This Day in Earth Science

History of Earth Sciences

Barber, Lynn 1980

The Heyday of Natural History, 1820 - 1870. Doubleday and Co., New York. 320 pp.
The age when "Natural History" was all the rage. Taken up by everyone, enthusiastic amateurs. It was thought to be morally improving and educational and linked to religious teaching as a demonstration of Creation and God's Purpose. Barber traces the study of Natural History through its numerous upheavals culminating in the Darwinian controversy and the gradual divorce of professional scientists and amateur naturalists through increased knowledge and specialization. It was an age when knowledge was so limited that anyone could be an "expert" and anyone could make discoveries or find new species. With increased knowledge this was no longer possible and natural history was relegated to the classroom and schoolboys' collections of beetles or bird's eggs. Marks also a decline in religious feeling and the break between science and art and science and religion. Also a change from a very anthropomorphic view of the world to a much more atheistical and detached view. Illustrated by the biographies and careers of many prominent naturalists - Agassiz, Huxley, Buckland, Sedgwick, and Darwin - to make the point that even an amateur could be a naturalist but that the professional scientist almost had to have independent means to finance his studies. Excellent, well illustrated and entertainingly written. Very funny in places. (16/May/1982)

Browne, Janet 2006

Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography. Douglas and McIntyre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. x + 174 pp.
A volume in a series of books called 'Books that Shook the World'. The first few chapters describe Darwin's life and the development of his ideas, especially with respect to the voyage of the Beagle. The bulk of the book describes how he came to write the Origin of Species, including the arrival of the famous essay from Wallace. The concluding chapter describes some of the aftermath and consequences of the book's publication, including the impact on the direction of scientific research and discovery, especially the search for mechanisms of inheritance, and the rise of social darwinism with its concomitant links to eugenics and the unfortunate political distortion of ideas in the series of repressive regimes characteristic of the 20th century in particular. An interesting read and introduction. (17/May/2008, 10/Feb/2009) Reviewed in AASP Newsletter 42(2):20-21 (2009).

Bryson, Bill 2003

A Short History of Nearly Everything. Anchor, Canada. 544 pp.
Basically a geoscience book, despite the rather misleading title. A history of the earth and how life developed on it, up to the emergence of modern humans, interwoven with stories about how this information was found out and the scientists and others people who worked out the story. Written in a very entertaining and literate style, I spotted a few errors but generally seemed OK. (24/Aug/2007)

Cadbury, Deborah 2002

The Dinosaur Hunters: A Story of Scientific Rivalry and the Discovery of the Prehistoric World. Fourth Estate, London, UK. x + 374 pp.
Deborah Cadbury presents a study in circumstance and success of two men, both involved in the early days of dinosaur studies in nineteenth century England. Gideon Mantell (1790 - 1852), country doctor, epitomizes the enthusiastic avocational geologist. Richard Owen (1804 - 1892) foreshadows the professionalisation of the discipline. In many ways, they had much in common. Both went through medical training, though Owen never became a practising physician. Both came from the tradesman class, though Owen's family was comparatively wealthy and Mantell's in reduced circumstances. Both were passionately interested in the emerging field of palaeontology. There the similarities end. Owen was socially successful; Mantell lived in relative obscurity. Owen had a long and productive life; Mantell died horrifically in late middle-age. Owen appears to have had a happy marriage and family life; Mantell's marriage was troubled and he was alienated from three of his children. Mantell is a minor player, usually relegated to a passing mention in the history of geology, whereas Owen coined the word "dinosaur" and is celebrated as a founder of dinosaur studies. And yet, in this highly readable account by Cadbury, Mantell sounds the more engaging character. (31/Jan/2003) Reviewed in Geoscience Canada 30(3):141-142 (2003).

Cone, Joseph 1991

Fire Under the Sea: The Discovery of the Most Extraordinary Environment on Earth - Volcanic Hot Springs on the Ocean Floor. Wm. Morrow, New York. 285 pp.
Written by a journalist, a survey of earth-science and in particular plate tectonics in the late 1980s. Concentrates mainly on US research and particularly along the Juan de Fuca ridge off the west coast. Shows some interesting sidelights, such as how the Reagan administration became interested when they thought there was money in ocean bed mining (e.g., manganese). Interesting. (10/Dec/1992)

Darwin, Charles 1839 (1959 edition)

The Voyage of the 'Beagle'. J. M. Dent and Sons, London, UK. 496 pp.
Darwin set off on the HMS Beagle as a naturalist and companion to Robert FitzRoy, the captain, in 1831 at Christmas, on a journey that was to last almost five years (he arrived back in England in October 1836). The objective of this mission was to survey the southern coasts of South America, but the ship also circumnavigated the world. Darwin went onshore and explored the places they landed at, collecting samples and objects, observing the geology. the wildlife and the vegetation, and gradually forming opinions on nature and biology that were to occupy his mind for the rest of his life. This is a great read, especially in the light of later history. To see flashes of ideas forming and some of the observations on which his later works were built is fascinating. (19/Apr/1984, 13/Dec/2005)

