<p><b>THE EXTRAORDINARY TALE OF THE FATHER OF MODERN GEOLOGY</b> <p>Hidden behind velvet curtains above a stairway in a house in London's Piccadilly is an enormous and beautiful hand-coloured map - the first geological map of anywhere in the world. Its maker was a farmer's son named William Smith. Born in 1769 his life was troubled: he was imprisoned for debt, turned out of his home, his work was plagiarised, his wife went insane and the scientific establishment shunned him. <p> It was not until 1829, when a Yorkshire aristocrat recognised his genius, that he was returned to London in triumph: <i>The Map That Changed the World</i> is his story. <p><b>'For a geologist, this is a must read' Amazon Reviewer</b><br><b><br>'It serves to lift a genius from academic semi-obscurity and to award him the acknowledgement he undoubtedly deserves' Amazon Reviewer</b><br><b><br>'Never realised how seminal this map was' Amazon Reviewer</b></p>