Geology in the Nineteenth Century: Changing Views of a Changing World(Cornell History of Science)

In this clear and comprehensive introduction to developments in geological theory during the nineteenth century, Mott T. Greene asserts that the standard accounts of nineteenth-century geology, which dwell on the work of Anglo-American scientists, have obscured the important contributions of Continental geologists; he balances this traditional emphasis with a close study of the innovations of the French, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Swiss geologists whose comprehensive theory of earth history actually dominated geological thought of the time. Greene's account of the Continental scientists places the history of geology in a new light: it demonstrates that scientific interest in the late nineteenth century shifted from uniform and steady processes to periodic and cyclic events-rather than the other way around, as the Anglo-American view has represented it. He also puts continental drift theory in its context, showing that it was not a revolutionary idea but one that emerged naturally from the Continental geologists' foremost subject of study-the origin of mountains, oceans, and continents. A careful inquiry into the nature of geology as a field poised between natural history and physical science, Geology in the Nineteenth Century will interest students and scholars of geology, geophysics, and geography as well as intellectual historians and historians of science.

About the Author :
Mott T. Greene is the John B. Magee Professor of Science and Values Emeritus at the University of Puget Sound.

Review :
"As a history of tectonic thinking, this is a major work: sure-footed in handling complexities, astute in its attention to both theory and practice, ideas, and individuals; international in scope; proficient in its geology, yet alert to the impact of wider intellectual currents and other sciences. This book will deservedly take its place as a milestone m the history of geology."-Nature "A coherent intellectual history that will impress the geologist by its mastery of technical materials, the professional historian by its scope, and the general reader by its accessibility and pace. This book deserves serious attention not only from geologists and historians of geology but from all those who are interested in the evolution of science."-Science "A valuable contribution to the history of geology, this book should be widely read, not only by those with a professional interest in the history of geology, but by advanced students and scholars of any geological discipline."-Journal of Geology "Geology in the Nineteenth Century is a deeply learned and thoughtful book."-New Scientist "Mott T. Greene's superbly-written account of geological theory in the nineteenth century is in my judgment the book that anyone who wants to know about the history of geology will have to read."-Harold Burstyn, Historian, United States Geological Survey