Bøker i Cambridge Library Collection - Earth Science-serien

The Life and Letters of Hugh Miller (1871) tells the fascinating story of a Victorian geologist whose life was marked by a passionate commitment to both science and religion and the ongoing attempt to reconcile the two. Volume 1 covers Miller's early life, family, education and apprenticeship as a stonemason.

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (1792-1871) was an influential Scottish geologist best known for his classification of the Silurian system of rock strata. These volumes, first published in 1875, contain a detailed biography, providing a fascinating insight into his life and work. Volume 1 describes his life until 1842.

Sir William Jackson Hooker, the eminent British botanist, is perhaps best known as a visionary director of Kew Gardens. His account of his first overseas expedition, made to Iceland in 1809, was written from memory after his notes and specimens were destroyed by fire on the return voyage.

Robert Jameson (1774-1854) was professor of natural history at Edinburgh for fifty years. A follower of Werner's influential theory of the formation of the Earth, he later accepted the idea that the Earth was formed by natural processes over geological time. His System of Mineralogy was first published in 1808.

Published in 1819, Aubuisson de Voisins' two-volume Traite de Geognosie was one of the earliest geology books in French. It convincingly challenged the 'Neptunist' theory of his influential teacher Gottlob Werner, arguing that the basaltic rocks and mineral veins of the earth's crust were of igneous, not marine, origin.

First published in Germany in 1855 by the mineralogist Georg Landgrebe (1802-1872), this two-volume work presented the natural history of volcanoes for educated general readers. It reflects the lively scientific debates of its day as it describes the world's volcanoes, their activity, and rocks and minerals occurring around them.

Gideon Mantell (1790-1852) was an English physician and geologist best remembered for pioneering the scientific study of dinosaurs. These volumes, first published in 1838 and considered Mantell's most popular work, contain a lecture series which describe principles of geology and fossil formation. Volume 1 contains lectures 1 to 4.

Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was one of the most renowned geologists of the nineteenth century. This biography, first published in 1881 provides an intimate view of Lyell's personal and professional life through the inclusion of his letters and extracts from his journal. Volume 1 covers Lyell's life until 1836.

A. C. Seward (1863-1941) was an eminent English botanist and geologist. In these volumes, published between 1898 and 1919, Seward synthesised and revised the existing research on palaeobotany and included new material. Volume 1 contains an overview of palaeobotany with systematic descriptions of fossil plants.

An 1896 life, by his collaborator Jules Marcou, of Swiss-born palaeontologist, glaciologist and zoologist Louis Agassiz (1807-1873). Volume 1 traces his childhood, early scientific and professional success, ending with his arrival in America and his first attempts at forging a university career there.

This selection from the correspondence of Leonard Horner (1785-1864), a prominent geologist, educator and factory inspector, was published by his daughter in 1890. It provides a vivid picture of this eminent reformer. Volume 1 covers Horner's life to 1838 including his election to the Royal Society.

Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875) was one of the most renowned geologists of the nineteenth century. These volumes, first published in 1845, are the result of his 1841 tour across the United States and Canada, and contain detailed descriptions of North American geology. Volume 1 contains his travels from Boston across North Carolina

In 1830-33, Charles Lyell laid the foundations of evolutionary biology with Principles of Geology, a pioneering book that Charles Darwin took with him on the Beagle. The three volumes are generously illustrated and thoroughly indexed and remain of interest to geologists and historians of science alike.

Mary Somerville (1780-1872) was a leading mathematician and astronomer at a time when the education of most women was restricted. Physical Geography (1848) was a synthesis of the natural sciences, drawing on the most recent discoveries to present an overview of current understanding of the natural world.

In the 1790s Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), one of the founding figures of vertebrate palaeontology, proved that extinction was a scientific fact. This four-volume illustrated work, originally published in 1812, is a collection of Cuvier's geological and osteological papers, focusing on fossil mammals and reptiles and related living species.

The mineralogist John Mawe (1766-1829) published this work in 1802. It gives a detailed overview of the geological features and strata of his home county of Derbyshire, and of its various mines. Mawe also gives his brief observations of mining and minerals in Scotland and Wales.

Originally published in 1695 and here reissued in its 1723 third edition, this work by the physician and natural historian John Woodward (c.1665-1728) attempts to link fossils to the biblical flood to support his theories about the Earth's physical history. This immediately prompted a heated debate among scientific contemporaries.

From 1793 until his death, Barthelemy Faujas de Saint-Fond (1741-1819) served as professor of geology at the natural history museum in Paris. This work appeared in three parts between 1803 and 1809. This second part of the second volume covers volcanic products, listing also the world's major active volcanoes.

Written principally for farmers, this 1812 work by the naturalist Joseph Taylor (c.1761-1844) trawls the English countryside for meteorological clues. From the barometrical qualities of chickweed to the activities of bats, ants and oxen, the natural world is transformed into one great forecasting system for the sufficiently observant.

Published in 1842, Darwin's monograph is a groundbreaking and elegantly constructed study of coral reefs and atolls, based upon his observations during the voyage of the Beagle. Darwin carefully explains and illustrates his theory that subsidence of the ocean floor can account for the formation of these remarkable natural features.

The scientific investigations undertaken in the wake of the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 formed the basis of the science of seismology. Published in 1757, this work collects many of the contemporary theories, and this reissue also includes John Michell's 1760 work linking tsunamis with undersea earthquakes for the first time.

This book, first published in 1805, of which the 1816 second edition is reissued here, gives physical descriptions of the minerals discussed in Jameson's three-volume System of Mineralogy. Dividing minerals into solid, friable and fluid types, he describes and gives the English, German, French and Latin names of each.

De la Beche, founding Director of the British Geological Survey, pioneered new survey methods and had a particular interest in economic geology. This 1824 work presents translations of selected studies of sites across Europe, including three mining districts, and notes on the production of an early geological map of France.

Influential geologist, historian and President of the Royal Society, Sir Archibald Geikie published numerous technical and popular science books, as well as biographical works including Founders of Geology (1897). This autobiography, published in 1924, provides a personal and highly readable account of his remarkably successful career.

Published in 1863, La Terre avant le deluge became a classic of popular science and introduced palaeontology to a wider readership. This English translation appeared only two years later. More than 200 illustrations helped to make this one of the most successful works of popular science of its time.

William Phillips was a founding member of the Geological Society of London, and published many technical works including the highly influential Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales. This 1816 work collects observations on a wide range of minerals, and became a standard textbook for nineteenth-century students of mineralogy.

In 1853, Darwin's German contemporary, Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen (1809-76) published this study of palagonite, a mineral commonly occurring in rocks produced by submarine eruptions. Analysing palagonite and other minerals, he proposes a detailed model of metamorphic processes, taking into account factors including pressure, temperature and presence of water.

Richard Dixon Oldham (1858-1936) made major contributions to the field of seismology and played a key role in the development of geological research in India. Originally published in 1888, this was the first bibliography of its kind and remains an important reference tool in earth sciences.

In this 1904 study, American geologist and explorer Angelo Heilprin (1853-1907) documents the temporary formation of a 'tower' of lava that resulted from the devastating eruptions of Mount Pelee in 1902. This account of his third visit to Martinique is complemented by unique photographs depicting volcanic activity and its aftermath.

Richard Owen (1804-92), the palaeontologist and anatomist, published this analysis of the comparative anatomy of the fossils of British birds and mammals in 1846. It compares living species with extinct ones, and explains the characteristics that help identification, using 237 illustrations to show the traits of different species.