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The Map That Changed The World
 
 
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The Map That Changed The World (Paperback)

by Simon Winchester (Author) "The last day of August 1819, a Tuesday, dawned gray, showery, and refreshingly cool in London, promising a welcome end to a weeklong spell of..." (more)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
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Product Description

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Once upon a time there lived a man who discovered the secrets of the earth. He traveled far and wide, learning about the world below the surface. After years of toil, he created a great map of the underworld and expected to live happily ever after. But did he? Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman) tells the fossil-friendly fairy tale life of William Smith in The Map That Changed the World.

Born to humble parents, Smith was also a child of the Industrial Revolution (the year of his birth, 1769, also saw Josiah Wedgwood open his great factory, Etruria, Richard Arkwright create his first water-powered cotton-spinning frame, and James Watt receive the patent for the first condensing steam engine). While working as surveyor in a coal mine, Smith noticed the abrupt changes in the layers of rock as he was lowered into the depths. He came to understand that the different layers--in part as revealed by the fossils they contained--always appeared in the same order, no matter where they were found. He also realized that geology required a three-dimensional approach. Smith spent the next 20 some years traveling throughout Britain, observing the land, gathering data, and chattering away about his theories to those he met along the way, thus acquiring the nickname "Strata Smith." In 1815 he published his masterpiece: an 8.5- by 6-foot, hand-tinted map revealing "A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales."

Despite this triumph, Smith's road remained more rocky than smooth. Snubbed by the gentlemanly Geological Society, Smith complained that "the theory of geology is in the possession of one class of men, the practice in another." Indeed, some members of the society went further than mere ostracism--they stole Smith's work. These cartographic plagiarists produced their own map, remarkably similar to Smith's, in 1819. Meanwhile the chronically cash-strapped Smith had been forced to sell his prized fossil collection and was eventually consigned to debtor's prison.

In the end, the villains are foiled, our hero restored, and science triumphs. Winchester clearly relishes his happy ending, and his honey-tinged prose ("that most attractively lovable losterlike Paleozoic arthropod known as the trilobite") injects a lot of life into what seems, on the surface, a rather dry tale. Like Smith, however, Winchester delves into the strata beneath the surface and reveals a remarkable world. --Sunny Delaney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

As he did in The Professor and the Madman, Winchester chooses an obscure historical character who is inherently fascinating, but whose life and work have also had a strong impact on civilization. Here is William Smith, the orphan son of a village blacksmith, with lots of pluck and little luck until the end of his life when this pioneering first geological cartographer of the world beneath our feet was finally and fully recognized. Smith's life illustrates the interconnectedness of early 19th-century science, the industrial revolution, an intellectual climate that permits a look beyond religious dogma, and the class biases that endlessly impede his finances and fortunes. Published in 1815, Smith's huge and beautiful map of geological strata and the fossils imbedded in them blazed the way for Darwin and the creation-vs.-evolution debates that rage even day. Winchester is a fine stylist who also has a fine, clear reading voice. He fully engages listeners, not only with the excitement of Smith's life and work, but even with geological explications that would have been pretty dull in science class. Simultaneous release with HarperCollins hardcover (Forecasts, June 4).

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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First Sentence
The last day of August 1819, a Tuesday, dawned gray, showery, and refreshingly cool in London, promising a welcome end to a weeklong spell of close and muggy weather that seemed to have put all the capital's citizens in a nettlesome, liverish mood. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

79 Reviews
5 star:
 (27)
4 star:
 (16)
3 star:
 (19)
2 star:
 (12)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (79 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Look At Modern Scientific History, Nov 20 2009
By Penelope B. M. Hedges (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I was riveted by this book, which shows the power of one man who challenges established thought on how the earth was made and realises that there was more to it than seven days. William Smith's observations in the mines and while building canals contributed greatly to the theory of evolution. Smith constructed a geological map that is not so very different from those in use today. If you are interested in geology or map making you will enjoy this read.

