The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology

William Smith wasn't wealthy or well-connected, but his love of fossils and rocks, together with his twenty-year fixation with documenting Britain's geology alone, made him one of the nineteenth century's most influential figures. His wife went insane, envious coworkers stole his work and ultimately destroyed him, and he was imprisoned for debt as a result of his vision.

Simon Winchester relates the amazing tale of 'Strata' Smith, a man who defied social classes, economic status, and scientific conventions to create a map that radically altered our understanding of the globe.