The Map that Changed the World by Simon Winchester

William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
6 tapes, 9 1/2 hrs, Narrated by the author
(c) 2001, Harper Audio, Recorded Books 04/20/09

 William Smith's biography could have been written by Dickens: a stint in debtor's prison, a victim of plagiarism and class prejudices and a mentally ill young wife afflicted with nymphomania are just a few of the subplots.