By distinguished historian of science and popular lecturer
Allan Chapman FRAS is a world-renowned historian of science based at Wadham College, Oxford. He has appeared on a variety of television documentaries and on the BBC's The Sky at Night, as well as presenting Gods in the Sky and Great Scientists. His books include Comets, Cosmology and the Big Bang, Physicians, Plagues and Progress and Stargazers.
Title: Caves, Coprolites and Catastrophes: The Story of Pioneering Geologist and Fossil-Hunter William Buckland
Author: Chapman, Dr Allan
ISBN: 9780281079513
Binding:
Publisher: SPCK Publishing
Publication Date: 2022-03-18
Number of Pages: 288
Weight: 0.3947 kg
'Allan Chapman has written an irresistible biography of one of Oxford's most colourful characters, the pioneer and populariser of paleontology William Buckland. A gifted and amusing speaker, Buckland captivated large audiences with lost worlds of prehistoric creatures, reconstructed from fossil fragments. An Anglican priest, Canon of Oxford's cathedral and eventually, in 1845, Dean of Westminster, Buckland resolutely applied his scientific knowledge in the service of Christian philanthropy. Dr Chapman shares with his subject a proven ability to mix instruction with entertainment, but never to the detriment of two serious aims: to rescue Buckland from caricatures that have allowed his early writings on the scope of Noah's flood to obscure his many durable contributions to geology and, secondly, to show that, as one standing in a long line of clerical scientists, he saw the earth sciences as magnifying, not threatening, the grandeur of God's creation.' * John Hedley Brooke, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford (1999-2006) *
'With sustained brio Allan Chapman restores the charismatic William Buckland to his rightful place in the scientific pantheon of the nineteenth century as a key figure in the peculiar genius of English life. As importantly, Chapman expertly navigates the historical currents that swept Buckland and his contemporaries to astonishing new insights into deep time, but never at the expense of their deep Christian conviction.' * Simon Conway Morris FRS, Emeritus Professor of Paleantology, University of Cambridge *
'William Buckland was a remarkable and fascinating character who played a major part in the development of Geology as a new and important science. Allan Chapman explores the tensions that existed within Victorian Society between the development of scientific ideas and religious beliefs about the creation of the world and the evolution of life, and provides vivid descriptions of the key characters involved in these debates. He also shows the significant role that Buckland played in the cleaning up of Victorian cities and improving the health of those living in them. In all, a very engaging, informative and enjoyable read!' * Martin Grossel, Emeritus Fellow in Organic Chemistry, University of Southampton *
