Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

A great historical resource, 27 Aug 2008
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.

Simon Winchester has a very simple formula, of which The Map That Changed the World is a perfect example--namely that the history we have forgotten is infinitely more interesting than the history with which we are all familiar. After the success of The Surgeon of Crowthorne, which documented the life of WC Minor, the American surgeon and major contributor to the first Oxford English Dictionary, Winchester now turns his attention to William Smith, the 19th-century Briton who can justly lay claim to being the founding father of geology.

The book has all the usual attributes of a pacy historical read: a self-educated, unrecognised scientist spends years roaming the British countryside, compiling a map of the geological layers beneath the surface, only to have his ideas ripped off and to wind up homeless and penniless in Yorkshire with a wife who is going bonkers. And it gets better: in a bizarre Dickensian twist, Smith finally gets his just accolades when he is recognised by a kindly liberal nobleman and is reintroduced to London society as the geologist par excellence. Of itself, the story would be more than enough recommendation but there is a subtext running though the book that is in many ways just as compelling--namely, how some parts of history get written in stone and others in dust. Most secondary-school students get to learn of Charles Darwin and The Voyage of the Beagle. Yet how many people could stick their hands up and say they had heard of Smith? But is evolution any more important a field as geology? Is history ultimately an exercise in who has the best PR? Winchester may not have the answer, but he'll certainly make you think.--John Crace

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

A great historical resource, 27 Aug 2008
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.

Interesting but flawed biography , 10 Jan 2007
Simon Winchester tells the largely forgotten story of self-taught geologist William Smith, the father of modern geology. Though the "barely educated lower middle class scholar takes on academic and social establishments and (eventually) wins" formula is not exactly original, the book is pacy enough and the human and scientific interests well balanced enough to keep it an enthralling read.

William Smith was the son of an Oxfordshire blacksmith. His childhood fascination with rocks and fossils led to his employment as a surveyor of mines and builder of canals, and to his discovery that the rocks of his native county lay in strata, always in the same order and always bearing the same unique fossils in each layer. He theorised that this pattern would be replicated throughout Britain, and that the fossils themselves showed that the layers of rocks were layed down at different times. Though to the twenty-first century, this does not sound very revolutionary, to the late eighteenth, before Darwin and when Bishop Ussher's dating of the divine creation of the Earth to 4004 B.C. was still popularly accepted, it was unheard of.

Smith's reputation spread, and soon his professional services were in demand throughout the country, allowing him also to test his geological theories; he astonished his patrons by being able to predict almost on sight whether their lands held coal strata. His plan was to produce a map of the geology of the entire British Isles.

Unfortunately, financial imprudence and lack of social standing, as well as possibly the stigma of an apparently insane wife and the professional jealously of his rivals, damaged Smith's career to such an extent that he was imprisoned for debt. These circumstances are not so well covered by Winchester; I suspect that Smith's diary is by so much the primary source here that he is only able to retell the story Smith himself recorded. The details of the "nymphomaniac" wife, for example, are particularly scanty.

This is unfortunate. For the most part, the book is very lively, easy to read, and Smith's story seems to hold a personal fascination for Winchester. In part, this is explained by a central chapter containing a childhood memoir from the author, on his finding of an ammonite on a Dorset beach; this did, I have to say, sit rather uncomfortably in the middle of Smith's biography; it might just have worked better as a prologue. And the assertion that amateur palaeontology is "no more than the mark of the nerd" is hardly appropriate in such a book! We forgive Winchester his failings though; we are too busy routing for Smith.


Repetitive repetitive repetitive, 06 Jun 2006
I had to give up reading this book, which I found very interesting because I couldn't cope with the author labouring the point. Take this example from page 172 of my copy:

For anyone today to walk eastwards, from Dorset to Dover along this coastline, just as William Smith had walked eastwards along the Somerset Coal Canal from Dunkerton to Limpley Stoke some two centuries before, is to walk forwards in geological time - is to walk away from and out of the older rocks and towards and into the newer. The cliffs that ranged before me now were each made of rocks that were successively younger than those in the cliffs that ranged behind me. The more distantly ahead of me they ranged, the younger and younger they became - so that those lost in the shimmering haze of the afternoon belonged to whole stages and epochs of geological time that were far more recent than those beside and behind me.

Apart from the fact that the reader is by now quite familiar with the starting and finishing point of the Somerset Coal Canal and with the fact that Smith lived 200 years ago (this fact is repeated many times as either "200 years ago" or "two centuries before")the author has now told us that the rocks get younger as one walks from Dorset to Dover 4 times in one paragraph.

I just couldn't take it anymore!

Almost interesting, 20 Jan 2006
I really tried to enjoy this book, yet despite one failed and one successful attempt at finishing it, I was left ultimately disappointed.
The subject is potentially enthralling, but the writing style and pretension of the author result in a book that is repetitive and difficult to read.
I have two main objections to this book, first, the excessive use of footnotes on almost every page. Reading these notes results in a book that fails to flow, and is consequently difficult to read. Not reading these notes would involve ignoring almost a third of the provided text.
Second, the author’s over heightened self importance, leading to an entire chapter (in which the author discusses his finding of a fossil during childhood) that adds nothing to the book, and would be better removed entirely.
Essentially the author appears undecided as to whether this book is his personal autobiography, or the biography of William Smith.

Intriguing book about one of the fathers of geology, 09 May 2005
I admit it... I'd never heard of William Smith. In fact the reason I picked up this book was it seemed an interesting title and I'd read a couple of other Simon Winchester books and found them to be a really interesting read.

William Smith was a self-taught geologist who recognised that in different parts of Britain the underground rock structure was different. He therefore took it upon himself to create an underground map of Britain showing how the various rock formations co-exist.

The narration of Smith's life is fascinating, encompassing a determination to succeed despite being a blacksmith's son (seen at that time as being an unsuitable background for someone wishing to mix with aristocracy). It tells of how this desire resulted in bankruptcy, prison, but only years later getting some of the recognition he deserved.

I would definitely recommend this book if you have read other Simon Winchester books before, or if you are interested in learning a bit about geology and how this science started out.

What a shame, 12 Feb 2005
An incredibly interesting story spoilt by quite a dreadful book. Having absolutely loved Dava Sobel's "Longitude", I relished the opportunity to read another tale where sheer brilliance of thinking coupled with absolute belief, triumphs over the arrogance and prejudice of the self-styled "elite" of scientific minds of the time. Unfortunately, to get at the facts, one has to suffer too much of Winchester's over romanticised hypothysizing which serves as padding at best. Most irritating of all is the author's own displays of vanity in which he introduce details of his own life (references of "going up to Oxford" etc.,) into the text as if they're somehow relevant.What a shame. The clue for me is in the title of the book itself. "The Map that changed the World".Pomposity itself! Sadly a genuinely great man has had his story placed in the hands of vain one

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

A great historical resource, 27 Aug 2008
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.

Interesting but flawed biography , 10 Jan 2007
Simon Winchester tells the largely forgotten story of self-taught geologist William Smith, the father of modern geology. Though the "barely educated lower middle class scholar takes on academic and social establishments and (eventually) wins" formula is not exactly original, the book is pacy enough and the human and scientific interests well balanced enough to keep it an enthralling read.

