Rocks of ages.

The article discusses the books "A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales With Part of Scotland," by William Smith, "The Geology of Northern Ireland: Our Natural Foundation," edited by Ian Mitchell, "Britain Beneath Our Feet: An Atlas of Digital Information on Britain's Geology," edited by Ian Jackson. The story of how Ireland and the British Isles have been cobbled together over geological time, from bits of North Africa and North America, is quite remarkable. In 1815, when William Smith produced his innovative geological map (now beautifully reproduced at half scale by the British Geological Survey), none of this history was known.