The Map That Changed the World 
Subtitle: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada, Limited
Published: 2002
ISBN-13: 9780006394228
First sentence: Above one of the many grand mar staircases within the east wing of Burlington House, the great Palladian mansion on the north side of London' Piccadilly, hangs a pair of huge sky blue velvet curtains, twisted and tasseled silk ropes beside them.