William Smith was the son of an Oxfordshire blacksmith. His childhood fascination with rocks and fossils led to his employment as a surveyor of mines and builder of canals, and to his discovery that the rocks of his native county lay in strata, always in the same order and always bearing the same unique fossils in each layer. He theorised that this pattern would be replicated throughout Britain, and that the fossils themselves showed that the layers of rocks were layed down at different times. Though to the twenty-first century, this does not sound very revolutionary, to the late eighteenth, before Darwin and when Bishop Ussher's dating of the divine creation of the Earth to 4004 B.C. was still popularly accepted, it was unheard of.

Smith's reputation spread, and soon his professional services were in demand throughout the country, allowing him also to test his geological theories; he astonished his patrons by being able to predict almost on sight whether their lands held coal strata. His plan was to produce a map of the geology of the entire British Isles.

Unfortunately, financial imprudence and lack of social standing, as well as possibly the stigma of an apparently insane wife and the professional jealously of his rivals, damaged Smith's career to such an extent that he was imprisoned for debt. These circumstances are not so well covered by Winchester; I suspect that Smith's diary is by so much the primary source here that he is only able to retell the story Smith himself recorded. The details of the "nymphomaniac" wife, for example, are particularly scanty.

This is unfortunate. For the most part, the book is very lively, easy to read, and Smith's story seems to hold a personal fascination for Winchester. In part, this is explained by a central chapter containing a childhood memoir from the author, on his finding of an ammonite on a Dorset beach; this did, I have to say, sit rather uncomfortably in the middle of Smith's biography; it might just have worked better as a prologue. And the assertion that amateur palaeontology is "no more than the mark of the nerd" is hardly appropriate in such a book! We forgive Winchester his failings though; we are too busy routing for Smith.


Repetitive repetitive repetitive, 06 Jun 2006
I had to give up reading this book, which I found very interesting because I couldn't cope with the author labouring the point. Take this example from page 172 of my copy:

For anyone today to walk eastwards, from Dorset to Dover along this coastline, just as William Smith had walked eastwards along the Somerset Coal Canal from Dunkerton to Limpley Stoke some two centuries before, is to walk forwards in geological time - is to walk away from and out of the older rocks and towards and into the newer. The cliffs that ranged before me now were each made of rocks that were successively younger than those in the cliffs that ranged behind me. The more distantly ahead of me they ranged, the younger and younger they became - so that those lost in the shimmering haze of the afternoon belonged to whole stages and epochs of geological time that were far more recent than those beside and behind me.

Apart from the fact that the reader is by now quite familiar with the starting and finishing point of the Somerset Coal Canal and with the fact that Smith lived 200 years ago (this fact is repeated many times as either "200 years ago" or "two centuries before")the author has now told us that the rocks get younger as one walks from Dorset to Dover 4 times in one paragraph.

I just couldn't take it anymore!

Almost interesting, 20 Jan 2006
I really tried to enjoy this book, yet despite one failed and one successful attempt at finishing it, I was left ultimately disappointed.
The subject is potentially enthralling, but the writing style and pretension of the author result in a book that is repetitive and difficult to read.
I have two main objections to this book, first, the excessive use of footnotes on almost every page. Reading these notes results in a book that fails to flow, and is consequently difficult to read. Not reading these notes would involve ignoring almost a third of the provided text.
Second, the author’s over heightened self importance, leading to an entire chapter (in which the author discusses his finding of a fossil during childhood) that adds nothing to the book, and would be better removed entirely.
Essentially the author appears undecided as to whether this book is his personal autobiography, or the biography of William Smith.

Intriguing book about one of the fathers of geology, 09 May 2005
I admit it... I'd never heard of William Smith. In fact the reason I picked up this book was it seemed an interesting title and I'd read a couple of other Simon Winchester books and found them to be a really interesting read.

William Smith was a self-taught geologist who recognised that in different parts of Britain the underground rock structure was different. He therefore took it upon himself to create an underground map of Britain showing how the various rock formations co-exist.

The narration of Smith's life is fascinating, encompassing a determination to succeed despite being a blacksmith's son (seen at that time as being an unsuitable background for someone wishing to mix with aristocracy). It tells of how this desire resulted in bankruptcy, prison, but only years later getting some of the recognition he deserved.

I would definitely recommend this book if you have read other Simon Winchester books before, or if you are interested in learning a bit about geology and how this science started out.

What a shame, 12 Feb 2005
An incredibly interesting story spoilt by quite a dreadful book. Having absolutely loved Dava Sobel's "Longitude", I relished the opportunity to read another tale where sheer brilliance of thinking coupled with absolute belief, triumphs over the arrogance and prejudice of the self-styled "elite" of scientific minds of the time. Unfortunately, to get at the facts, one has to suffer too much of Winchester's over romanticised hypothysizing which serves as padding at best. Most irritating of all is the author's own displays of vanity in which he introduce details of his own life (references of "going up to Oxford" etc.,) into the text as if they're somehow relevant.What a shame. The clue for me is in the title of the book itself. "The Map that changed the World".Pomposity itself! Sadly a genuinely great man has had his story placed in the hands of vain one

The London story we have been waiting for, 03 Dec 2007
Not just history, but the importance of London's geography in its growth as the leading world city.

Up until now there has been a lack of a good synopsis of London's past.

And a great coffee table book to pick up and browse.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, 15 Nov 2000
The Times History of London is a truly superb book. I bought it and could not put it down. Each page takes you on a voyage of discovery and tells you things you never knew about the history and social development of this amazing capital city. Absolutely brilliant 10 out of 10, a real MUST HAVE title!

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

A great historical resource, 27 Aug 2008
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.

Interesting but flawed biography , 10 Jan 2007
Simon Winchester tells the largely forgotten story of self-taught geologist William Smith, the father of modern geology. Though the "barely educated lower middle class scholar takes on academic and social establishments and (eventually) wins" formula is not exactly original, the book is pacy enough and the human and scientific interests well balanced enough to keep it an enthralling read.

William Smith was the son of an Oxfordshire blacksmith. His childhood fascination with rocks and fossils led to his employment as a surveyor of mines and builder of canals, and to his discovery that the rocks of his native county lay in strata, always in the same order and always bearing the same unique fossils in each layer. He theorised that this pattern would be replicated throughout Britain, and that the fossils themselves showed that the layers of rocks were layed down at different times. Though to the twenty-first century, this does not sound very revolutionary, to the late eighteenth, before Darwin and when Bishop Ussher's dating of the divine creation of the Earth to 4004 B.C. was still popularly accepted, it was unheard of.

Smith's reputation spread, and soon his professional services were in demand throughout the country, allowing him also to test his geological theories; he astonished his patrons by being able to predict almost on sight whether their lands held coal strata. His plan was to produce a map of the geology of the entire British Isles.

Unfortunately, financial imprudence and lack of social standing, as well as possibly the stigma of an apparently insane wife and the professional jealously of his rivals, damaged Smith's career to such an extent that he was imprisoned for debt. These circumstances are not so well covered by Winchester; I suspect that Smith's diary is by so much the primary source here that he is only able to retell the story Smith himself recorded. The details of the "nymphomaniac" wife, for example, are particularly scanty.

This is unfortunate. For the most part, the book is very lively, easy to read, and Smith's story seems to hold a personal fascination for Winchester. In part, this is explained by a central chapter containing a childhood memoir from the author, on his finding of an ammonite on a Dorset beach; this did, I have to say, sit rather uncomfortably in the middle of Smith's biography; it might just have worked better as a prologue. And the assertion that amateur palaeontology is "no more than the mark of the nerd" is hardly appropriate in such a book! We forgive Winchester his failings though; we are too busy routing for Smith.


