In an age of innovation, William Smith's unique devotion to fossils and understanding of geological structures allowed him to break the scientific mould and produce the first ever map of the rock layers beneath our feet. Two centuries on, the scientific world still owes a debt to the 'Father of Geology'. Yet Smith himself saw little recognition in his lifetime, earning his keep through canal engineering work where he could get it and scraping together the finance to publish his precious magnum opus.
Charting his travels across England, his changing employment and his personal misfortunes, this book shows how the sometimes penniless son of a blacksmith became a pioneer in the science of geology. John Morton, in combining Smith's personal history with the genesis of a new science, has created a fascinating history of an extraordinary man who was devoted to mapping the geology of England.
John Morton was a pilot until his retirement in 1990. After retirement he read for a degree with the Open University, studying, among other subjects, geology and the history of science where his interest in 'Strata' Smith was first awakened. This is his first book.

I have an earlier printing of this so I don't have the print quality issues. This is the best book on religious contemplation I've read. It helped change the way I think about God. A good deal of thinking is necessary to get anything from this work, but it is definitely worth it.

This is the best book I have ever read on the life of prayer, and it has transformed my prayer life. It was originally written as a series of letters to teach mystical prayer to one particular monk. This book tells us that our minds are too small to grasp God, and when we try to approach him intellectually, we freeze up, entering into a "Cloud of Unknowing" which our minds can not penetrate. Yet God is approachable - "Because he may well be loved, but not thought. By love he can be caught and held, but by thinking never." We are told to long for God, to "strike that thick cloud of unknowing with the sharp dart of longing love". This longing love calls us to give up everything else for the sake of God - "a naked intention directed to God, and himself alone, is wholly sufficient".

The theme of the writings:
In short but instructive chapters, the mysterious Briton, who mastered the way of the mystics gave an admirable essay on Christian life and its development through contemplation. Prayer is in fact the core of Christian life, and the backbone of this marvelous work, where he explained conducting oneself with respect to examining and silencing the thoughts with humility. Love is the goal in which a faithful should abide through contemplation.
His smaller work "the Book of Privy Counseling," is a more mature but moving treatise on attaining salvation by enlightenment through kenosis (self denial). What is left should only be consciousness of the presence of the Lord!

Apophatic tradition of the Orientals:
Eastern monastics started the root to mysticism, practicing the Macarian arrow prayer (K. Ware, in Study of Spirituality p176), carried to Europe as "The Jesus Prayer," through the Praktikos of Evagrius Ponticos.In chapter 38 of the Cloud, this holy English mystic speaks of a little prayer of one syllable Kyriya Elaison (Lord have mercy) that is powerful enough to pierce the heavens.
Origen was the initiator of the Apophatic concept (commentary on song of Songs), carrying over from Philo, based on roots that go all the way to Asaph, Ps 73:21-24. But, the crystallization of the whole theology took final shape in the writings of a Syrian monk of early six century of pseudonym Dionysius the Areopagite (who was probably a student or companion of Severus of Antioch), taking to himself the name of St. Paul's Athenian disciple.

The wave of Mystical Milieu:
During 14th and 15th century Europe, a pilgrimage to the unknown God started by Eckhart and his fellow Dominicans Susa and Tauler based on spiritual poverty. In England, Rolle, Hilton, and Julian of Norwich took the same road. These were all disciples in the school of negation. The influence came through John Scotus who in the ninth century translated the corpus Dionysium into Latin, initiating a chain of commentaries from Aquinas, Bonaventure, and Gallus. The English Counselor translated Dionysius' Mystical Theology under the title" Hid Divinity"
Rowan Williams, wrote in his book (The wound of knowledge); "The unknowing Englishman gave a brilliant little summary of the Dionysian ideas"

Enjoying the way of Unknowing
After reading the expert introduction by Wm. Johnston, helpful for a reader of some background on the subject, but the seal of the deal is reading his Privy Counselings. The less informed could attain a better appreciation after reading "The wound of knowledge". Many books on mysticism explain Apophaticism or the way of unknowing in elaboration.

Companion reading
The Foundation of Mysticism, Bernard McGinn, The mysticism of Dionysius, pp 157- 182

This is a potentially fascinating book for readers who like biography, geology, landscape, England, rocks, or fossil ammonites. All right, I admit I was suckered by the cover: the hb dust jacket unfolds into a single large geological map of England, Wales, and southern Scotland! It is The Map That Changed the World in 1815 by revealing the rock strata beneath an entire country: the existence of time and order, of coal beds, building stone, ores, and soil types, all now made predictable. The fact this 1/13th size version of the immense hand made and coloured original by William "Strata" Smith won't stand magnification might have warned me about the text within. Once beyond the exciting promise of the clever jacket and quality presentation I was increasingly disappointed.

