The Map That Changed the World: Creation of Geological Map

The Map That Changed the World, by Simon Winchester, is a narrative-nonfiction book that tells the story of William Smith and his creation of the first geological map for national use. While the book may, judging from the title, seem to be focused around rocks and other geology-related topics, it actually covers many social and economic developments made during the Industrial Revolution. The book itself successfully does its job of retelling William Smith’s journey; the use of visual images, background information, and scientific explanations all culminate in an even deeper understanding of the events of the book. The Map That Changed the World is a book that effectively recounts William Smith’s creation of the first modern geological map, while also enriching the reader’s knowledge on a variety of topics and explaining the social and economic development during this time.

The author, Simon Winchester, is an award-winning author and journalist. Before his career as a journalist, Winchester himself was a geologist for a short period. In The Map That Changed the World, Winchester’s main point, while not directly stated or argued, is that William Smith deserves to be known as the founder of modern geology due to his extensive work towards geology. The book follows Smith’s life as he pursues an interest, and eventually a career, in geology, such as the patterns formed between layers of rock in the earth (strata). As Smith delves deeper into the world of geology, he makes countless discoveries towards the subject. Of course, Winchester’s interpretation of the events of the past cannot be entirely true.

Having not lived during the rise of the Industrial Revolution or scientific thought, Winchester’s narrative is based off on past accounts from a variety of sources, including Smith himself, his nephew, and researched information on the past. Winchester’s use of both primary and secondary sources results in a mostly accurate retelling of the past, albeit some details, such as the specific details of Smith being released from prison, are based more on Winchester’s interpretation of events. Thus, the information provided in the book is, as far as the reader is concerned, veritable. In writing this book, Winchester’s targeted audience is scientists, geologists, cartographers, and anyone interested in the beginnings of scientific thought and modern geology. Winchester does a successful job of supporting his point and does so using visual aids and background information.

Due to the book centering around Smith’s life and his work in geology, the entire book acts as a testimony to the work of Smith. From the very beginning of the book, Winchester talks about Smith’s first encounter with geology: his curiosity in the formation of fossils. While he goes on to explain that it was people like Robert Hooke who first speculated the scientific explanation for fossils, it introduces the interest in geology that Smith was starting to develop, and foreshadows the journey he had ahead of him. Winchester then narrates Smith’s encounters with geology, starting with his exploits in the Mearns Pit discovering the curious strata in the many deep layers of Earth’s crust; he later found a pattern in these stratas’ characteristics and proceeded to use canals to test his theories and research. Smith also spent many years researching fossils and gathered extensive knowledge of them.

Eventually, Smith would spend years on the greatest achievement of his life: drawing the first geological map for national use. This alone “required a certain kind of vision, an uncanny ability to imagine a world possessed of an additional fourth dimension, a dimension that lurked beneath the purely visible surface phenomena of the length, breadth, and height of the countryside, and, because [Smith’s map] had never been seen, was ignored by all customary cartography” (192). These examples of the life Smith dedicated to geology and his ultimate creation are Winchester’s support for his main point, as it is evident that Smith’s dedication and research revolutionized the field of geology. The book itself allows for easy reading and a deeper understanding of unknown topics covered in the book. For example, littered throughout the book are diagrams taken directly from Smith’s own journals and research, as well as diagrams related to the topic at hand that help visualize a certain object. These illustrations help the reader better visualize what Winchester is describing, such as the complex designs on “butter scales”, fossils that were misinterpreted as stones and used in churning butter. The diagrams also help enhance the purpose of the book; it serves to teach and inform others, which the diagrams effectively do.

However, this is not limited to diagrams; Winchester makes the book easier to read by first providing background information or historical context. Throughout the book, there are footnotes that provide definitions and clear up the meaning of phrases, due to the book being set in the 18th century. As if this wasn’t enough, Winchester purposely devotes a couple of pages to provide the reader with background information; for example, before talking about how Smith got into the world of canals, Winchester devotes some pages to talk about the quick rise of canals to everyday use. This lets the reader know why Smith took an interest in canals, as well as their economic and social influence. Finally, to complement these measures taken by Winchester, the book is narrated in an informative, calm tone, which allows the reader to read with consistency; however, this may be a bore to some readers and deter them from reading the book. Despite this, I found the book easy to read and understood practically everything the author was trying to convey. I don’t know if I would change anything about the book in terms of the structure or content covered. However, I do feel like there could have been a little more diagrams given to the reader to look at.

While there were diagrams given for some fossils, I would have enjoyed seeing more diagrams of fossils to examine and learn about; Smith was known for his extensive research on fossils and strata and it would be interesting to see more of his research. The greatest value of the book would be the truth it reveals. Despite the significance Smith had on geology, not many know about him. Along with this were explanations of the social and economic change during that time period, and how it was directly affected by geology. It makes the reader think about how much geology actually mattered in the long run, especially in a world where technology reigns supreme. I learned a lot from the book about not just geology, but about the Industrial Revolution and the importance of geology; I never would have thought the field would be so pertinent to modern science.

The Map That Changed the World is an intriguing book that teaches the reader about much more than the title implies. I would recommend the book only to someone who was interested in the topic, as the book itself does not appeal to everyone. Specifically, I would recommend this book to anyone who specializes in technology or science, as the book reveals a lot about the birth of geology and its effect on science that I’m sure many do not know about. This also makes it a good candidate to include in a library’s collection, as anyone who had the time could read it and learn a lot about an important part of science and our world that often goes overlooked. Despite my appreciation for the book, I do not think I will be reading any other books about this topic; while it is certainly interesting, I don’t have that much of an interest in the topic. However, the author seems to have written a handful of books on several other topics, which I would be willing to read. The Map That Changed the World is a must-read for anyone who is interested in how science, especially modern geology, came to be and will teach any reader a thing or two they never knew.