Fortey, Richard 2005

The Earth: An Intimate History. HarperPerennial, New York. 501 pp.
Fortey surveye some of the most significant sites in earth science, ones that are particularly significant in the development of thought in geology, especially with respect to the understanding of deep time and the development of the theory of plate tectonics. Hence he visits Etna in Italy, the Hawaiian islands, Iceland (to discuss seafloor spreading), some classic sections in the Alps, Newfoundland, parts of Scotland (especially to discuss faulting), Dartmoor (granites), San Andreas Fault and the Rift Valley, and the Grand Canyon. I liked the Italy (Etna) and Grand Canyon sections best, especially the description of the ride down into the Canyon on a mule which is quite evocative and sounds hair-raising. However, I found the text heavy-going and confusing in places. This is a book that cries out for more maps, even locational maps would have been helpful. Nevertheless, Fortey is to be commended for his efforts to popularize geology and its history. (10/Sep/2006)

Gould, Stephen Jay 1987

Time's Arrow, Time's Circle: Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Time. Harvard University Press, Massachusetts. 222 pp.
Text of a lecture series dealing with varying concepts of time in geological thought, mainly through the writings of some influential thinkers, Burnett (who I hadn't heard of before), Hutton, particularly as interpreted by Playfair, and Lyell. This is basically a history of science text. Examining the two concepts of time - as a continuous unchanging cycle, or as a linear series of events, embodying direction and also the concept of progress - and their ultimate resolution. Interesting, if overly abstract at times. (07/Jul/1988)

Jaffe, Mark 2000

The Gilded Dinosaur. Crown Books, New York. 424 pp.
A retelling of the rivalry of Cope and Marsh, two palaeontologists who hated each other but who are forever coupled together in popular imagination. Marsh may be thought to have "won", since he had professional recognition and social status. Cope, as a Quaker, was more of an outsider and never had a regular position or place in society. Nevertheless, he was happier and more successful in his private and family life and had loyal colleagues and students. Jaffe shows that much of their science was suspect or at best slapdash, but their most enduring legacy is the trove of fossils that have been worked on by subsequent researchers. (23/Aug/2003)

Kerr, Aubrey 1988

Corridors of Time. Self published, Calgary. 331 pp.
This book was a disappointment. There's a lot of information in here but it's really poorly written and incoherent. It is definitely not for the outsider. The material deals with the development of the oil industry in Alberta over the last fifty years or so. Nothing is really explained well and much of it is incomprehensible. People are introduced and discussed as if they are important but there is often little or no contextual background given for them. The chapters are written in roughly chronologic order but the book does not form a cohesive narrative. This has some potential to be an interesting book. Some interesting characters and personalities with the conflict between private enterprise and public regulation discussed as well. (02/Aug/1990)

Larson, Edward J. 2001

Evolution's Workshop: God and Science on the Galapagos Islands. Basic Books Inc., New York. xiii + 370 pp.
This is an interesting book. When Darwin visited the islands in 1835 on the Beagle voyage, there was already some considerable knowledge about them and the islands had been visited sporadically for several centuries. The person who described them first in print was William Dampier, who visited them in 1684 and wrote about them in the book of his travels. Darwin had Dampier's book with him and esteemed his writing highly. Larson notes the ambivalent attitude towards the islands with Herman Melville, for instance, who also visited them when he was crew on a whaling ship, characterizing them as the Encantadas or Enchanted Islands, an epitome of everything lost and evil in the world. Melville's attitude was more common in the 19th century, when their barrenness and isolation made them seem as wasteland. Sailors appreciated them only as a source of food, especially the tortoises and turtles. An appreciation for wildlife came much later, after WWII and in recent years, the islands have been almost "loved to death" by ecotourists and more lately surfers and extreme adventurers who, according to Larson, appear to care nothing for wildlife. The constant remaking of the islands in popular and scholarly imagination is one of the most fascinating aspects of this story. (04/Jul/2006)

Smith, Philip 1986

Harvest from the Rock: A History of Mining in Ontario. Macmillan of Canada. 346 pp.
Reviewed in Geolog 19(4):39-41 (1990).