Repetitive repetitive repetitive, 06 Jun 2006
I had to give up reading this book, which I found very interesting because I couldn't cope with the author labouring the point. Take this example from page 172 of my copy:

For anyone today to walk eastwards, from Dorset to Dover along this coastline, just as William Smith had walked eastwards along the Somerset Coal Canal from Dunkerton to Limpley Stoke some two centuries before, is to walk forwards in geological time - is to walk away from and out of the older rocks and towards and into the newer. The cliffs that ranged before me now were each made of rocks that were successively younger than those in the cliffs that ranged behind me. The more distantly ahead of me they ranged, the younger and younger they became - so that those lost in the shimmering haze of the afternoon belonged to whole stages and epochs of geological time that were far more recent than those beside and behind me.

Apart from the fact that the reader is by now quite familiar with the starting and finishing point of the Somerset Coal Canal and with the fact that Smith lived 200 years ago (this fact is repeated many times as either "200 years ago" or "two centuries before")the author has now told us that the rocks get younger as one walks from Dorset to Dover 4 times in one paragraph.

I just couldn't take it anymore!

Almost interesting, 20 Jan 2006
I really tried to enjoy this book, yet despite one failed and one successful attempt at finishing it, I was left ultimately disappointed.
The subject is potentially enthralling, but the writing style and pretension of the author result in a book that is repetitive and difficult to read.
I have two main objections to this book, first, the excessive use of footnotes on almost every page. Reading these notes results in a book that fails to flow, and is consequently difficult to read. Not reading these notes would involve ignoring almost a third of the provided text.
Second, the author’s over heightened self importance, leading to an entire chapter (in which the author discusses his finding of a fossil during childhood) that adds nothing to the book, and would be better removed entirely.
Essentially the author appears undecided as to whether this book is his personal autobiography, or the biography of William Smith.

Intriguing book about one of the fathers of geology, 09 May 2005
I admit it... I'd never heard of William Smith. In fact the reason I picked up this book was it seemed an interesting title and I'd read a couple of other Simon Winchester books and found them to be a really interesting read.

William Smith was a self-taught geologist who recognised that in different parts of Britain the underground rock structure was different. He therefore took it upon himself to create an underground map of Britain showing how the various rock formations co-exist.

The narration of Smith's life is fascinating, encompassing a determination to succeed despite being a blacksmith's son (seen at that time as being an unsuitable background for someone wishing to mix with aristocracy). It tells of how this desire resulted in bankruptcy, prison, but only years later getting some of the recognition he deserved.

I would definitely recommend this book if you have read other Simon Winchester books before, or if you are interested in learning a bit about geology and how this science started out.

What a shame, 12 Feb 2005
An incredibly interesting story spoilt by quite a dreadful book. Having absolutely loved Dava Sobel's "Longitude", I relished the opportunity to read another tale where sheer brilliance of thinking coupled with absolute belief, triumphs over the arrogance and prejudice of the self-styled "elite" of scientific minds of the time. Unfortunately, to get at the facts, one has to suffer too much of Winchester's over romanticised hypothysizing which serves as padding at best. Most irritating of all is the author's own displays of vanity in which he introduce details of his own life (references of "going up to Oxford" etc.,) into the text as if they're somehow relevant.What a shame. The clue for me is in the title of the book itself. "The Map that changed the World".Pomposity itself! Sadly a genuinely great man has had his story placed in the hands of vain one

The London story we have been waiting for, 03 Dec 2007
Not just history, but the importance of London's geography in its growth as the leading world city.

Up until now there has been a lack of a good synopsis of London's past.

And a great coffee table book to pick up and browse.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, 15 Nov 2000
The Times History of London is a truly superb book. I bought it and could not put it down. Each page takes you on a voyage of discovery and tells you things you never knew about the history and social development of this amazing capital city. Absolutely brilliant 10 out of 10, a real MUST HAVE title!

After Jamie Oliver another refreshing character in this area, 13 Aug 2008
In times where people lack focusing and claim to have so many different things to do, this book reflects what people urge. Facts, entertainment, vibrancy, merging tradition and modern spirit; information packed in refreshing language, embedded in colourful pictures. For me as a German who travels once or twice to Cornwall in a lifetime but being a modern person aquainted to english life I need Zeitgeist reading. Well Done and thank you!!

Worst Book on Cornwall, 06 Mar 2008
Regrettably, I have to say that this is probably the worst book I have seen on Cornwall for a very long time.

Professor Philip Payton

Just has to be the BEST book for a fiver! , 26 Nov 2007
The dry humour of the author brings a frequent smile as you read this book, and the information about Cornwall is so varied and interesting that it's hard to put this book down. The text varies in colour and size, and is such an easy read that it is ideal for having around when you can grab a few seconds during a busy life. The photos are gorgeous too and to put all of it together must have been a massive task. I haven't had my copy long, but I have friends who have read bits and then bought their own copy. This book and a bottle of wine is going to comprise quite a few Christmas presents this year.

Informative. Enchanting. Amusing., 21 Nov 2007
Brimming with facts and figures on just about anything and everything Cornish, this delightful book is guaranteed to inform and amuse. Published in a rainbow of colour, the enthralling text is accompanied by some beautiful and captivating photography. The Little Book of Cornwall is an enchanting read and should belong on all our bookshelves. The dilemma lies in which section to house it - General Knowledge? Travel? History? Humour? You decide. And, if you can't, display it on your coffee table and let others share in your enjoyment and good taste!

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

A great historical resource, 27 Aug 2008
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.

Interesting but flawed biography , 10 Jan 2007
Simon Winchester tells the largely forgotten story of self-taught geologist William Smith, the father of modern geology. Though the "barely educated lower middle class scholar takes on academic and social establishments and (eventually) wins" formula is not exactly original, the book is pacy enough and the human and scientific interests well balanced enough to keep it an enthralling read.

William Smith was the son of an Oxfordshire blacksmith. His childhood fascination with rocks and fossils led to his employment as a surveyor of mines and builder of canals, and to his discovery that the rocks of his native county lay in strata, always in the same order and always bearing the same unique fossils in each layer. He theorised that this pattern would be replicated throughout Britain, and that the fossils themselves showed that the layers of rocks were layed down at different times. Though to the twenty-first century, this does not sound very revolutionary, to the late eighteenth, before Darwin and when Bishop Ussher's dating of the divine creation of the Earth to 4004 B.C. was still popularly accepted, it was unheard of.

Smith's reputation spread, and soon his professional services were in demand throughout the country, allowing him also to test his geological theories; he astonished his patrons by being able to predict almost on sight whether their lands held coal strata. His plan was to produce a map of the geology of the entire British Isles.

Unfortunately, financial imprudence and lack of social standing, as well as possibly the stigma of an apparently insane wife and the professional jealously of his rivals, damaged Smith's career to such an extent that he was imprisoned for debt. These circumstances are not so well covered by Winchester; I suspect that Smith's diary is by so much the primary source here that he is only able to retell the story Smith himself recorded. The details of the "nymphomaniac" wife, for example, are particularly scanty.

This is unfortunate. For the most part, the book is very lively, easy to read, and Smith's story seems to hold a personal fascination for Winchester. In part, this is explained by a central chapter containing a childhood memoir from the author, on his finding of an ammonite on a Dorset beach; this did, I have to say, sit rather uncomfortably in the middle of Smith's biography; it might just have worked better as a prologue. And the assertion that amateur palaeontology is "no more than the mark of the nerd" is hardly appropriate in such a book! We forgive Winchester his failings though; we are too busy routing for Smith.