Winchester's biographical construction of Smith's life, while chronological overall, casts Smith's remarkable rise from the farm, and his wonderful scientific observation and insight, as a morality play against 18th century class prejudice and religion ("the blind acceptance of absurdity"!) taken quite out of historical context. Aside from Smith never having been involved in religious controversy (see pp. 195-96), the authorial tactics make it hard to follow Smith's story rather than Winchester's arch exegesis. Despite the frequent assertions of how earth-shaking was Smith's map, the book is such a farrago of description, quotation, flashforward, biography, travel, snide remark, foreshadowment, reconstruction, admiration, speculation, flashback, asides, suggestion, British nostalgia, coincidence, and digressive (but not scholarly) footnotes that the revolutionary consequences of Smith's innovations in stratigraphy, fossil assemblage, and mapping are buried and never come across coherently and convincingly. Because the author implies that Smith's recorded life and journal were boring and pedestrian, he must think it necessary to gussy up the very real scientific discoveries with this potpourri of diversions. Nevertheless, Winchester's own text is mared by banality, repetition, and common cliche, and larded with his anachronistic prejudices.

I'm glad I read this book, but the book's handsome presentation set my expectations way too high. I don't know that I've ever encountered an author who so gets in the way of his subject. His choice of supplemental illustrations also turns out to be off the mark, largely lacking maps of place names (which are particularly obscure to non-English folk) and entirely lacking views of the specific countryside that was critical to Smith's revelations. Other contemporary geologists are used as foils for the hidden excellence of Smith, rather than to fill out the real context and consequences of his discoveries. So, if you want to read something truly exciting about geology or landscape, seek out John McPhee's four books describing and interpreting a cross section of America. For a better understanding of Smith's historical context, see The Birth of the Modern by Paul Johnson.

I first read Simon Winchester when I came across his book The Professor and the Madman. This wonderful book is the story of the development of the OED. Now he has written a book on William Smith, the man who developed many of the ideas of rock stratification which laid the foundation for modern geology. The ultimate expression of Smith's genius was the production of the world's first geological map which gives this book its title.

Smith's story is a fascinating one and Winchester tells it well. Smith, a rural blacksmith's son, is orphaned and works his way up to being what in today's language we would call a civil engineer. As he works on the construction of coal mines and canals he see the strata of rock and collects fossils, coming to the understanding that the relationship between these things tells us about the age of the rock layers. This concept will have far-reaching repercussions in science.

Winchester also tells us of Smith's struggles to get his work recognized in a class-stratified world of gentleman-scholar-scientists. Along the way, Smith overextends himself financially and finds himself in debtors' prison. After that, he and his reputation seem to fade away only to be resurrected near the end of his life when he begins to reap some of the honors for his work in a field which has since passed him by. Then he fades away again.

Winchester is beginning to make a habit of writing stories bringing to light forgotten people making important discoveries and doing important work that has changed our world. I hope it is a habit he continues. I am already looking forward to the next gem he digs up. He and Dava Sobel are a one-two punch of brilliant modern writing on scholars and scientists who deserve to be remembered.

Anybody who has ever had Geology 101 in college or basic earth science in high school should remember hearing about "Strata Smith," the founder of the science of stratigraphy, and will revel in reading this book. Very well written, it tells the poignant story of the Englishman who, early in the 18th century, made the world's first geological map. William Smith was a poorly educated surveyor and a digger of canals. In the course of his digging he realized that the rock strata of England occurred in orderly fashion, in layers that could be identified over wide areas by the fossils they contained. He literally tramped throughout the kingdom, drawing sketches and making notes. At last he created his great geological map of England, a work of scientific artistry that hangs today on a wall in the headquarters of the Royal Geological Society in London. But his ideas were stolen by aristocratic wannabe geologists who took all the credit and refused the commoner Smith admission into their Society. He spent several homeless years, eking out a living as a surveyor and gardner, before a true nobleman discovered who he was and what he had done. He was brought to London and showered with honors, including the very first Wollaston Medal, the earth-science equivalent of a Nobel Prize. A wonderful, heartwarming story!

It is extremely racist for the author and other "liberals" to denounce William Hannibal Thomas for "betraying" his "race." Isn't "race" a fiction? A mulatto is not a Negro. Thomas was really no different from the average mulatto in his views regarding mulatto superiority and Negro inferiority. He was just more public about it. Even your mulatto "black" hero W.E.B. DuBois believed in mulatto superiority. What do you think his "Talented Tenth" was? Do you recall how DuBois described Marcus Garvey in the most perjorative racial terms because the latter was black and not mulatto?