Spaulding, David A. E. 1993

Dinosaur Hunters: 150 Years of Extraordinary Discoveries. Key Porter Books, Toronto, Canada. 310 pp.
Concentrates on the people and what they found, though becoming rather overladen with multisyllabic names at times. Begins in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with discoveries in Europe (mainly Germany) and UK. Then to eastern North America, then moves to Canada and the western US where much of the recent story is concentrated. Also describes Andrews' expeditions to central Asia. Interesting stories and characters. (10/Aug/1998)

Walsh, John Evangelist 1996

Unravelling Piltdown: The Science Fraud of the Century and its Solution. Random House, New York. xx + 279 pp.
A re-examination of the evidence for the Piltdown fraud. Concludes that Charles Dawson did this alone and without any help, mainly in a seeking for recognition and a craving for attention. Considers alternate views (e.g., Conan Doyle, de Chardin) and concludes that they are lacking sufficient evidence or motive. (03/Jul/2004, 04/Aug/2008)

Winchester, Simon 2005

A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906. Harper Collins. xiv + 462 pp.
Written in Winchester's usual florid overheated style, this book is more rambling and discursive than most. The earthquake is described in the first 22 pages and then there is along account of earthquakes, plate tectonics and the history of San Francisco and we don't return to the 1906 'quake until p. 243. This book seems hastily-written, not well-organized and rather repetitive. Still, the narrative is interesting and the account highlights the propensity of people to ignore and forget unpleasant events. (19/May/2008)

Winchester, Simon 2003

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded August 27, 1883. Harper Collins. xvi + 435 pp.
I've read this several times and enjoyed it very much each time. It is long, verbose, rambling, but withal a very good read. Winchester puts in lots of explanation about plate tectonics and why the volcano is where it is. He examines the historical record of previous eruptions, which is sparse, and describes the events leading up to the climactic eruption and its devastating after-effects. His account makes it clear that the majority of the destruction and loss of life was caused not by the eruption itself but by the consequent tsunamis which devastated nearby coastal areas. His attempts to link the eruption with subsequent social upheavals is not particularly convincing. The book could have done with a good copy editor, because there are lots of obtrusive typos, including "vulcanologists"! [sic] Highly prescient in view of the 2004 tsunami. (13/Jul/2003, 24/May/2006, 25/May/2008, 29/Jul/2009)

Winchester, Simon 2001

The Map that Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology. Harper Collins. xix + 329 pp.
William Smith (1769 - 1839). Records the life of Smith, an uneducated (formally) but self-taught geologist, a very practical man concerned with drainage, ditches and canal works. But this experience gave him insight into bedrock and he was the first to deduce the order to the layers of rock, using their included fossils as a guide. Based on this, he determined to make a map of all England, showing geological strata, which he eventually completed. It was published in 1815 and almost immediately plagiarized by the luminaries of the Geological Society, who were reluctant to let this rude peasant take the credit for something that was really the purview of gentlemen. It wasn't until 1831 that redress was made, when the Geological Society awarded him the first Wollaston Medal in recognition of his efforts and his contributions. Smith's life was also marred by financial woes as injudicious property purchases led to him being briefly imprisoned for debt. A great read if rather florid in places. (30/Dec/2002)

Zaslow, Morris 1975

Reading the Rocks: The Story of the Geological Survey of Canada 1842-1972. Macmillan of Canada. 599 pp.
An interesting survey of the GSC. The first section of the book is more interesting with its emphasis on the personality of William Logan. The later 2/3 devolve rather more into summaries of major research projects and descriptions of the administrative structure. It conveys very little feel for the actual work of the Survey or the personalities of the staff members. (21/Oct/1988)

Biography and Memoir

Barlow, Nora (editor) 1969

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882. W. W. Norton and Co. 253 pp.
The text of the Autobiography appears here "with original omissions restored" by Nora Barlow, Darwin's granddaughter. A few parts of his text were not published in the original version, edited by his son, Francis Darwin, at the request of his wife, Emma. These were mostly sections dealing with Darwin's religious views. These seem fairly innocuous now - simply a statement of lack of belief - but were perhaps more disturbing at the time of original publication (1887). The Autobiography was written primarily for his children, mostly in 1876, with some additional pages added up to 1881, shortly before his death. This volume also contains some appendices. The lengthiest of these is an exposition of the so-called "Darwin-Butler Controversy", in which Samuel Butler (grandson of Darwin's former headmaster at Shrewsbury School) took exception to some remarks in a preface written by Darwin of a book about Erasmus Darwin, and attacked Darwin in print. This seems rather ludicrous now but evidently caused some considerable distress to Darwin and his family at the time. (23/Aug/2009)

Browne, Janet 2002

Charles Darwin: The Power of Place. Princeton University Press. 591 pp.
Continues the biography of Darwin from 1848 to his death in 1882. It opens as Darwin receives the manuscript from Alfred Russel Wallace and realizes that Wallace has essentially pre-empted his ideas. deals with the joint presentation, the aftermath, the work on Origin of Species and its publication and the aftermath of that event. Browne shows that Darwin's work was basically a crystallization or distillation of ideas that had been floating around for many years. It was, however, having the ideas brought together in such a well-argued and readable form that was Darwin's particular strength. Browne also makes it clear that Darwin did not face the post-publication storm alone and unaided. On the contrary, his social, familial and scientific colleagues network were to work on his behalf. Huxley was well known as his champion - and always relished a good scrap - but Hooker and Lyell were also part of this central coterie of support. Social networking is obviously not a new concept! Indeed, it was the network of advocates and defenders that shielded Darwin from the worst of the story and allowed him to continue working in Downe. His health was noticeably worse about this time - one has to wonder how much of this was psychosomatic. His life after that was definitely not anticlimactic but he remained productive and completed several major works in natural history, especially on plants, including carnivorous plants and orchids. At least one of his later books (The Descent of Man) was almost as controversial as Origins. In late life, he became a Grand Old Man of science, feted and honoured even by those who disagreed with his ideas. Both Oxford and Cambridge gave him honourary degrees. Darwin was most appreciative of the one from Cambridge, his alma mater. His final book (The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Earthworms) was published in October 1881, only six months before his death. This has always been, next to The Voyage of the Beagle, my favourite book of his but I hadn't realized that it was published so late in life. This is a great book about a Great Man. (08/Aug/2008)

