The map that changed the world

For more on William 'strata' Smith and how he produced the first geological map and yet ended up in debtor's prison and homeless for ten years I recommend Simon Winchester's book 'The map that changed the world: William Smith and the birth of modern geology'.

Or you can read an article for free and see the maps here.

(I'd also recommend another book by Simon Winchester 'The professor and the madman' - a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.)