Overview

_Stone Breaker_ is an in-depth, accessible biography of a true American polymath, James Gates Percival. A poet, linguist, and unstable savant, Percival was also a brilliant geologist who walked thousands of miles crisscrossing first Connecticut and then Wisconsin to lay the foundation for the work of generations of Earth scientists. Exploring the confluences of literature, art, and geology, Kathleen L. Housley reveals how one of most famous poets of the 1820's became a renowned geologist with his groundbreaking 1843 work _Report on the Geology of the State of Connecticut._ 35 color images include historic photographs and paintings of the Connecticut landscape. ""A wonderful, carefully researched biography of this deeply impressive, multidisciplinary intellectual."" _~John Hay, associate professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas_ ""Housley's insightful and readable biography illuminates the potent combination of poetry and science that defined Percival's undeservedly neglected life and works, offering a new perspective on this critical moment when the true scale of the Earth's history was coming into focus."" _~Clare Stainthorp, author of Constance Naden: Scientist, Philosopher, Poet_

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9780819500281

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Reviews

"""Stone Breaker is, like its subject, a deeply layered book that situates Percival at a time of enormous upheaval in science, religion and industry. Through most of Percival's life, most people of intelligence still believed the world was 6,000 years old. College students were then drilled in Greek, latin, ecclesiastical history, theology, geometry, ancient history, logic, rhetoric and ethics-and no lab science.""--Tracey O'Shaughnessy, Republican American ""Stone Breaker is a fascinating and beautifully written biography. Using the unusual mind of James Gates Percival as an exemplar, Kathleen Housley deftly weaves together the science, art, and literature of early 19th century New England. A wonderful read.""--Robert M. Thorson, author of Stone by Stone and professor of Geosciences, University of Connecticut ""A wonderful, carefully researched biography of this deeply impressive, multidisciplinary intellectual.""--John Hay, associate professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas ""Stone Breaker is a lively and engaging biography of a fascinating man. This is a captivating portrait of a brilliant and relentless geologist and polymath whose work helped lay the foundation for generations of Earth scientists working in New England.""--Maureen D. Long, Bruce D. Alexander '65 Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University ""Housley's insightful and readable biography illuminates the potent combination of poetry and science that defined Percival's undeservedly neglected life and works, offering a new perspective on this critical moment when the true scale of the earth's history was coming into focus.""--Clare Stainthorp, author of Constance Naden: Scientist, Philosopher, Poet"

Stone Breaker is a fascinating and beautifully written biography. Using the unusual mind of James Gates Percival as an exemplar, Kathleen Housley deftly weaves together the science, art, and literature of early 19th century New England. A wonderful read. --Robert M. Thorson, author of Stone by Stone and professor of Geosciences, University of Connecticut A wonderful, carefully researched biography of this deeply impressive, multidisciplinary intellectual. --John Hay, associate professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Stone Breaker is a lively and engaging biography of a fascinating man. This is a captivating portrait of a brilliant and relentless geologist and polymath whose work helped lay the foundation for generations of Earth scientists working in New England. --Maureen D. Long, Bruce D. Alexander '65 Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University Housley's insightful and readable biography illuminates the potent combination of poetry and science that defined Percival's undeservedly neglected life and works, offering a new perspective on this critical moment when the true scale of the earth's history was coming into focus. --Clare Stainthorp, author of Constance Naden: Scientist, Philosopher, Poet

"""Stone Breaker is a fascinating and beautifully written biography. Using the unusual mind of James Gates Percival as an exemplar, Kathleen Housley deftly weaves together the science, art, and literature of early 19th century New England. A wonderful read.""--Robert M. Thorson, author of Stone by Stone and professor of Geosciences, University of Connecticut ""A wonderful, carefully researched biography of this deeply impressive, multidisciplinary intellectual.""--John Hay, associate professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas ""Stone Breaker is a lively and engaging biography of a fascinating man. This is a captivating portrait of a brilliant and relentless geologist and polymath whose work helped lay the foundation for generations of Earth scientists working in New England.""--Maureen D. Long, Bruce D. Alexander '65 Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University ""Housley's insightful and readable biography illuminates the potent combination of poetry and science that defined Percival's undeservedly neglected life and works, offering a new perspective on this critical moment when the true scale of the earth's history was coming into focus.""--Clare Stainthorp, author of Constance Naden: Scientist, Philosopher, Poet"

Stone Breaker is a fascinating and beautifully written biography. Using the unusual mind of James Gates Percival as an exemplar, Kathleen Housley deftly weaves together the science, art, and literature of early 19th century New England. A wonderful read.--Robert M. Thorson, author of Stone by Stone and professor of Geosciences, University of Connecticut A wonderful, carefully researched biography of this deeply impressive, multidisciplinary intellectual.--John Hay, associate professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Stone Breaker is a lively and engaging biography of a fascinating man. This is a captivating portrait of a brilliant and relentless geologist and polymath whose work helped lay the foundation for generations of Earth scientists working in New England.--Maureen D. Long, Bruce D. Alexander '65 Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University

Author Information

KATHLEEN L. HOUSLEY (Glastonbury, CT) is the author of nine books including Black Sand: The History of Titanium and The Scientific World of Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer: the Entanglement of Science, Religion, and Politics in Nazi Germany.

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