Browne, Janet 1995

Charles Darwin: Voyaging. Princeton University Press. xiii + 605 pp.
This is brilliant! Takes the story of Darwin from his birth in 1809 to 1856 when he finally settles down to write Origin of Species, drawing on the various essay drafts and research that he'd done during the 20 yeas since the Beagle voyage. Although the account of that voyage is reasonably well known, the story of his youth and subsequent events is not. After the voyage, Darwin spent years writing up and publishing his notes and observations, as well as editing volumes of reports based on work done by other scholars on the specimens he'd brought back. Throughout this time, he was gradually working out his transmutationist ideas, on the mutability of species, and collecting much varied evidence, especially from the breeding of domestic livestock and pigeons. He also embarked on a long study of barnacles, investigating the diversity of forms, and especially reproductive strategies, in this one animal group. He was getting ready to write up and publish when in 1844, a book published anonymously called Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation burst upon the scene and put forward, although without good evidence, ideas about changing species. The book was greeted with an uproar, including thundering denunciations from clergymen and, worse yet, from scholars whom Darwin considered as colleagues. He realized that his ideas would be greeted with equal or worse vilification and so was put off the idea of publishing. But transmutation was in the air and his friends, especially Hooker and Huxley, were encouraging him to write and publish, knowing of his work and fearing that he might be pre-empted. So the book closes at the point where he is trying to expand on previous essays and put his ideas in book form. Occasionally, Browne is rather too prepared to forgive Darwin for his failings, especially his tendency to disregard and not acknowledge the help given to him by other people. taking it all for granted. Withal, this makes him more understandable and approachable as a human being. (27/Jul/2008)

Burkhardt, Federick, Samantha Evans, and Alison Pearn (editors) 2008

Evolution: Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1860 - 1870. Cambridge University Press. xxii + 308 pp.
Another set of letters, again arranged chronologically. I enjoyed this set of letters more than Volume 1, because here we are given some of the letters that people wrote to Darwin, so it is much more like overhearing a conversation rather than listening in on one side of a 'phone call! These letters show Darwin still thinking and still working. He's continually making revisions to Origin of Species but also working on his other books, books which he intended to be part of his 'long argument' but which grew into works of their own. He's also very concerned with the age of the earth and geologic time, following closely the work of William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) and James Croll. The letters also show Darwin's concern for his friends and family, and his pride in their achievements. He often complains of illness and ill-health but his insatiable curiosity about the natural world overcomes his tendency to invalidism and drives him forward to conduct scientific enquiry all the time. (24/Aug/2009)

Burkhardt, Federick (editor) 2008

Origins: Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1822 - 1859. Cambridge University Press. xxviii + 253 pp.
The letters are arranged chronologically, beginning with some that Darwin wrote in a notebook at the age of 12, and ending with one he wrote to Thomas Huxley shortly after the publication of the Origin of Species in 1859. These letters chart his life and changing pre-occupations. These letters range from the very formal to quick notes dashed off to family and friends. The letters to Joseph Hooker are the most revealing and most informal. They read like the mid-19th century equivalent of e-mail - often filled with short form discussion, punctuated by dashes, and showing evidence of good humour. Through these, we hear the authentic voice of Darwin himself. The only downside is that this is like hearing one side of a conversation because we don't have the letters that others wrote to him and to which he was replying. (08/Aug/2009)

Nichols, Peter 2003

Evolution's Captain: The Story of the Kidnapping that Led to Charles Darwin's Voyage Aboard the "Beagle". Harper Perennial, New York, USA. 336 pp.
Despite the title, this book is basically a biography of Robert FitzRoy, who was the captain of the Beagle but who was tremendously affected by the ideas of evolution advanced by Darwin and was filled with guilt at his own role in the development of these ideas by selecting Darwin as his companion on the voyage. Eventually, this and the sense that his own work had been discounted became too much for him and he committed suicide. Yet his work has remained of importance, in the coastal surveying he did in South America, and in his organization of the British Meteorological Office. An interesting character, a footnote to history, perhaps, but an important one. (18/Nov/2005, 22/Feb/2009) Reviewed in Geolog 38(2):25-26, (2009)