If the liberal author condemns Thomas as a "race traitor," then he is indirectly endorsing the view of white supremacists who believe in white "race traitors." If "race" is not a biological fact, how can there be any "race traitors"?

In defense of Thomas and other Anglo mulattoes and mixed-whites who proudly reject the black stigma, may I ask why Latinos (also a mixed race, partially black group), Indians, Asians, etc. have never been condemned for the same "sins" of looking down on blacks and identifying more with whites? Mexican elites, for example, were willing to condemn blacks as inferior as long as Mexicans as a group could have the honored label of "white." Why don't they receive the condemnation and sneering that Anglos of mixed-race receive even when they just live their lives and make no statements on "race"? Why? Why don't liberals rejoice at THEIR misfortunes and proclaim that the uppity in-betweens had it coming to them?

Smith should condemn himself as a "racist" for promoting the "one drop" myth and forced hypodescent. As a liberal, he misleads people of good will into endorsing anti-mulatto racism as a defense of blacks. That is the source of the "race traitor" accusation against William Hannibal Thomas. He is being used as a scapegoat.

As a biracial, i'm compelled to say: You are a bigoted woman. Most mulattoes do not think they are superiour over blacks, they are not hateful like you. W.E.B Dubois was proud to be a negro, he help found the NAACP.

A thorough, detailed account of how William Hannibal Thomas transformed from an activist and advocate into someone who projected his own feelings of insecurity and inferiority onto his fellow African-Americans. The author does an excellent job of giving Thomas's changing perceptions historical context. All in all, a compelling book.

The teacher who teaches this is an enviromentalist wacko and this book can be used solely for that purpose.

The authors obviously put a lot of work into making science accessible and interesting! The information in the book is up-to-date, and the approach is balanced. Great text!

This text is a clearly defined study of environmental science. It is full of content and each chapter offers extensional learning through the use open-ended presentations of current events applicable to the content. There are loads of interesting topics and there are also references to Online sources for additional information. This is an excellent book for the study of environmental science.

I want to coments this lin

Shakespeare shalt always be my favourite.. The tragedies are just too good...Just need to read a couple'a times juss for gettin hold of it... Watchin the movie also helps..

Mediocre, with a few moments of good writing, but the entire theme is contrived. Spend your money on real environmental writing, for example Paul Shepard and Jerry Mander.

Although the contributors to this book are all Mormons the plea they make is universal. Our ties to God's creations are real. We derive emotional and spiritual strength from them. The earth is given to us as a stewardship from God, to use, but also to protect and "replenish". The contributors cite personal examples to explain their interpretation of this "stewardship." I recommend this book!

While much of this material would have been great for the late 80s and very early 90s, with todays phone butlers and very savvy gatekeepers, this book is absolutely no help. The strategies are simply out of date. Buying this book is a waste of money and reading it is a waste of time. I've noted one endorsement on Amazon from another author of books for recruiters. He must be a close friend of Radin and is probably looking for a reciprocal endorsement. Radin does have some great books out there - this isn't one of them.

Tired concepts, outdated ideas, and transparent gimmicks. I would not use these ideas and if I were a client I would not fall for them. Pretty much a waste of money.

In Shut Up and Make More Money, Bill Radin provides a well needed reminder to remember the service side of the industry and get paid for remembering it. He provides simple ways to get the edge while maintaining and increasing both professionalism and revenue. Although technically, some of his ways are outdated, a good recruiter will find great resources within this book's pages. Because it's technically outdated, I wouldn't recommend this book for a brand new recruiter. I would, however, recommend it if you'd like to find a myriad of ways to get the immediate edge on your unwitting competition.

Yay! More anti-American polemic, from a non-Filipino who feels the Phillipines don't rebel often enough. There are some nice facts in here, like about how George Bush praised dictator Marcos for his "adherence to democratic principles and democratic processes" but most of it is full of highly anti-American rantings. A balanced picture is not something you'll get out of this book.

Interesting isn't it that when America's many embarrassing colonial misdeeds in the Philippines are exposed all the Right can do is blame the messenger and dismiss the work as a leftist "rant"?

With history generally written in a self-serving, sanitized fashion, it's refreshing to see a different take on US involvement in the Philippines -- one more in keeping with the general Philippine view of the situation as well, I estimate.

The book is a analysis method database which contains a total of about 1700 analyte/method summaries involved in waters and soli waste analysis. The analytical methods were listed according to chemical names or CAS number in order to consult.In this point,it is more reasonable to published in electronic or web edtion. EPA's Air Compendium Methods were not included in the book. Because of continuing updated EPA methods,the book ofen need to be revised.