The Man Who Found Time: James Hutton and the Discovery of Earth's Antiquity [Hardcover]

Product Details

• Hardcover
• ASIN: B0009SRZDI
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,014,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Rocky Road June 27, 2003

By Bruce Loveitt

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a difficult book to classify and to rate, because it is "all over the place." I can see some people giving it four stars and some people giving it two stars- it depends on your expectations. If you are looking, pretty much, for a "pure" science book you are going to be disappointed- you might only enjoy the last 60 pages or so. This is where the author delves into Hutton's conclusions and what happened after his death (i.e.- the academic battles between his supporters and detractors, and his influence on later geologists...specifically Charles Lyell). On the other hand, if your tastes are more catholic, you might enjoy the book a great deal. This is because for the first 140 pages of the book the author widens his scope and discusses lots of peripheral things- such as: the Scottish Enlightenment, with biographical interludes featuring such people as the philosopher David Hume, the economist Adam Smith, the inventor James Watt, and the chemist Joseph Black. Their work as well as their lives is discussed. There is even a pretty extensive detour into military history- exploring Bonnie Prince Charlie's efforts to reclaim the thrones of Scotland and England for the Stuart line. You certainly can't fault the style- the book is lively and well-written- but, again, you need to know that this isn't just a science book. If you just want to know about James Hutton and his theories, this book isn't for you. Conversely, if you enjoy meandering and exploring all sorts of "sidepaths," you'll find this book to be very satisfying.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cross-Cutting Relationships August 21, 2003

By Bruce Crocker

Format:Hardcover

Jack Repcheck's The Man Who Found Time elevates James Hutton to a mountain high enough so that folks not of the geologic persuasion can see Hutton's importance to history. Hutton did his thinking and geologizing during the Scottish Enlightenment, the period during the 1700's when much of the modern world arguably got its start. The title of the book is a reference to Hutton's greatest discovery - the great age of the Earth [or as John McPhee put it, "deep time"] - and the book does an excellent job at leading the reader through the events in Hutton's life and in Scotland's history that led to that discovery. This well-written story of controversy and characters is well worth a read. As a student of geology, we were not asked to read Hutton [or Playfair, Hutton's Boswell] in any detail, so I feel a little inadequate to comment on some of the detailed criticisms of The Man Who Found Time, but Repcheck's telling jives with everything I learned about Hutton in college and everything I've read since. I found no obvious historical errors in the book, especially ones that would warrant a 1-star review. My one complaint [and it may be unfounded given that this book was written for the layperson and not the geologist] is that Repcheck never really delves into the simple principle - usually referred to as the principle of cross-cutting relationships - that underlies the evidence Hutton used to support the claim for the antiquity of the Earth. Simply put, something can't cut something that isn't there first. This applies equally well to the granites intruding into [cutting] the older rocks at Glen Tilt and the flat rocks deposited on top of [cutting] the older, angled rocks at Siccar Point. I highly recommend this book to readers interested in geology, history, Scotland and the Scottish Enlightenment.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Solid, Breezy Overview of an Important Subject in the Earth's Geology February 20, 2007

By Roger D. Launius VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

It is hard to find a more significant figure in the history of geology. James Hutton (1726-1797) was an exceptional amateur geologist who was the first to put together a compelling explanation of the age of the Earth. This interesting and accessible book presents in a compelling manner the life and work of this remarkable Scotsman. Written in a breezy style, it will not satisfy scholars but it nonetheless presents a compelling introduction for non-specialists in the history of geology. A Scottish physician, Hutton dabbled in all types of scientific inquiry, especially the practical aspects of farming, crops yields, and the like. While engaged in this effort he began to study the surface of the Earth, gradually forming questions and methods of resolving them.

This book is a breathless survey of the life and career of James Hutton as a gentlemen scholar, his work on the age of the Earth, and his place in the larger story of the Scottish Enlightenment. Trained as a physician, Hutton lived a life of ease where he undertook scientific investigations and scientific farming. In terms of his work on the geology of the Earth, he really published three items. The first is an abstract of a talk that he gave in Edinburgh in 1785 outlining in general terms his conclusion that the Earth must be far older than the 6,000 years usually thought because of the analysis base on the Bible. He then published a longer paper, "Theory of the Earth; or an Investigation of the Laws Observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of the Land upon the Globe," in 1788 in the "Transaction of the Royal Society of Edinburgh" that created a huge stir among scientists and led to denunciations from several zealous academics. In 1795 he published a two volume "Theory of the Earth, with Proofs and Illustrations" that sought to answer his critics, but written as he was rapidly declining this work proved insufficient to counter their arguments.

Hutton was correct that the Earth is much older than the biblical account would lead one to believe. He was also right to posit a dynamic structure at the Earth's core and the shaping of land masses based on cataclysm and upheaval, though probably not a universal flood. Because of some committed believers who came later, this understanding became dominant in the nineteenth century.

This is a very fine, easy read about an important topic. It ranges far across the eighteenth century, especially commenting on the Scottish Enlightenment, which gave us several great thinkers including Adam Smith and David Hume as well as Hutton. It even explores the Scottish rebellion of the 1740s led by Bonnie Prince Charlie in a chapter that seems misplaced in this volume. Overall, "The Man Who Found Time" is a useful introduction to an important subject. For those seeking a more detailed, scholar account, I recommend Dennis R. Dean's "James Hutton and the History of Geology" (Cornell University Press, 1992). For those interested in the larger questions of the Earth's geology, especially the age of the planet, I recommend G. Brent Dalrymple "The Age of the Earth" (Stanford University Press, 1991).