The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon WinchesterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Simon Winchester’s remarkable book about a remarkable man was so fascinating I found it difficult to put it down. William Smith was definitely the man during the 18th century who provided the fundamental investigation techniques that led to the science of geology. While other individuals, often described as dilettantes by earnest scientists, were collecting fossils for their pretty appearance or their curious shapes, Smith was interested in their origin and their relative position within the earth’s sedimentary crust. He wanted to know what this information could tell us about how landscapes formed.
It appears from Winchester’s text that Smith’s studies contributed to Charles Darwin’s work. This point alone was enough to keep me reading. William Smith used the term ‘stratigraphical order’ to describe how he and, therefore, other interested scientists would be able to predict other land formations across England, and eventually all Britain. The geological time zones for these formations also gave Smith the spur to produce his famous iconic geological map. This hypothesis would, like Darwin’s work, challenge the contemporary belief about the age of life on Earth, leading of course to much controversy during the early 19th century.
There is a lot about the position of William Smith within the social class of those times and how the contemporary mores and snobbery affected his acceptance by those who considered themselves to be ‘superior’ to him and his lower class birth. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the history of science and technology.
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