The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of the Earth's Antiquity - Softcover

Repcheck, Jack

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0465013376 ISBN 13: 9780465013371

Publisher: Basic Books, 2009

Synopsis

There are three men whose life’s work helped free science from the strait-jacket of religion. Two of the three—Nicolaus Copernicus and Charles Darwin—are widely heralded for their breakthroughs. The third, James Hutton, is comparatively unknown, yet he profoundly changed our understanding of the earth, its age, and its dynamic forces.

A Scottish gentleman farmer, Hutton’s observations on his small tract of land led him to a theory that directly contradicted biblical claims that the Earth was only 6,000 years old. This expertly crafted narrative tells the story not only of Hutton, but also of Scotland and the Scottish Enlightenment, including many of the greatest thinkers of the age, such as David Hume and Adam Smith.

About this title

Review:

"This is an informative and revealing book." Times Higher Education Supplement"

Synopsis:

A marvellous narrative about a little-known man and the science he founded, "The Man Who Found Time" is also a parable about the power of books to shape the history of ideas. There are three men whose contributions helped free science from the straitjacket of theology. Two of the three - Nicolaus Copernicus and Charles Darwin - are widely known and heralded for their breakthroughs. The third, James Hutton, never received the same recognition, yet he profoundly changed our understanding of the earth and its dynamic forces. Hutton proved that the earth was likely millions of years old, rather than the six thousand calculated by the bible, and that it was continuously shaped and re-shaped by myriad everyday forces rather than any single cataclysmic event."The Man Who Found Time" tells the remarkable story of this Scottish gentleman farmer and how his simple observations on his small tract of land led him to a theory that was in direct confrontation with the Bible. Hutton also provided the scientific proof that would spark Darwin's theory of evolution.

It is at the same time the story of Scotland and the Scottish Enlightenment, which brought together some of the greatest thinkers of the age, from David Hume and Adam Smith to James Watt and Erasmus Darwin. Finally, it is a story about the power of the written word. Repcheck argues that Hutton's work was lost to history because he could not describe his findings in graceful and readable prose. (Unlike Darwin's "Origin of the Species", Hutton's one and only book was impenetrable.)

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0465013376
• ISBN 13: 9780465013371
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256