{"product_id":"reading-the-rocks-9781408879559","title":"Reading the Rocks","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBOOK OF THE YEAR 2017\u003c\/b\u003eA rich and exuberant group biography of the first geologists, the people who were first to excavate from the layers of the world its buried history. These first geologists were made up primarily, and inevitably, of gentlemen with the necessary wealth to support their interests, yet boosting their numbers, expanding their learning and increasing their findings were clergymen, academics  and women.  This lively and eclectic collection of characters brought passion, eccentricity and towering intellect to geology and Brenda Maddox in \u003ci\u003eReading the Rocks \u003c\/i\u003edoes them full justice, bringing them to vivid life. The new science of geology was pursued by this assorted band because it opened a window on Earth's ancient past. They showed great courage in facing the conflict between geology and Genesis that immediately presented itself: for the rocks and fossils being dug up showed that the Earth was immeasurably old, rather than springing from a\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReading the Rocks, \u003c\/i\u003ethe latest book by the frighteningly prolific biographer Brenda Maddox, relates how a handful of British men – and one woman – blasted out the intellectual cutting through which the theory of natural selection would follow … Maddox, whose previous biographical scalps include George Eliot, DH Lawrence and Rosalind Franklin, \u003cb\u003ehas a fine eye for idiosyncrasy, the primacy of money and the sheer squawking rivalrousness of the academic world\u003c\/b\u003e’ -- Oliver Moody * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIf you liked Jenny Uglow’s \u003ci\u003eThe Lunar Men\u003c\/i\u003e, you’ll enjoy this colourful group biography\u003c\/b\u003e of the Victorian gentleman geologists and fossil-hunters (not all of whom were gentlemen) who established that the Earth was formed somewhat before 4004BC – which was the widely accepted date before those little geological hammers started chipping away.\u003cb\u003e Maddox writes elegant, old-school scientific-biographical history\u003c\/b\u003e, and she shapes this story neatly as a prequel to Charles Darwin’s better-known one -- Books of the Year * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eBrenda Maddox’s new book is about this magic moment in the history of modern geology … the overall result is \u003cb\u003ea fascinating picture of scientific life\u003c\/b\u003e, and of fundamental changes in thinking, over a vital half-century ***** * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003eMaddox’s book is \u003cb\u003ea fascinating group biography\u003c\/b\u003e of the pioneers of geology who eventually inspired Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution … Maddox brings to life the personalities of the time and \u003cb\u003econjures superbly the excitement and controversy that the new science caused\u003c\/b\u003e -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eThe rock\/collecting geek in me loved this \u003cb\u003eenthralling \u003c\/b\u003egroup biography in \u003ci\u003eLunar Men\u003c\/i\u003e-style of the first geologist -- A History Pick of the Month * Bookseller *\u003cbr\u003eThe intricacy of detail, such as professional jealousies and the finger points of controversies, will appeal to specialists, but the leavening of this scholarly book with a wealth of incidental information, from Lyell’s views on slavery to Wordsworth’s thoughts on the violations of Mother Nature, ensures that it will also be of interest to the general reader * Country Life *","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49529347473751,"sku":"9781408879559","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781408879559.jpg?v=1731875262","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/reading-the-rocks-9781408879559","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}