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The Map That Changed the World
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology | Simon Winchester
In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. He found that by tracing the placement of fossils, which he uncovered in his excavations, one could follow layers of rocks as they dipped and rose and fellclear across England and, indeed, clear across the worldmaking it possible, for the first time ever, to draw a chart of the hidden underside of the earth. Smith spent twenty-two years piecing together the fragments of this unseen universe to create an epochal and remarkably beautiful hand-painted map. But instead of receiving accolades and honors, he ended up in debtors' prison, the victim of plagiarism, and virtually homeless for ten years more. The Map That Changed the World is a very human tale of endurance and achievement, of one man's dedication in the face of ruin. With a keen eye and thoughtful detail, Simon Winchester unfolds the poignant sacrifice behind this world-changing discovery.
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review
Kenyazero
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Mehso-so

It was interesting learning about the strata maps that helped launch a widespread understanding and acceptance of geology. Overall, this isn't a bad read. I was put off, however, by the author's unnecessary proliferation of sexist, ableist, and anti-asexual notions. #Nonfiction #Science

Kenyazero Used for #OwlHouseReadathon Alador: a science book; and #GottaCatchEmAll Sirfetch'd: Historical @PuddleJumper 3mo
PuddleJumper ❤️❤️ 3mo
18 likes2 comments
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Kenyazero
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Not a bad read so far, but I have to say I‘m unimpressed with this author‘s needless proliferation of sexist, ableist, and anti-asexual notions. For no reason, he took the time to repeat that a female geologist who had shown no romantic interests left this world with her cold, petrified heart in her collection. The sexuality of the men somehow hasn‘t come up. He also said of Smith‘s wife that she was a burden due to her ill health and…

Kenyazero … somehow didn‘t feel it was important to note (granted, I didn‘t look this woman up) that her other diagnosis of being ill with hyper-sexuality may have reflected more on the times and their view of women with interest in non-child-making sex than on her actual mental health. 6mo
Kenyazero @Clare-Dragonfly That‘s what I said! 6mo
15 likes3 comments
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TrishB
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#titlesandtunes #theworldismyoyster
Book about rocks and the world and the first geological map! As recommended by the rock mad daughter!
Song Everybody Wants to Rule the World 😁 not my fave Tears for Fears song but a good sing a long one!

slategreyskies I love rocks too! 1y
Cuilin Love this!! 1y
See All 9 Comments
squirrelbrain Great choices! 1y
TrishB @Cinfhen always 😘 1y
TrishB @slategreyskies cool 👍🏻 my daughter is very entertaining when describing the countryside via the rocks! 1y
BarbaraBB I used to love Tears for Fears. This isn‘t my favorite either but it‘s good to see them anyway! 1y
DGRachel Great song choice! 1y
65 likes1 stack add9 comments
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iread2much
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Mehso-so

This book was interesting and I learned a lot about the beginnings of #geology and poor William Smith, but it never told me how the map changed the world. I found the first part of the book much better than the later half, and it was really interesting to learn about the debtors prison system, but I don‘t understand why the map was so important.
1.5/5 stars, long winded tangents ruin this book.

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Straycat
Panpan

I struggled my way through this book. While it does have some interesting parts, most of the book felt very dry. I picked this book after being recommended it for my interests in geology, but this book is mostly about the life and the downfall of William Smith.

rather_be_reading welcome to litsy 📚☕📚 @LitsyWelcomeWagon 5y
Straycat @rather_be_reading Thank you:) I found out about from a book club I‘m in on Facebook. (edited) 5y
LitsyWelcomeWagon Welcome to Litsy! Here are links to #Litsytips: http://bit.ly/litsytips and #LitsyHowTo videos: goo.gl/UrCpoU. There‘s lots of fun things to do: book exchanges, buddy reads, photo challenges and more!
5y
Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂 5y
2 likes4 comments
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PippoRanito
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Bailedbailed

Reading this book about a map will ironically make you feel lost. Winchester's attempt at biography ends up as a pathetic exercise in marketing. Such a shame since the subject topic and person are both interesting.

Read my full review here: https://scidols.com/2017/11/06/book-review-the-map-that-changed-the-world-will-l...

#maps #history #science #biography

16 likes1 stack add
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AngelaG1
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The 75% off bin actually had something I‘ve been wanting! New book, plus stationary made from Measure for Measure scripts (my favorite Shakespeare play).

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GoneFishing

William Smith appeared on the stage at a profoundly interesting moment: he was about to make it more so.

28 likes1 stack add
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Tikabelle
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A lady next to me on the bus was reading this and coughing into her LIBRARY book, so I picked up the audio version (for safety), thinking it would be about the tapestry maps from Oxfordshire. Nope. It's about the geological map from 1815, but damned if it's not interesting all the same.

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hof1991
Pickpick

A history of geology in typical Winchester fashion. Lots of related facts and history. Love that.