This well prepared book is a rather mixed bag, although obviously mainly dealing with the history of geology. The main theme is the development of geology at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The role of William Smith, though not a member of the Geological Society of London (GSL), is highlighted by S.J. Knell and Greenough's map discussed in comparison to Smith's. The influence of GSL's first president, George Bellas Greenough, and his 'Theory of the Earth' is described by M. Ko Β¨lbl-Ebert. The life of the person who was the immediate cause for founding the GSL, the French refugee Jacques-Louis Comte de Bournon, is dealt with by G.L. Herries Davies. The founders of GSL met on 13 November 1809 to dine at the Freemason's Tavern in London to promote a publication by de Bournon on crystallography and mineralogy, in particular of calcite. This meeting was so successful that they decided to continue to meet regularly, thus creating the GSL. It was not a club of professional geologists, but of 'amateurs', i.e., gentlemen of leisure or of other professions (mainly medical and chemical) who studied geology at a high professional level (C.L.E. Lewis, D. Knight & H.S. Torrens).
GSL in its international context is briefly dealt with by M.J.S. Rudwick as an introduction to the discussions on the developments in geology at the beginning of the 19th century on the Continent (P. Taquet, M. Guntau, G.B. Vai, V.E. Khain & I.G. Malakhova) and in the USA (J.R. Newell).
The developments of different aspects of geology are discussed (E.P.F. Rose & L. Veneer), partly exemplified by individuals, such as John MacCulloch (A