Repetitive repetitive repetitive, 06 Jun 2006
I had to give up reading this book, which I found very interesting because I couldn't cope with the author labouring the point. Take this example from page 172 of my copy:

For anyone today to walk eastwards, from Dorset to Dover along this coastline, just as William Smith had walked eastwards along the Somerset Coal Canal from Dunkerton to Limpley Stoke some two centuries before, is to walk forwards in geological time - is to walk away from and out of the older rocks and towards and into the newer. The cliffs that ranged before me now were each made of rocks that were successively younger than those in the cliffs that ranged behind me. The more distantly ahead of me they ranged, the younger and younger they became - so that those lost in the shimmering haze of the afternoon belonged to whole stages and epochs of geological time that were far more recent than those beside and behind me.

Apart from the fact that the reader is by now quite familiar with the starting and finishing point of the Somerset Coal Canal and with the fact that Smith lived 200 years ago (this fact is repeated many times as either "200 years ago" or "two centuries before")the author has now told us that the rocks get younger as one walks from Dorset to Dover 4 times in one paragraph.

I just couldn't take it anymore!

Almost interesting, 20 Jan 2006
I really tried to enjoy this book, yet despite one failed and one successful attempt at finishing it, I was left ultimately disappointed.
The subject is potentially enthralling, but the writing style and pretension of the author result in a book that is repetitive and difficult to read.
I have two main objections to this book, first, the excessive use of footnotes on almost every page. Reading these notes results in a book that fails to flow, and is consequently difficult to read. Not reading these notes would involve ignoring almost a third of the provided text.
Second, the author’s over heightened self importance, leading to an entire chapter (in which the author discusses his finding of a fossil during childhood) that adds nothing to the book, and would be better removed entirely.
Essentially the author appears undecided as to whether this book is his personal autobiography, or the biography of William Smith.

Intriguing book about one of the fathers of geology, 09 May 2005
I admit it... I'd never heard of William Smith. In fact the reason I picked up this book was it seemed an interesting title and I'd read a couple of other Simon Winchester books and found them to be a really interesting read.

William Smith was a self-taught geologist who recognised that in different parts of Britain the underground rock structure was different. He therefore took it upon himself to create an underground map of Britain showing how the various rock formations co-exist.

The narration of Smith's life is fascinating, encompassing a determination to succeed despite being a blacksmith's son (seen at that time as being an unsuitable background for someone wishing to mix with aristocracy). It tells of how this desire resulted in bankruptcy, prison, but only years later getting some of the recognition he deserved.

I would definitely recommend this book if you have read other Simon Winchester books before, or if you are interested in learning a bit about geology and how this science started out.

What a shame, 12 Feb 2005
An incredibly interesting story spoilt by quite a dreadful book. Having absolutely loved Dava Sobel's "Longitude", I relished the opportunity to read another tale where sheer brilliance of thinking coupled with absolute belief, triumphs over the arrogance and prejudice of the self-styled "elite" of scientific minds of the time. Unfortunately, to get at the facts, one has to suffer too much of Winchester's over romanticised hypothysizing which serves as padding at best. Most irritating of all is the author's own displays of vanity in which he introduce details of his own life (references of "going up to Oxford" etc.,) into the text as if they're somehow relevant.What a shame. The clue for me is in the title of the book itself. "The Map that changed the World".Pomposity itself! Sadly a genuinely great man has had his story placed in the hands of vain one

The London story we have been waiting for, 03 Dec 2007
Not just history, but the importance of London's geography in its growth as the leading world city.

Up until now there has been a lack of a good synopsis of London's past.

And a great coffee table book to pick up and browse.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, 15 Nov 2000
The Times History of London is a truly superb book. I bought it and could not put it down. Each page takes you on a voyage of discovery and tells you things you never knew about the history and social development of this amazing capital city. Absolutely brilliant 10 out of 10, a real MUST HAVE title!

After Jamie Oliver another refreshing character in this area, 13 Aug 2008
In times where people lack focusing and claim to have so many different things to do, this book reflects what people urge. Facts, entertainment, vibrancy, merging tradition and modern spirit; information packed in refreshing language, embedded in colourful pictures. For me as a German who travels once or twice to Cornwall in a lifetime but being a modern person aquainted to english life I need Zeitgeist reading. Well Done and thank you!!

Worst Book on Cornwall, 06 Mar 2008
Regrettably, I have to say that this is probably the worst book I have seen on Cornwall for a very long time.

Professor Philip Payton

Just has to be the BEST book for a fiver! , 26 Nov 2007
The dry humour of the author brings a frequent smile as you read this book, and the information about Cornwall is so varied and interesting that it's hard to put this book down. The text varies in colour and size, and is such an easy read that it is ideal for having around when you can grab a few seconds during a busy life. The photos are gorgeous too and to put all of it together must have been a massive task. I haven't had my copy long, but I have friends who have read bits and then bought their own copy. This book and a bottle of wine is going to comprise quite a few Christmas presents this year.

Informative. Enchanting. Amusing., 21 Nov 2007
Brimming with facts and figures on just about anything and everything Cornish, this delightful book is guaranteed to inform and amuse. Published in a rainbow of colour, the enthralling text is accompanied by some beautiful and captivating photography. The Little Book of Cornwall is an enchanting read and should belong on all our bookshelves. The dilemma lies in which section to house it - General Knowledge? Travel? History? Humour? You decide. And, if you can't, display it on your coffee table and let others share in your enjoyment and good taste!

A Quick Look at the Reasons for Boundary Twists, Turns, and Quirks, 05 Aug 2008

This book describes more boundary quirks than you have probably ever noticed. If nothing else, you'll know the edges of your state better after looking at this research work.

There are overall explanations that account for the bulk of the boundaries such as the original colonial charters from England and other nations, foreign treaties (such as the one ending the French and Indian War), land purchases (such as the ones for Louisiana and Alaska), borders inherited from England and Spain, borders developed by independent nations (Texas and California), borders affected by slavery (including West Virginia seceding from Virginia), and lines that were disputed and resolved among various states.

You'll learn about surveying mistakes, battles over resources, disagreements about which river branch is the main one, and lots of goofy compromises.

In checking out the states where I have lived, I found only one surprise that I didn't know about. So you may not learn as much as you hope about your home area. But you'll probably learn a lot about places where you rarely go.

If you read this book just for two or three states, that's a mistake. The information isn't all that details or well documented. Check it out of the library if that's your intention.

In Krakatoa Simon Winchester, author of The Map That Changed the World and The Professor and the Madman, focuses his considerable research powers on one of the most cataclysmic events of modern history: the volcanic eruption, in 1883, of the South East Asian island of Krakatoa, which resulted in the deaths of 36,000 people and sent shock-waves around the world. But what at the time was a mysterious, almost supernatural phenomenon has become, under the precepts of the contemporary science of plate tectonics, explicable if no less tragic.

Winchester veers between eyewitness accounts by survivors and the limited scientific measurements of the time in an attempt to describe the indescribable. The event "is still said to be the most violent explosion ever recorded and experienced by modern man", he writes. "Six cubic miles of rock had been blasted out of existence, had been turned into pumice and ash and uncountable billions of particles of dust." Yet words and numbers can barely hint at the scale of the calamity, which resulted in tsunamis that washed whole villages into the ocean and forever changed the very topography of the area.