Additional biographical information shows how Smith struggled with life, fame and debt along the way.
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2.0 out of 5 stars Deadly dull, May 1 2004
By Ken Zirkel "Kickstand" (Somewhere in New England) - See all my reviews
I'm sorry, but not even Simon Winchester's earnest enthusiasm and lyrical prose can save this tale. It's just too dull. I got through about halfway, and couldn't finish.

Winchester is a glorious writer in his twin histories of the Oxford English Dictionary. But here his subject is just too obscure and trivial, and try as he might, Winchester can't make it seem interesting.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Fairly interesting story swamped by dreadful writing, Nov 26 2003
By Peter F Gray (Ellensburg, WA United States) - See all my reviews
It's a matter of taste, but I'm mystified by people who find Winchester's writing "charming." The author's cardinal rule seems to be: "When in doubt, slather on another thick coat of adjectives, adverbs, and clichés." This kind of prose is too politely described as turgid, florid, and repetitive.
I wouldn't normally review a book after reading 1/4 of it, but I feel about this one the way I do after watching 20 minutes of a movie, and the direction, acting, and story are already tired and weak. It's usually a waste of time to stick it out on the off chance of an improvement.
Given that, I can't comment on whether the underlying story will come close to living up to its grandiose title, but I can say that I have a hard time trusting an author on the big picture once I've seen him get the details wrong in areas that I am intimately familiar with (e.g. coal mining in this case).
As several other readers suggested, John McPhee is an incomparably better writer and researcher, on geology or any other topic he cares to tackle.
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 		 Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars pass on this title
I had many hours of flying ahead of me and this was the wrong book to have taken. The fact that it was the only book I had gave me great incentive to like it. I didn't. Read more
Published on Nov 26 2003 by Rick Fisher

5.0 out of 5 stars Great science, great history
William Smith learned how to read the layers of rock beneath Great Britain and created the world's first stratigraphic map. Read more
Published on Nov 24 2003 by Captain Kang

3.0 out of 5 stars A review of the book about the map that changed the world
Simon Winchester, the author of the deservedly best-selling *The Professor and the Madman*, writes in *The Map that Changed the World* about William Smith, who was dubbed in... Read more
Published on Oct 11 2003 by Debra Hamel

3.0 out of 5 stars Hyperboyle in the title
Stacey gave me this book last year for Christmas. It is written by Simon Winchester, who also wrote The Professor and the Madman, which was a fascinating book about the creation... Read more
Published on Sep 19 2003 by M. Griffith

2.0 out of 5 stars Why was this a best seller?
Disappointing sums it up for me. If I wasn't interested in geology already I would be even more disappointed. Read more
Published on Sep 2 2003 by John R Laferriere

4.0 out of 5 stars English eccentrics
What is it about England and its wonderful eccentric scientists? From Darwin and Newton to Harrison and Smith, these folks are just amazing - their love of what they did and... Read more
Published on Aug 19 2003 by portledgesteven

5.0 out of 5 stars Zero to Hero...for Real
Simon Winchester successfully and masterfully spins this non-fiction biography with the twists and turns of a well-plotted fiction. Read more
Published on Aug 15 2003 by Matthew Munyon

5.0 out of 5 stars A Serendipitous Pleasure
My wonderful book club is fond of taking field trips, and so when one member suggested "Longitude" we knew that a trip to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich was... Read more
Published on July 21 2003 by Mary S. Holt

3.0 out of 5 stars overloaded with geologic details...
After reading Winchester's book "The Professor and the Madman" I was very interested in reading some more of Simon Winchester's work. Read more
Published on July 10 2003 by Joe Sherry

5.0 out of 5 stars A rocky road
Smith's life is fascinating, his passion inpiring, his legacy profound.

Winchester takes us on an enjoyable journey accompanying Smith through the English landscape. Read more

Published on Jun 21 2003 by saliero

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