Abstract
THE mere form into which Mr. Taylor has thrown his work—that of making a characteristic specimen from each geological formation tell its own story—has not, we think, added anything to its attractiveness: on the contrary, it will be apt to give many readers an uncomfortable feeling of unreality, and seems to us to have often cramped the author's freedom of description. We do not object to the autobiographical form in the abstract, but we think the direct form would have been more suited to Mr. Taylor's mental make. Notwithstanding this little drawback, Mr. Taylor tells the “old, old story,” on the whole, in a manner well calculated to interest general readers, and send them to works where they may get the outline here given filled up. Anyone who reads this book carefully, will have a very fair notion indeed of what the best geologists think has been the earth's geological history. Mr. Taylor has of course wisely avoided entering upon disputed points, though one cannot but see that he has a comprehensive and very thorough knowledge of his subject. The illustrations are plentiful, though many of them seem well worn. On the whole the work is one we would recommend to be put into the hands of anyone who needs to be enticed into a knowledge of geology. “Stories“ of this class arc becoming more and more common every year. Not that we think or desire that they should ever supersede “stories” of another kind; but we take it as one of the most significant signs of the permeation of culture through society, that books of this class find a remunerative public.
Geological Stories.
A series of autobiographies in chronological order. By J. E. Taylor. (London: Hardwicke, 1873.)
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[Book Reviews]. Nature 8, 24 (1873). https://doi.org/10.1038/008024b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/008024b0