The author also explores the social and cultural topography, noting that "Orthodox Islam, its revival in part triggered by tragic events such as the great cataclysm, was totally transformed in Java during the nineteenth century, with fundamentalism, militancy and profound hostility to non-Muslims its watchwords". At times Winchester seems to overstate his case, and the link he finds between Krakatoa and the rise of anti-Western sentiment in the Islamic world isn't especially convincing. But by weaving together the disaster with science, communications, politics, religion and economics, he has come up with a comprehensive and often fascinating glimpse into the way the world, and our perception of it, can change in an instant. --Shawn Conner, Amazon.ca

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

A great historical resource, 27 Aug 2008
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.

Interesting but flawed biography , 10 Jan 2007
Simon Winchester tells the largely forgotten story of self-taught geologist William Smith, the father of modern geology. Though the "barely educated lower middle class scholar takes on academic and social establishments and (eventually) wins" formula is not exactly original, the book is pacy enough and the human and scientific interests well balanced enough to keep it an enthralling read.

William Smith was the son of an Oxfordshire blacksmith. His childhood fascination with rocks and fossils led to his employment as a surveyor of mines and builder of canals, and to his discovery that the rocks of his native county lay in strata, always in the same order and always bearing the same unique fossils in each layer. He theorised that this pattern would be replicated throughout Britain, and that the fossils themselves showed that the layers of rocks were layed down at different times. Though to the twenty-first century, this does not sound very revolutionary, to the late eighteenth, before Darwin and when Bishop Ussher's dating of the divine creation of the Earth to 4004 B.C. was still popularly accepted, it was unheard of.

Smith's reputation spread, and soon his professional services were in demand throughout the country, allowing him also to test his geological theories; he astonished his patrons by being able to predict almost on sight whether their lands held coal strata. His plan was to produce a map of the geology of the entire British Isles.

Unfortunately, financial imprudence and lack of social standing, as well as possibly the stigma of an apparently insane wife and the professional jealously of his rivals, damaged Smith's career to such an extent that he was imprisoned for debt. These circumstances are not so well covered by Winchester; I suspect that Smith's diary is by so much the primary source here that he is only able to retell the story Smith himself recorded. The details of the "nymphomaniac" wife, for example, are particularly scanty.

This is unfortunate. For the most part, the book is very lively, easy to read, and Smith's story seems to hold a personal fascination for Winchester. In part, this is explained by a central chapter containing a childhood memoir from the author, on his finding of an ammonite on a Dorset beach; this did, I have to say, sit rather uncomfortably in the middle of Smith's biography; it might just have worked better as a prologue. And the assertion that amateur palaeontology is "no more than the mark of the nerd" is hardly appropriate in such a book! We forgive Winchester his failings though; we are too busy routing for Smith.


Repetitive repetitive repetitive, 06 Jun 2006
I had to give up reading this book, which I found very interesting because I couldn't cope with the author labouring the point. Take this example from page 172 of my copy:

For anyone today to walk eastwards, from Dorset to Dover along this coastline, just as William Smith had walked eastwards along the Somerset Coal Canal from Dunkerton to Limpley Stoke some two centuries before, is to walk forwards in geological time - is to walk away from and out of the older rocks and towards and into the newer. The cliffs that ranged before me now were each made of rocks that were successively younger than those in the cliffs that ranged behind me. The more distantly ahead of me they ranged, the younger and younger they became - so that those lost in the shimmering haze of the afternoon belonged to whole stages and epochs of geological time that were far more recent than those beside and behind me.

Apart from the fact that the reader is by now quite familiar with the starting and finishing point of the Somerset Coal Canal and with the fact that Smith lived 200 years ago (this fact is repeated many times as either "200 years ago" or "two centuries before")the author has now told us that the rocks get younger as one walks from Dorset to Dover 4 times in one paragraph.

I just couldn't take it anymore!

Almost interesting, 20 Jan 2006
I really tried to enjoy this book, yet despite one failed and one successful attempt at finishing it, I was left ultimately disappointed.
The subject is potentially enthralling, but the writing style and pretension of the author result in a book that is repetitive and difficult to read.
I have two main objections to this book, first, the excessive use of footnotes on almost every page. Reading these notes results in a book that fails to flow, and is consequently difficult to read. Not reading these notes would involve ignoring almost a third of the provided text.
Second, the author’s over heightened self importance, leading to an entire chapter (in which the author discusses his finding of a fossil during childhood) that adds nothing to the book, and would be better removed entirely.
Essentially the author appears undecided as to whether this book is his personal autobiography, or the biography of William Smith.

Intriguing book about one of the fathers of geology, 09 May 2005
I admit it... I'd never heard of William Smith. In fact the reason I picked up this book was it seemed an interesting title and I'd read a couple of other Simon Winchester books and found them to be a really interesting read.

William Smith was a self-taught geologist who recognised that in different parts of Britain the underground rock structure was different. He therefore took it upon himself to create an underground map of Britain showing how the various rock formations co-exist.

The narration of Smith's life is fascinating, encompassing a determination to succeed despite being a blacksmith's son (seen at that time as being an unsuitable background for someone wishing to mix with aristocracy). It tells of how this desire resulted in bankruptcy, prison, but only years later getting some of the recognition he deserved.

I would definitely recommend this book if you have read other Simon Winchester books before, or if you are interested in learning a bit about geology and how this science started out.

What a shame, 12 Feb 2005
An incredibly interesting story spoilt by quite a dreadful book. Having absolutely loved Dava Sobel's "Longitude", I relished the opportunity to read another tale where sheer brilliance of thinking coupled with absolute belief, triumphs over the arrogance and prejudice of the self-styled "elite" of scientific minds of the time. Unfortunately, to get at the facts, one has to suffer too much of Winchester's over romanticised hypothysizing which serves as padding at best. Most irritating of all is the author's own displays of vanity in which he introduce details of his own life (references of "going up to Oxford" etc.,) into the text as if they're somehow relevant.What a shame. The clue for me is in the title of the book itself. "The Map that changed the World".Pomposity itself! Sadly a genuinely great man has had his story placed in the hands of vain one

The London story we have been waiting for, 03 Dec 2007
Not just history, but the importance of London's geography in its growth as the leading world city.

Up until now there has been a lack of a good synopsis of London's past.

And a great coffee table book to pick up and browse.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, 15 Nov 2000
The Times History of London is a truly superb book. I bought it and could not put it down. Each page takes you on a voyage of discovery and tells you things you never knew about the history and social development of this amazing capital city. Absolutely brilliant 10 out of 10, a real MUST HAVE title!

After Jamie Oliver another refreshing character in this area, 13 Aug 2008
In times where people lack focusing and claim to have so many different things to do, this book reflects what people urge. Facts, entertainment, vibrancy, merging tradition and modern spirit; information packed in refreshing language, embedded in colourful pictures. For me as a German who travels once or twice to Cornwall in a lifetime but being a modern person aquainted to english life I need Zeitgeist reading. Well Done and thank you!!

Worst Book on Cornwall, 06 Mar 2008
Regrettably, I have to say that this is probably the worst book I have seen on Cornwall for a very long time.

Professor Philip Payton

Just has to be the BEST book for a fiver! , 26 Nov 2007
The dry humour of the author brings a frequent smile as you read this book, and the information about Cornwall is so varied and interesting that it's hard to put this book down. The text varies in colour and size, and is such an easy read that it is ideal for having around when you can grab a few seconds during a busy life. The photos are gorgeous too and to put all of it together must have been a massive task. I haven't had my copy long, but I have friends who have read bits and then bought their own copy. This book and a bottle of wine is going to comprise quite a few Christmas presents this year.

