The Map That Changed the World : A Tale of Rocks, Ruin and Redemption

Author: Winchester, Simon

Biography: historical, political & military

Published on 4 July 2002 by Penguin Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 352 pages
197 x 130 x 24 | 248g

THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF THE FATHER OF MODERN GEOLOGYHidden 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 troubled: 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.

'For a geologist, this is a must read' Amazon Reviewer'It serves to lift a genius from academic semi-obscurity and to award him the acknowledgement he undoubtedly deserves' Amazon Reviewer'Never realised how seminal this map was' Amazon Reviewer