Approximately 200 years of the history of the development of the study of geology.

Gideon Mantell and the Discovery of Dinosaurs is a scholarly yet accessible biography--the first in a generation--of a pioneering dinosaur hunter and scholar. Gideon Mantell discovered the Iguanodon (a famous tale set right in this book) and several other dinosaur species, spent over twenty-five years restoring Iguanodon fossils, and helped establish the idea of an Age of Reptiles that ended with their extinction at the conclusion of the Mesozoic Era. He had significant interaction with such well-known figures as James Parkinson, Georges Cuvier, Charles Lyell, Roderick Murchison, Charles Darwin, and Richard Owen. Dennis Dean, a well-known scholar of geology and the Victorian era, here places Mantell's career in its cultural context, employing original research in archives throughout the world, including the previously unexamined Mantell family papers in New Zealand.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 edition. Excerpt: ...even his opinions and theories in themselves, that gave him his unquestioned authority among the geologists of his time. His influence and fame sprang mainly from the personality of the man. His unwearied enthusiasm and eager zeal in the furtherance of his favourite studies, his kindness and helpfulness, his wide range of knowledge, and the vivacity, perspicuity, and eloquence with which he communicated it, his absolute confidence in the solidity of his theoretical doctrines--these were the sources of his power rather than the originality and importance of his own contributions to geology. His followers, indeed, captivated by the precision of his system and its apparent applicability in any and every country, claimed for him the highest place in the ranks of those who had studied the history of the earth. But the exaggeration of their claim was amply shown by the rapidity with which the Wernerian doctrines began to fall into disrepute even before the death of their author. CHAPTER VIII The Wernerian School of Geology. Its great initial influence and subsequent decline. Effect of the controversy about the origin of Basalt upon this School. Early history of Volcanic Geology. History of opinion regarding Earthquakes. In tracing the influence of Werner's teaching upon the progress of geological inquiry, we must begin by the full and frank acknowledgment that when all objections and qualifications have been made regarding his theoretical opinions, the momentous fact remains that by his personal example and contagious enthusiasm he rendered a vast service to the science. He awakened a far more widespread interest in the ancient history of the earth than had ever before existed, and even where his pupils found reason eventually to abandon many...

A collection of essays and articles provides a study of how the planet works, discussing Earth's structure, geographical features, geologic history, and evolution.