Informative. Enchanting. Amusing., 21 Nov 2007
Brimming with facts and figures on just about anything and everything Cornish, this delightful book is guaranteed to inform and amuse. Published in a rainbow of colour, the enthralling text is accompanied by some beautiful and captivating photography. The Little Book of Cornwall is an enchanting read and should belong on all our bookshelves. The dilemma lies in which section to house it - General Knowledge? Travel? History? Humour? You decide. And, if you can't, display it on your coffee table and let others share in your enjoyment and good taste!

A Quick Look at the Reasons for Boundary Twists, Turns, and Quirks, 05 Aug 2008

This book describes more boundary quirks than you have probably ever noticed. If nothing else, you'll know the edges of your state better after looking at this research work.

There are overall explanations that account for the bulk of the boundaries such as the original colonial charters from England and other nations, foreign treaties (such as the one ending the French and Indian War), land purchases (such as the ones for Louisiana and Alaska), borders inherited from England and Spain, borders developed by independent nations (Texas and California), borders affected by slavery (including West Virginia seceding from Virginia), and lines that were disputed and resolved among various states.

You'll learn about surveying mistakes, battles over resources, disagreements about which river branch is the main one, and lots of goofy compromises.

In checking out the states where I have lived, I found only one surprise that I didn't know about. So you may not learn as much as you hope about your home area. But you'll probably learn a lot about places where you rarely go.

If you read this book just for two or three states, that's a mistake. The information isn't all that details or well documented. Check it out of the library if that's your intention.

Read about A World Event, 08 Nov 2008
In "Krakatoa" author Simon Winchester examines the great explosion of August 27, 1883 from all angles, including historical, scientific, social, political and religious. He starts by explaining the social structure in the Dutch East Indies at the time. He then goes on to explain the scientific explanations for what happened and why. A fascinating portion is the story of the scientific studies which recorded the effects of the blast including water waves thousands of miles away and the air wave which circled the globe seven times during the first fifteen days. As the book progresses he impact the blast had on the natives and Europeans living in the area. He eventually suggests that the rise in Muslim devotion in the Dutch East Indies may have been the result of a fundamentalist turn to Allah after the catastrophe. The book ends by chronicling the volcanic activity and the island at the site of Krakatoa in the years since the explosion.

Krakatoa was the first major natural catastrophe to occur after the network of underground cables united the world. This made it a "World Event" which has fascinated readers ever since. I had long heard of Krakatoa and appreciate the opportunity to gain a better understanding it and its implications. It raised an interest in other scientific histories and the history of the Dutch East Indies. A book than can do that merits a recommendation.


History brought to life, 05 Oct 2007
This book is a fascinating examination of the eruption of Krakatoa. Simon Winchester gives a vivid account based on eyewitness testimony of the eruption itself and the destruction that the explosion of August 27, 1883 wrought upon the people living in Indonesia. The tales of ships trapped in pitch black ash, ships thrown miles into the jungle, waves 150 feet high sweeping people off cliffs that were thought to be safe, and skeletons found thousands of miles away on floating rafts of pumice all help to build a full sense of the horror and tragedy of that day. Almost 40,000 people died that day, most from the sea waves caused by the collapse of Krakatoa into the sea and Winchester's writing and use of first person sources brings the events of more than 100 years ago to life.

The book covers much more than just that one day. Winchester brings the time to life by discussing the Dutch colonizers and the Javanese who lived under Dutch rule. We get to meet the people who lived at the time of the catastrophe and experience their lives. We also get to understand how geologically dangerous the land these people lived on was (and is) by examining how volcanoes arise in the first place. There are many twists and turns in the story, some fascinating and some less so. The author looks at the post-Indonesian world, briefly discussing the massacre of some Dutch by Moslem militants but doesn't look more deeply. The last chapter looks at the new volcano that has arisen where Krakatoa once was and the return of plants and animals to the new Krakatoa and the surrounding islands.

Winchester is more than anything else a story teller and less so an educator. For example, his story of how the theory of plate tectonics was developed is very interesting but his explanation of the theory could have been clearer. Some of the book drags, for example Winchester spends 15 pages explaining how a telegram announcing the first eruption traveled from Batavia to end up in the Times of London. This was less than scintillating reading. The weakest part of the book is the diagrams, maps, and pictures. There are very few pictures of any of the main characters. The author describes the effect of the eruption on the island of Rakata in great detail but doesn't give us a photo. When describing the magnificent sunsets that occurred after the eruption, the author shows us a copy of a painting of one of these sunsets but he gives it to us in black and white. The map of the Dutch East Indies in the book does not identify any of the towns mentioned in the text and is difficult to interpret.

Overall, the book is a very engaging read and although it occasionally wanders off, it is well worth reading.

THE UNQUIET EARTH, 07 Jul 2007
Disasters make for good storytelling. Simon Winchester regales us with 400 pages of absorbing narrative that I found instructive and thoughtful as well as vivid and memorable. The catastrophic (or `Plinian') explosion of Krakatoa in 1883 was the largest such event within recorded history, but Winchester has found four others in prehistory that were even more destructive, and as often happens when an author advances my knowledge and understanding of a topic I found myself eager for more information still, some of which may be of urgent practical relevance to my descendents, although I hope not too soon. The diagram of a `subduction zone' in particular (chapter 3 section 4) includes the phenomenon of `shield volcanoes' with a wide caldera such as Yellowstone. I have seen these referred to as `super-volcanoes', and Yellowstone in particular was recently the subject of a gripping if gruesome television programme, as it is apparently ready to go up again before long (in terms of geological time). Winchester's narrative left me unsure whether such super-volcanoes are among the four super-Krakatoas that he lists. It doesn't read that way, so I am left in suspense and uncertainty. Another issue on which I wish he had been more explicit is `phreatomagmatic explosions', although I may or may not have tracked down my answer near the end of chapter 8. These polysyllabic events occur when water touches the hot magma, so if Krakatoa destroyed its total presence above water what re-sealed it below and prevented an ongoing phreatomagmatic frenzy?

It was water that did most of the damage through tsunamis and floods. This makes the event cataclysmic for sure, because a cataclysm means a flood, not a disaster, and although nobody nowadays would use it of a beneficial flood as Herodotus does of the annual flooding of the Nile I'm still not ready to abandon the rearguard action against the word's use for disasters generally. However the main issue for author and reader is what caused the explosion that caused the cataclysm. Winchester is able to give us the benefit of the latest geological insights, explaining the subduction process whereby the earth's tectonic plates shift and renew themselves beneath the oceans. The general picture is very clear and intelligible to a lay reader, the main scientific disputes apparently now centering on the issue of why the event was so violent. From a top-down scientific perspective Winchester finds an almost Panglossian rightness about the system, but I have the impression that the earth is looking after herself and that benefits to humanity are only spin-offs. Considering what humanity is doing to the earth, of course, it's hardly to be wondered that the earth may take steps that reduce human activity.

