Ethan's review
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester
There is practically a sub-genre of history books that focus on one singular object as the source of some enormous social/political/cultural transformation. Some of these books are convincingly written and well-researched, others are cheap gimmicks. This book clearly falls into the former category - incredibly ambitious in outlining the massive effect of topographical mapping without losing credibility by painting with too broad a brush. Somewhere between "Devil in the White City" and "Guns, Germs, and Steel" in style and scope.
The sub-genre you are describing is generally refered to as "big sweep" books. I agree this falls into that category, and is one of the best in that family.
