The Floating Egg: Episodes in the Making of Geology Book

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 PalmerRead More