The book sets the events of 1883 in the context of prior and subsequent history, part scientific, part colonial, cultural and political. It was in the field of ornithology that an abrupt line of division was first noticed between areas of what is now Indonesia separated by only a few miles of sea. General zoology confirmed this division, and geology has furnished the overall explanation. The author then traces the colonial history of the region, starting with the early Portuguese explorers subsequently ousted by the Dutch. After 1883 he notes a rise in anti-colonial sentiment and in Islamic religious assertiveness. It may be that linking these developments with the eruption will not stand too much scrutiny, as similar tendencies were apparent elsewhere, as with the first Indian mutiny. I applaud for their thoughtfulness Winchester's attempts at a theory of jihad, but he ought to be careful with generalisations such as his assertion that Islam is `at its heart' an imperial religion. Arguments resting on any concept of `essential' or `basic' characteristics tend to be unsound and easily picked apart.

However humanity chooses to conduct itself, Anak Krakatoa, the offspring of the self-immolating monster of 1883, is rearing above the ocean again at a rate perceptible to the unaided eye after an interval of some years. It will erupt again, because subduction dictates so. One fascinating sidelight is the rapid re-emergence of plant and animal life on its slopes. This, unlike eruptions, has happened in ways not fully explained. Considering what our planet may do on its own timescale, I sometimes think it a blessing that human life is short by comparison, but even the earth's most violent outbursts seem not to inhibit its other life-forms for long. The stakes are higher for humanity because of the fragile nature of our civilisation. If, as seems probable, we are over-extending ourselves and playing with forces beyond our control, a closer study of how these forces operate might seem wise, and I commend this instructive book to every thinking denizen of the planet earth.

Stimulating and Intellectual!!, 24 May 2007
I purchased the book on the premise it would give me a detailed scientfic account of the volcanic eruption.

It however turned to be an erudite exposure to geology, tectonics, history and pervailing social views in 19th century europe. The book also charts the advent and growth of communication technology.

An excellent read, if you have a desire to enhance your knowledge of colonial history, geology and develop your own personal lexicon.

I however contest the anti-Islamic views expounded throughout the book, typical innate-academic prejudices!! Anti colonial behaviour is not indicative of Islam teachings!


NOT for light reading!, 12 Jan 2007
This is a good book but the title is misleading. The title suggests this book deals solely with the day Krakatoa's erruption, however this is not the case. Instead the authors charts some 300 years worth of history into his account. This IS interesting reading though perhaps a little too indepth for what I had in mind.

Personally I felt the book picked up pace as the author describes in Greenland trip in 1965. Here the information is still detailed but now feels more relevant and the more I read, the more I am learning!!!

With regard to the rating the 3 starts reflect it's incorrect title and how that can be misleading. A more specific title would certainly have warranted a 4 stars for this book, possibly even 5.

Therefore I would say to those who are seeking the thrill of reading about the terror of the explosion etc that this is NOT the book for them. However if you want a detailed history that has clearly been VERY THOROUGHLY researched then this is the book for you.

Good book , 26 Apr 2008
This book is one of the best he has written to date about the village. If you like archaeology or even interested in researching your own village then you will not be let down if you buy this book. The photographs are all taken by Richard and to a good standard everything is explain really good and very basic a must have in any book collection

A visual treat, 10 Jan 2008
This is a beautiful book, worthy of pride-of-place on your coffee table or your library shelf. If you're a "map person," you will relish hundreds of illustrations published between the covers. These generously-sized images give you a real opportunity to pore over the details on historical maps, and the accompanying text will teach you something new.
It is an ambitious undertaking to publish a book like this, and Simon Foxell has certainly done justice to his topic. From the famous (eg Hollar's Panorama) to the obscure, the maps are presented in full colour with extended captions. Foxell provides historical context and analyses the role of maps and the information they provide. Open the book to any page, and you'll find something to delight your eyes and tickle your brain.
A great gift for your favourite London-ophile (if that's even a word!).

A great historical resource, 27 Aug 2008
I went on a battlefield tour of the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy campaign, and found this fantastically useful. Having things like the flooded areas marked on the map helped put it all into context on the ground.

Interesting but flawed biography , 10 Jan 2007
Simon Winchester tells the largely forgotten story of self-taught geologist William Smith, the father of modern geology. Though the "barely educated lower middle class scholar takes on academic and social establishments and (eventually) wins" formula is not exactly original, the book is pacy enough and the human and scientific interests well balanced enough to keep it an enthralling read.

William Smith was the son of an Oxfordshire blacksmith. His childhood fascination with rocks and fossils led to his employment as a surveyor of mines and builder of canals, and to his discovery that the rocks of his native county lay in strata, always in the same order and always bearing the same unique fossils in each layer. He theorised that this pattern would be replicated throughout Britain, and that the fossils themselves showed that the layers of rocks were layed down at different times. Though to the twenty-first century, this does not sound very revolutionary, to the late eighteenth, before Darwin and when Bishop Ussher's dating of the divine creation of the Earth to 4004 B.C. was still popularly accepted, it was unheard of.

Smith's reputation spread, and soon his professional services were in demand throughout the country, allowing him also to test his geological theories; he astonished his patrons by being able to predict almost on sight whether their lands held coal strata. His plan was to produce a map of the geology of the entire British Isles.

Unfortunately, financial imprudence and lack of social standing, as well as possibly the stigma of an apparently insane wife and the professional jealously of his rivals, damaged Smith's career to such an extent that he was imprisoned for debt. These circumstances are not so well covered by Winchester; I suspect that Smith's diary is by so much the primary source here that he is only able to retell the story Smith himself recorded. The details of the "nymphomaniac" wife, for example, are particularly scanty.

This is unfortunate. For the most part, the book is very lively, easy to read, and Smith's story seems to hold a personal fascination for Winchester. In part, this is explained by a central chapter containing a childhood memoir from the author, on his finding of an ammonite on a Dorset beach; this did, I have to say, sit rather uncomfortably in the middle of Smith's biography; it might just have worked better as a prologue. And the assertion that amateur palaeontology is "no more than the mark of the nerd" is hardly appropriate in such a book! We forgive Winchester his failings though; we are too busy routing for Smith.


Repetitive repetitive repetitive, 06 Jun 2006
I had to give up reading this book, which I found very interesting because I couldn't cope with the author labouring the point. Take this example from page 172 of my copy:

For anyone today to walk eastwards, from Dorset to Dover along this coastline, just as William Smith had walked eastwards along the Somerset Coal Canal from Dunkerton to Limpley Stoke some two centuries before, is to walk forwards in geological time - is to walk away from and out of the older rocks and towards and into the newer. The cliffs that ranged before me now were each made of rocks that were successively younger than those in the cliffs that ranged behind me. The more distantly ahead of me they ranged, the younger and younger they became - so that those lost in the shimmering haze of the afternoon belonged to whole stages and epochs of geological time that were far more recent than those beside and behind me.

Apart from the fact that the reader is by now quite familiar with the starting and finishing point of the Somerset Coal Canal and with the fact that Smith lived 200 years ago (this fact is repeated many times as either "200 years ago" or "two centuries before")the author has now told us that the rocks get younger as one walks from Dorset to Dover 4 times in one paragraph.

I just couldn't take it anymore!

Almost interesting, 20 Jan 2006
I really tried to enjoy this book, yet despite one failed and one successful attempt at finishing it, I was left ultimately disappointed.
The subject is potentially enthralling, but the writing style and pretension of the author result in a book that is repetitive and difficult to read.
I have two main objections to this book, first, the excessive use of footnotes on almost every page. Reading these notes results in a book that fails to flow, and is consequently difficult to read. Not reading these notes would involve ignoring almost a third of the provided text.
Second, the author’s over heightened self importance, leading to an entire chapter (in which the author discusses his finding of a fossil during childhood) that adds nothing to the book, and would be better removed entirely.
Essentially the author appears undecided as to whether this book is his personal autobiography, or the biography of William Smith.

