num_pages: 329
description: William Smith was not rich or well connected, but his passion for rocks and fossils, and his twenty-year obsession with single-handedly mapping the geology of Britain made him one of the most significant men of the nineteenth century. However his vision cost him dear - his wife went mad, his work was stolen by jealous colleagues who eventually ruined him, and he was imprisoned for debt.Simon Winchester tells the fascinating story of 'Strata' Smith, a man who crossed boundaries of class, wealth and science to produce a map that fundamentally changed the way we view the world.
language: English
title: The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
titlecomplete: The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
genres: Audiobook, Historical, Biography, History Of Science, Science, Geology, Nonfiction, History, Geography, Maps
ratings_count: 13160
publisher: Perennial