The Abyss of Time: Changing Conceptions of the Earth’s Antiquity after the Sixteenth Century

by Claude C. Albritton Jr.

Accessible, entertaining work addresses Earth's age as it explores the work of Hooke, Buffon, Lyell, Cuvier, Darwin, Agassiz, and others, detailing discoveries that led to knowledge of Earth's astonishing antiquity — from Steno's contemplation of fossilized shark's teeth in 1666 through Holmes' time scales of 1960. Nominated for the American Book Award. 29 black-and-white illustrations.

Genres: Science

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of the changes in thought and evidence for the age of the earth but I kept wishing that there would be more current evidence to show why the older theories were wrong at the place in the book were they we made.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first edition of this book sometime in the early '80's. It opened my mind to a whole new way (for me) of understanding the earth's age. It also offered me a broader perspective than the one I was raised with.