Quammen, David 2006

The Reluctant Mr Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of the Theory of Evolution. W. W. Norton, New York, USA. 304 pp.
This is a popular biography of Darwin. It draws heavily on Janet Browne's two volume biography of Darwin but is writtem with Quammen's usual lucid and engaging style. He writes extremely well! The book does not contain any new information, other than the link to Crick's grandfather (of Watson and Crick DNA fame) at the end of Darwin's life. A succinct and highly readable survey. (13/Mar/2009)

Repcheck, Jack 2003

The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of the Earth's Antiquity. Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 247 pp.
James Hutton (1726-1797) was a Scot who spent most of his life in and around Edinburgh. He went to University and began training in medicine, mainly because of his fascination with chemistry. However, he never completed these studies, heading overseas for a few years to avoid the consequences of getting a woman pregnant. Although he apparently supported his son, he never acknowledged him and his friends were astounded when the man turned up in Edinburgh on Hutton's death. Hutton decided to become a gentleman farmer and spent several years in Norfolk learning the latest scientific methods, which he applied on his own farm at Slighhouses, not far from Edinburgh. After a decade at this activity, he returned to live in Edinburgh in 1767 and lived there for the rest of his life. He was comfortably off, living on rents and other income from a business partnership. He was a member of the Scots intelligentsia. This was the time of the Scottish enlightenment, an extraordinary flowering of intellectual activity, including Adam Smith (author of Wealth of Nations) and David Hume (philosopher), and James Watt (inventor). Under the stimulus of friendships, Hutton drew his observations on erosion and development of the earth into a theory, which was presented to the Royal Society of Scotland in 1785 and was later put into book form. It was Hutton who remarked on 'no vestiges of a beginning, no trace of an end' and therefore adduced uniformitarianism in earth science. Although he published his ideas, he was not a fluid writer and his ideas did not gain widespread currency. It was his friend, John Playfair, whose 'Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth' in 1802 and subsequent editions made the ideas wider known, However, it was not until the ideas were incorporated in Charles Lyell's 'Principles of Geology' that they gained widespread currency. This book was one that Darwin read on the 'Beagle' voyage and helped shape his ideas on deep time, which fed into the idea of evolution, i.e., small changes acting over unimaginably long intervals of time. This is an interesting, if rather superficial account. Hutton is best associated with the unconformity at Siccar Point - a world-famous geological site. (09/Mar/2006)

Stott, Rebecca 2003

Darwin and the Barnacle: The Story of One Tiny Creature and History's Most Spectacular Scientific Breakthrough. W. W. Norton and Co., New York. 390 pp.
Concentrates on eight years of Darwin's life (1846 - 1854), after he returned from the Beagle voyage. he has married his cousin, Emma, and started to produce a large family. His wealth, especially following the death of his father and his inheritance, means that he can work at his own pace and does not have to look for a job. He has bought Down House and settled down to research. He has distributed his Beagle specimens to various colleagues and institutions but he has some left and among them is an odd barnacle that he picked up in Chile. He knows that barnacle taxonomy is a wide open field and he knows that, before he can write up any of his ideas and be taken seriously, he must publish something in biology. And so he determines to sort out their taxonomy. In the end, it takes eight years. Years in which he establishes a network of contacts and correspondents that will stand him in good stead when his controversial Origin of Species is published, He is enabled to sharpen his ideas by correspondence, especially with Hooker but later with Huxley. This means that his writings when finally done will be stronger. During these years of obsessive study, Darwin suffers from ill-health (hypochondria?) and loses a beloved daughter (Anne) to consumption, the bane of the family and a major killer at that time. Darwin works slowly and thoroughly, which exasperates his friends at times, though they are very admiring of the final work. (04/Aug/2006)

Essays

Gould, Stephen Jay 1983

Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes: Further Reflections in Natural History. W. W. Norton and Co., New York. 413 pp.
A selection of essays on the oddities of biology and geology, strongly championing a Darwinian point of view and taking pot shots at sociobiologists and creationists along the way. (14/Nov/1983)

Gould, Stephen Jay 1977

Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History. W. W. Norton and Co., New York. 285 pp.
A series of essays inspired by the centennial of the publication of Origin of Species and exploring the way in which Darwinism has been worked out in contemporary biology/geology and in the history of science in our century. Witty and erudite essays. (05/Jun/1988)

Haupt, Lyanda Lynn 2006

Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, USA. 276 pp.
Haupt is an ornithologist and so is interested in Darwin's observations on bird life. The book consists of a series of chapters, really a series of extended essays, which focus on the Beagle voyage and Darwin's life in England, especially his work with pigeon breeding and his interaction with pigeon fanciers. The chapters are arranged chronologically, following aspects of Darwin's life. I am not sure why she refers to "lost" notebooks - perhaps a lost reading or interpretation or a not hitherto highlighted perspective of the notebooks, but Darwin's notebooks are extant. Or perhaps she is meaning notebooks he never wrote? She tends to idolize Darwin rather too much and romanticizes his attention to birdlife, imagining incidents and what he may have thought and felt. These aspects of her essays are rather overdone. Nevertheless, she is a terrific writer and she has clearly thought deeply about the subject. The book really deals with beoming a naturalist. It's an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. (03/Feb/2009)

