Lyell's work. Although Darwin drew heavily on Lyell's Principles of Geology both for style and content, Lyell had never shared his protégé's belief in evolution. But reading the Origin of Species triggered studies that culminated in publication of The Geological Evidence of the Antiquity of Man in 1863, in which Lyell tentatively accepted evolution by natural selection. Only during completion of a major revision of the Principles of Geology in 1865 did he fully adopt Darwin's conclusions.…