History of Geology

Abstract

No more appropriate writer could have been found for this condensed history of geology than the author of the recently published “History of the Geological Society of London.” The personal touches which abounded in that volume have of necessity been curtailed in the treatment of a wider theme; but we meet here pleasantly with Mary Anning (p. 63) and Ethel-dred Benett (p. 126), side by side with Humboldt and James Hall. The book is clear and interesting in all its chapters. Stratigraphy naturally assumes most importance, since it includes the succession of organisms on the earth, and this is the aspect of geology that appeals most directly to the mind of man. Perhaps there are almost too few references to the difficulty experienced by the early geologists in making headway in countries where adherence to a Jewish system of cosmogony was held to be an act of public morals. Those who begin with Mr. Woodward's present book may well pass on, guided by his fourth chapter, to the opening pages of Lyell's “Principles of Geology.” History of Geology. By H. B. Woodward. Pp. vi + 154. (The History of Science Series.) (London: Watts and Co., 1911.) Price 1s. net.