Irvine, William 1960

Thomas Henry Huxley Longmans, Green & Co, London. 40 pp.
Begins with a brief biographical sketch of Huxley (1825 - 1895), taking his life up to the point where he got his first permanent appointment (as Professor of Natural History and Palaeontology at the London School of Mines in 1854). From then on, Irvine concentrates on the development of Huxley's ideas on science and education. He focusses particularl on Huxley's influence on reforming the education systm, in particular his role in getting science accepted as part of the standard curriculum and his attempts to extend better education to working people. Huxley certainly comes across as a dynamic, charismatic and intelligent individual, both persuasive and combative. The pamphlet includes a great quote from H. G. Wells. Speaking of Darwin and Huxley he said: "These two were very great men. They thought boldly, carefully, and simply, they wrote fearlessly and plainly, they lived modestly and decently; they were mghtly intellectual liberators." (from An Experiment in Autobiography, 1934). (23/May/2009)

At the Intersection of Biology and Palaeontology...

Dawkins, Richard 2004

The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution. Houghton Mifflin Co. xii + 673 pp.
This was interesting but very tough sledding. Took me a couple of attempts to get through it. Looks at biology and evolution from a genetic perspective, so there's a lot of terminology and technical detail which is hard to follow. The book starts from the premise that by looking back, evolution is seen as a linear pathway to humans, and humans are seen as the inevitable culmination of the process. This is a premise that Dawkins takes issue with, and his whole book is an argument against it. This is a hindsight view. At any point along that path there are branches that could have been taken. So Dawkins traces evolution backwards, like playing a film backwards, showing the progressive joining (instead of splitting) of life forms. His point is that all life forms are very closely related and that humans share most of their DNA and biological characteristics with the rest of living things. This is not new or news, but Dawkins presents plenty of evidence and discussion to emphasize the point. In other words, there's nothing special (biologically speaking) about humans. There are some quirky digressions and the writing becomes opinionated in places. The book is structured by using the conceit of the Canterbury Tales as a framework, meeting various "concestors" at rendezvous points leading back into the past, to the beginning of the evolutionary story at the molecular level. (11/Oct/2007).

Dawkins, Richard 1976

The Selfish Gene. Granada Publishing Ltd, London, England. 224 pp.
Proposes the idea that bodies are merely containers or survival machines for genes. In other words, the fundamental unit of behaviour or evolution is the gene. Different animals are merely different expressions of gene survival strategies. Dawkins examines aspects of life behaviour - mate selection, parental nurturing etc. - as different ways genes have of ensuring their continuance. He especially discusses altruism, taking issue with the idea of altruistic behaviour as a way of ensuring group survival, but re-interpreting most apparent altruistic acts by animals as essentially selfish, from the gene's perspective (e.g., warning calls by birds, food sharing, predator distraction activities). He concludes with a discussion of "memes", making the analogy to genes, units of culture transmission. Recognizes that culture does make a difference. Enunciates what he thinks may a basic and universal law: "that all life evolves by differential survival of replicating entities". By this definition, both genes and memes can be subject to evolutionary processes. Deceptively simple writing but presents some difficult and complex ideas. (28/Mar/2009).

Dawkins, Richard 1987

The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design. W. W. Norton, New York. xiii + 332 pp.
Dawkins' stated task in this book is to refute William Paley's argument from design (finding a watch on a heath, implies the existence of a watchmaker) by showing how natural selection can result in organized complexity. The book is basically a primer on evolutionary principles. Dawkins takes most of his arguments and examples from biology rather than palaeontology, although he does include a lengthy discussion and dismissal of Eldredge and Gould's "punctuated equilibrium" ideas. Literate and argumentative, and highly readable. (28/May/2009).

Prothero, Donald R. 2006

After the Dinosaurs: The Age of Mammals. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. xii + 362 pp.
An eminently readable book containing a straightforward account of the faunal changes of the Cenozoic (Tertiary and Quaternary). It concentrates mainly,as the title suggests, on mammals but also touches on other faunal groups, such as marine invertebrates, which also record substantial changes through this interval. Prothero pays some attention to changes in plant life, especially the rise of graslands, which are correlated with faunal changes. He discusses extinction events and their causation at considerable length, including a lengthy summary of explanations for extinctions at or near the K-T boundary, with which the survey begins. He also touches on some of the history of discoveries and discoverers (e.g., Cuvier, Owen) although this is not a major focus of his book. The volume contains lots of photos and diagrams, though the quality of the images is often not great. The photos in particular are quite dark and have little contrast. Much of this story is familiar ground, but having it all pulled together in one book is very useful. The writing style is clear and at times quite conversational. It's a good read. (12/Jun/2009).

