This sumptuous, comprehensive evaluation showcasesSmith's 1815 hand-coloured map, A Delineation of theStrata of England and Wales, with part of Scotland andillustrates the story of his career, from apprentice tosurveyor for hire and fossil collector, and from his 1799geological map of Bath and table of strata to his detailedstratigraphical county maps.It begins with an introduction by Douglas Palmerthat places Smith's work in the context of earlier,concurrent and subsequent ideas regarding the structureand natural processes of the earth. The book is thenorganized into four geographical sections, each beginningwith sheets from Smith's 1815 strata map, accompaniedby related geological cross sections and county maps(1819 24) and is followed by sections of Sowerby's fossilillustrations (1816 19), organized by strata. Interleavedbetween the sections are essays by leading academicsthat explore the aims of Smith's work, its application in thefields of mining, agriculture, cartography, fossil collectingand hydrology, and its influence on biostratigraphicaltheories and the science of geology. Concluding thevolume are reflections on Smith's later work as an itinerantgeologist and surveyor, plagiarism by his rival Presidentof the Geological Society, George Bellas Greenough receipt of the first Wollaston Medal in 1831 in recognitionof his achievements, and the influence of his mapping andbiostratigraphical theories on the sciences, culminating inthe establishment of the modern geological timescale.