Introduction -- The erratic Professor Sedgwick -- The ambititious Mr Murchison -- Trekking through Wales, 1832-3 -- A new history: the Cambrian and Silurian, 1834-5 -- The Devonian Controversy, 1835-40 -- Stumbling on the Permian in Russia, 1840-42 -- Siluria v. Cambria, 1841-52 -- From collaboration to rivalry, 1852-5 -- The Highland conspiracy: Siluria in Sctoland, 1855-73 -- The missing key: discovery of the Ordovician, 1864-84 -- The final mystery.
Summary:
"Adam Sedgwick was a priest and scholar. Roderick Murchison was a retired soldier. Charles Lapworth was a school teacher. 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 Palaeozoic 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"--Publisher's description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.