Shubin, Neil 2008

Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body. Vintage Books, New York. 237 pp.
This is a very easy read, written in a highly conversational style. A functional view of palaeontology. Begins with the discovery of the Tiktaalik from Ellesmere Island, a creature intermediate between fish and early land-living tetrapods. The fossil was remarkably complete. Shubin looks at various body structures - hands, arms and legs, teeth, structures for smelling, seeing and hearing - and shows how these are recorded in the fossil record and how the commonalties in development and structure are echoed in the embryos of modern related creatures, especially sharks, fish, and amphibians. Anatomy and embryology run throughout this account as major themes and Shubin emphasizes how similar embryos, including those of humans, are to each other. He also discusses new developments in genetics and especially discoveries about specific genes or groups of genes that "turn on" during stages of fetal development and control the growth and placement of specific body structures. Shubin shows how some of the elements of the human body plan - especially the symmetry - are very ancient and are recorded in some of the earliest fossils with bodies (as opposed to single-celled or multicelled organisms). This book is very good at showing how palaeontology has something very real to say about human growth and development. By cleverly finishing his survey by showing how some human illnesses and defects (hernias, hiccups, obesity) may have a link to our genetic past, he makes a good case for the continuing value of palaeontology. He packs a good deal of information - especially recent findings in genetics - into a deceptively simplified and engaging format. This is a great example of good science writing for the public. This book could be read and enjoyed by almost everyone, even those, I think, lacking a science background. (22/Mar/2009).

... and into Biology and Ecology

Wilson, Edward O. 1992

The Diversity of Life. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 424 pp.
Here, Wilson meditates on bioiversity and its meaning, especially with respect to plant and invertebrate life, based partly on his own work and research. He surveys the concept of biodiversity and examines some biodiversity hotspots around the world, especially the Amazonian tropics, where he spent much of his career, primarily researching ants. Invertebrate life is a major focus of this book - the "hidden" diversity that keeps the ecosystem going. He does pay some attention to evolution and the development of increased biodiversity, in the sense of the growth in numbers of species through time. but the volume mostly concentrates on current biodiversity issues. Wilson paints a bleak and depressing picture of the prospects for much of the world's plant and animal life. He places much of the blame for the situation on the world's burgeoning human population but doesn't advocate population contraol. His interim solution is ecological reserves and alternative crops, which will likely only delay extinction for many organisms. His writing about the natural world is compelling and he is at his best when writing about biological matters. The book also contains some great illustrations, especially the two-page watercolours by artist Sarah Landry. (11/Aug/1998, 08/Jun2009)

Wilson, Edward O. 1984

Biophilia: The Human Bond with Other Species. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 157 pp.
Distinguished biologist Edward Wilson meditates on his career as a field biologist and considers what it has taught him about humanity's relationship to the natural world. He recalls some of his field experiences, especially those in tropical rain forests that emphasize the enormous diversity of nature and our great ignorance of most of it. Contains a good chapter on the way in which scientists, particularly mathematicians, think, comparing artistic and scientific modes of thought and finding them to be quite similar in many ways. This volume presages many of the ideas in his later books, using some of the same sources and even some very similar text. The main theme is that people do feel a bond with nature and their natural surroundings, even if it is resisted and cut off by modern urban life. The best writing is in the sections that concentrate on biology. Well-written and thought-provoking. (18/Apr/1988, 11/Aug/1998, 30/May/2009)

Fiction

Kroetsch, Robert 1999

Badlands. Originally published in 1975. Stoddart, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 230 pp.
William Dawe leads an expedition to the Red Deer River valley in 1916 and floats down the river on a roughly-constructed raft, looking for dinosaur bones. He dreams of becoming famous from his discoveries, like Barnum Brown and the Sternbergs. He spends almost all his life in the field, returning home to Ontario just a couple of days a year, to visit his pro forma wife. Anna. His daughter, is born 11 years after that 1916 expedition. The tale is told in two voices. Dawe's, as reconstructed by Anna from his fieldnotes. And Anna herself at the age of 45 (in 1972). She decides to go visit the Badlands for herself, ten years after his death, to try to understand her father and make peace with his spirit. This is not a straightforward narrative but is complex and convoluted. Some sources for the story are obvious. Dawe has a hunchback; so did G. M. Dawson. And the rafting voyage is also out of dinosaur hunting legend. The book is difficult to read but certainly conjours up time and place very well and weaves real historical events with imaginative recreations. (25/Mar/2008) Reviewed in Geolog 37(3):20-21, (2008).

