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The Floating Egg: Episodes in the Making of Geology
 
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The Floating Egg: Episodes in the Making of Geology (Paperback)

by Roger Osborne (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
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Customers buy this book with The Map That Changed the World: A Tale of Rocks, Ruin and Redemption by Simon Winchester

The Floating Egg: Episodes in the Making of Geology + The Map That Changed the World: A Tale of Rocks, Ruin and Redemption
Price For Both: £19.73

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Product details

  • Paperback: 372 pages
  • Publisher: Pimlico; New edition edition (6 May 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0712666869
  • ISBN-13: 978-0712666862
  • Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 15.2 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 208,350 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Northeast of England might seem a limited base for insights into the discovery of Earth's "deep history", its extinct inhabitants, the geography of the world and meteorites, but Roger Osborne draws out a fascinating story from his home ground. Such is the rich cultural, economic and scientific history of Britain, founded on a uniquely varied geological substrate, that even relatively small regions like Yorkshire and the Northeast have rich and "deep histories" just waiting to be re-excavated by a skilled and trained "miner" like Osborne.

Using his geological background to full advantage, Osborne digs into the past to recover fragments of historical and scientific documents that authenticate his stories. Their language sets an appropriate tone to support the introduction of perfectly plausible fictional characters. Encompassing a wide array of sources, from seemingly unpromising geological strata and the mining of alum, or the discovery of fossil reptiles and ammonites from Jurassic age sea-cliffs, through hyena bones from Kirkdale cave and the ice age Lake Pickerin to well-known local heroes such as William Smith and Captain James Cook, Osborne excavates deep "shafts" through rich seams of the particular into the more general.

The Floating Egg makes rewarding reading for the general reader, and those with a more specialised interest will never guess what the title refers to. It's worth reading the book to find out. --Douglas Palmer

Product Description
This book contains 25 stories, beginning with the search for an alchemist's secret, and ending with the re-imagination of a past world, and each is connected to a particular part of north-east England, exploring the uncertain line where myth is dissolved into science.

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written history of the early years of geology, 7 Jan 2001
The Floating Egg details some of the lesser known aspects of the early years of Geology, with particular focus upon the role that Whitby and the Yorkshire coast played in the making of the field. The book is constructed as a series of anecdotes concerning some of the important events which turned geology from a gentleman's pastime into a firm, deductive field of scientific research. Much of the book recounts interactions, arguments and debates between the key early players. This is an excellent book, not only because it deals with the emergence of what has since become a field of immense scientific and philosophical importance, but also because the author so graciously and entertainingly feeds this to the reader. Chapter 16, "The Strange case of the hyenas' bones" should be ranked as some of the best scientific writing of recent years.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Starts promisingly but drops precipitously, 4 Dec 1998
By A Customer
Both the intriguing title and the surprising revelation/explanation thereof in the first chapter would lead one to believe this was a worthwhile read. Alas, not so. Osborne has no doubt spent many hours researching his book and literally "digging up" the background to the individual stories but the collective thread of geological discoveries in Yorkshire is simply not enough. Unless you are a yorkshire fetishist or a Whitbyite (and there will hopefully be some) the concentration on that area is a little to intense and the voyage of discovery really never gets off the ground. One final gripe. THe prose while clear and concise is not flowing and lucid enough to drag the casual reader (as opposed to the career geologist) through slightly unfamiliar territory.
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