The Greywacke: How a Priest, a Soldier and a School Teacher Uncovered 300 Million Years of History

by Nick Davidson

Overview

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE PRIZE 2022

'A joyful collision of science, history and nature writing' Helen Gordon, author of Notes from Deep Time

Adam Sedgwick was a priest and scholar. Roderick Murchison was a retired soldier. Charles Lapworth was a schoolteacher. It was their personal and intellectual rivalry, pursued on treks through Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Devon and parts of western Russia, that revealed the narrative structure of the Paleozoic Era, the 300-million-year period during which life on Earth became recognisably itself.

Nick Davidson follows in their footsteps and draws on maps, diaries, letters, field notes and contemporary accounts to bring the ideas and characters alive. But this is more than a history of geology. As we travel through some of the most spectacular scenery in Britain, it's a celebration of the sheer visceral pleasure generations of geologists have found, and continue to find, in noticing the earth beneath our feet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782836261
Publisher:	Profile
Publication date:	05/13/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	735,159
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Nick Davidson is a documentary filmmaker and amateur geologist. He lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

'An invaluable addition to the genre of historical geology' -Geoscientist

'A colourful and joyous romp' -John Wright, author of The Forager's Calendar

'A joyful collision of science, history and nature writing' Helen Gordon, author of Notes from Deep Time

From the Publisher