McDonald, Roger 1998

Mr. Darwin's Shooter. Penguin Books, New York. 365 pp.
This novel tells the tale of the Beagle voyage from the perspective of Syms Covington, the young man who was assigned to Darwin as his servant and technical assistant during the voyage and who subsequently helped Darwin sort out his collection when he got back to London. Born in Bedfordshire in 1816 and died in Pernambula, Australia, in 1861, at a comparatively young age. In this tale, Roger McDonald makes Covington out to be a restless and ambitious lad, only 15 when he and Darwin met, wanting to get ahead but with no real education. However, being brought up in Bedfordshire, he is deeply imbued with the mythos of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and deep Christian faith. So he is horrified at the publication of Origin of Species when he realizes that the work he helped with could be seen as over-turning his beliefs and displacing the centrality of God to the understanding of the world. He feels deeply guilty but at the same time is offended that Darwin never acknowledges in print the help that he gave. In particular, in McDonald's interpretation, Covington gave Darwin some of his finch skins, which he was hoping to sell to other collectors, but which were labelled according to their island of origin, when Darwin realizes that he is missing that information. This is a richly-imagined work and Covington comes across as a vivid and dominant, if not entirely likeable, character. He is both attracted and repelled by Darwin, a situation that still exists for many people today, grappling with the difficulties of reconciling science and faith. (27/May/2006) Reviewed in Geolog 37(2):28-29, (2008).

Schwartz, Irwin 1994

The Piltdown Confession. St Martin's Press, New York. vi + 210 pp.
The Piltdown hoax is one of the darker episodes in palaeoanthropology. Though it happened almost a century ago, even people with little knowledge of the field will have heard of Piltdown Man, a person who never existed except as an ingenious fraud. Irwin Schwartz retells this story in a purported annotated confession by the man now thought by many to be the hoaxster, Charles Dawson, a middle-class lawyer and avocational geologist.Besides being a great read, The Piltdown Conspiracy highlights some painful truths. Scientists in search of career advancement and fame can, perhaps, be too eager to accept evidence at face-value, especially if it fits with some preconceived notion of how things should be or jives with a pet theory. Seniority and authority have a tyranny all their own. If an eminent scholar says it must be so, it takes courage to express scepticism or point out the lack of imperial vestiture. Futhermore, discoveries like this tend to have a bandwagon effect, especially when hustled along by media coverage. A more interesting question is why the Piltdown story continues to have such a hold on popular imagination. Perhaps it is because it is a mystery that can never be solved definitively. We will simply never know whodunit. Or perhaps it is because the perversion of science in this way is so rare (or so I naively believe) and we are fascinated by the aberrant. As Schwartz retells it, the Piltdown story serves as an object lesson: this you should never do. (25/08/1995, 01/02/2002) Reviewed in CAA Bulletin 22(2):16, (2002).

Stone, Irving 1980

The Origin. Doubleday and Co., New York. 743 pp.
A massive biography (fictionalized) of a very interesting and intriguing man - Charles Darwin. Doesn't really add much to the picture of Darwin that I had already. Also full of unhappy phrases and Americanisms (Darwin describing Welsh mountains as like "tumbleweed"!). However, the subject is so interesting that it does block out many of the deficiencies and awkwardness in the text. Finished at Cambridge and home in Shropshire, Darwin is unsure about his future except that he promised his father to go into the Church. When he is invited to accompany the Beagle surveying vessel on an expedition to South America as a naturalist. This voyage, which lasted almost five years, provided him with enough ideas and stimulus to keep him busy for the rest of his life. Amazingly fertile mind though not regarded by his contemporaries as particularly intelligent or brilliant. More of a plodder. But this persistence stood him in good stead when he undertook the thousands of hours or patient observation and writing that were to support his ideas and theories. The idea of evolution and natural selection was almost in the air at the time he was writing (cf. Wallace) but was still not formulated or accepted. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time and in with a group of people - Lyell, Hooker, Huxley - who stimulated and encouraged each other and backed each other up against the Establishment of the time. (22/Oct/1981)

Thompson, Harry 2006

This Thing of Darkness. Headline Review, London. 750 pp.
1828 - 1865. Covers these years in the life of Captain FitzRoy. The focus of the story is the voyages of the Beagle and the complicated relationship between FitzRoy and his chosen companion, Charles Darwin. Thompson clearly doesn't like Darwin, making him out to be a racist, and petty, mean and vindictive. He clearly is on FitzRoy's side and does recount his life with a great deal of sympathy, showing the many career disappointments that he suffered, which finally drove him to suicide. Much of the text reads a fictionalized biography with words taken from published works. Some things are taken out of context, such as Darwin's musings on marriage which supposedly occur in a shipboard conversation with FitzRoy but acually occurred after Darwin returned to England. And Thompson suggests the delay in writing Origin of Species was due to a promise he made to FitzRoy not to present these views - I have not seen any evidence of this suggested in biographical writings on Darwin. Reviewed in Geolog 37(4):17-18, (2008).

The remarks in black are my comments. Latest changes/additions to the list: August 25 2009. Number of citations: 43

You may also view a list of some significant events in the chronology of earth sciences history, including biographical details of some major characters (such as Darwin) and dates of natural disasters (such as earthquakes).