Intriguing book about one of the fathers of geology, 09 May 2005
I admit it... I'd never heard of William Smith. In fact the reason I picked up this book was it seemed an interesting title and I'd read a couple of other Simon Winchester books and found them to be a really interesting read.

William Smith was a self-taught geologist who recognised that in different parts of Britain the underground rock structure was different. He therefore took it upon himself to create an underground map of Britain showing how the various rock formations co-exist.

The narration of Smith's life is fascinating, encompassing a determination to succeed despite being a blacksmith's son (seen at that time as being an unsuitable background for someone wishing to mix with aristocracy). It tells of how this desire resulted in bankruptcy, prison, but only years later getting some of the recognition he deserved.

I would definitely recommend this book if you have read other Simon Winchester books before, or if you are interested in learning a bit about geology and how this science started out.

What a shame, 12 Feb 2005
An incredibly interesting story spoilt by quite a dreadful book. Having absolutely loved Dava Sobel's "Longitude", I relished the opportunity to read another tale where sheer brilliance of thinking coupled with absolute belief, triumphs over the arrogance and prejudice of the self-styled "elite" of scientific minds of the time. Unfortunately, to get at the facts, one has to suffer too much of Winchester's over romanticised hypothysizing which serves as padding at best. Most irritating of all is the author's own displays of vanity in which he introduce details of his own life (references of "going up to Oxford" etc.,) into the text as if they're somehow relevant.What a shame. The clue for me is in the title of the book itself. "The Map that changed the World".Pomposity itself! Sadly a genuinely great man has had his story placed in the hands of vain one

The London story we have been waiting for, 03 Dec 2007
Not just history, but the importance of London's geography in its growth as the leading world city.

Up until now there has been a lack of a good synopsis of London's past.

And a great coffee table book to pick up and browse.

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, 15 Nov 2000
The Times History of London is a truly superb book. I bought it and could not put it down. Each page takes you on a voyage of discovery and tells you things you never knew about the history and social development of this amazing capital city. Absolutely brilliant 10 out of 10, a real MUST HAVE title!

After Jamie Oliver another refreshing character in this area, 13 Aug 2008
In times where people lack focusing and claim to have so many different things to do, this book reflects what people urge. Facts, entertainment, vibrancy, merging tradition and modern spirit; information packed in refreshing language, embedded in colourful pictures. For me as a German who travels once or twice to Cornwall in a lifetime but being a modern person aquainted to english life I need Zeitgeist reading. Well Done and thank you!!

Worst Book on Cornwall, 06 Mar 2008
Regrettably, I have to say that this is probably the worst book I have seen on Cornwall for a very long time.

Professor Philip Payton

Just has to be the BEST book for a fiver! , 26 Nov 2007
The dry humour of the author brings a frequent smile as you read this book, and the information about Cornwall is so varied and interesting that it's hard to put this book down. The text varies in colour and size, and is such an easy read that it is ideal for having around when you can grab a few seconds during a busy life. The photos are gorgeous too and to put all of it together must have been a massive task. I haven't had my copy long, but I have friends who have read bits and then bought their own copy. This book and a bottle of wine is going to comprise quite a few Christmas presents this year.

Informative. Enchanting. Amusing., 21 Nov 2007
Brimming with facts and figures on just about anything and everything Cornish, this delightful book is guaranteed to inform and amuse. Published in a rainbow of colour, the enthralling text is accompanied by some beautiful and captivating photography. The Little Book of Cornwall is an enchanting read and should belong on all our bookshelves. The dilemma lies in which section to house it - General Knowledge? Travel? History? Humour? You decide. And, if you can't, display it on your coffee table and let others share in your enjoyment and good taste!

A Quick Look at the Reasons for Boundary Twists, Turns, and Quirks, 05 Aug 2008

This book describes more boundary quirks than you have probably ever noticed. If nothing else, you'll know the edges of your state better after looking at this research work.

There are overall explanations that account for the bulk of the boundaries such as the original colonial charters from England and other nations, foreign treaties (such as the one ending the French and Indian War), land purchases (such as the ones for Louisiana and Alaska), borders inherited from England and Spain, borders developed by independent nations (Texas and California), borders affected by slavery (including West Virginia seceding from Virginia), and lines that were disputed and resolved among various states.

You'll learn about surveying mistakes, battles over resources, disagreements about which river branch is the main one, and lots of goofy compromises.

In checking out the states where I have lived, I found only one surprise that I didn't know about. So you may not learn as much as you hope about your home area. But you'll probably learn a lot about places where you rarely go.

If you read this book just for two or three states, that's a mistake. The information isn't all that details or well documented. Check it out of the library if that's your intention.

Read about A World Event, 08 Nov 2008
In "Krakatoa" author Simon Winchester examines the great explosion of August 27, 1883 from all angles, including historical, scientific, social, political and religious. He starts by explaining the social structure in the Dutch East Indies at the time. He then goes on to explain the scientific explanations for what happened and why. A fascinating portion is the story of the scientific studies which recorded the effects of the blast including water waves thousands of miles away and the air wave which circled the globe seven times during the first fifteen days. As the book progresses he impact the blast had on the natives and Europeans living in the area. He eventually suggests that the rise in Muslim devotion in the Dutch East Indies may have been the result of a fundamentalist turn to Allah after the catastrophe. The book ends by chronicling the volcanic activity and the island at the site of Krakatoa in the years since the explosion.

Krakatoa was the first major natural catastrophe to occur after the network of underground cables united the world. This made it a "World Event" which has fascinated readers ever since. I had long heard of Krakatoa and appreciate the opportunity to gain a better understanding it and its implications. It raised an interest in other scientific histories and the history of the Dutch East Indies. A book than can do that merits a recommendation.


History brought to life, 05 Oct 2007
This book is a fascinating examination of the eruption of Krakatoa. Simon Winchester gives a vivid account based on eyewitness testimony of the eruption itself and the destruction that the explosion of August 27, 1883 wrought upon the people living in Indonesia. The tales of ships trapped in pitch black ash, ships thrown miles into the jungle, waves 150 feet high sweeping people off cliffs that were thought to be safe, and skeletons found thousands of miles away on floating rafts of pumice all help to build a full sense of the horror and tragedy of that day. Almost 40,000 people died that day, most from the sea waves caused by the collapse of Krakatoa into the sea and Winchester's writing and use of first person sources brings the events of more than 100 years ago to life.

The book covers much more than just that one day. Winchester brings the time to life by discussing the Dutch colonizers and the Javanese who lived under Dutch rule. We get to meet the people who lived at the time of the catastrophe and experience their lives. We also get to understand how geologically dangerous the land these people lived on was (and is) by examining how volcanoes arise in the first place. There are many twists and turns in the story, some fascinating and some less so. The author looks at the post-Indonesian world, briefly discussing the massacre of some Dutch by Moslem militants but doesn't look more deeply. The last chapter looks at the new volcano that has arisen where Krakatoa once was and the return of plants and animals to the new Krakatoa and the surrounding islands.

Winchester is more than anything else a story teller and less so an educator. For example, his story of how the theory of plate tectonics was developed is very interesting but his explanation of the theory could have been clearer. Some of the book drags, for example Winchester spends 15 pages explaining how a telegram announcing the first eruption traveled from Batavia to end up in the Times of London. This was less