Machynlleth author and scientist John S Mason has teamed-up with Word After Word Press, to publish the first in a series of books about the geology and landscape of some of the key sites in Wales.
The extraordinary story of how Earth became a planet fit for advanced life
The oldest rocks we know of in Wales are about 700 million years old. But Planet Earth is about 4,567 million years old. So what happened in those Missing Years?
The answer is that almost everything you take for granted in your daily lives came into being, bit by bit and often by sheer good fortune. Stuff like breathable air, drinkable water, a mostly liveable climate, plate tectonics and the vast range of habitats that is responsible for creating and, indeed, life itself. Based on the latest peer-reviewed science, this was my Lockdown Project.Wales may have been late on the scene in geological terms, but every atom and molecule making up the country, its rocks, seas, skies and diverse inhabitants owes its origins to the Missing Years. This, then, is a story that belongs to every one of you.
About the Author
John S Mason, MPhil, is a geologist by training with a long-held love of wildlife and a deep interest in weather and climate. He has been walking, sea-fishing, photographing landscapes, wildlife and weather, day and night around Ynyslas for over 35 years. On climate change, he writes for the award-winning website, Skeptical Science, with a particular focus upon research into climates of the past. He is also the author of the successful Shore Fishing – a Guide to Cardigan Bay(Coch y Bonddu Books, Machynlleth, 2013), Introducing Mineralogy(Dunedin Academic Press, 2016) and numerous peer-reviewed contributions to British Mineralogy, including co-authorship of the major volume, Mineralization in England and Wales(published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee). www.geologywales.co.uk
Sara Holloway
Sara is a graphic designer and illustrator with a 1st Class Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree from the University of Suffolk. She was the winner of the BBC Worldwide Graduate Internship in 2015 and the winner of the UCS Graham Scott Memorial Award for Creative Typography in 2013. She has since won a national design competition with StreetReach, securing £20,000 worth of bus advertising for Colchester Zoo. www.saraholloway.com
For author and publisher interviews, high res images and more information please contact Fiona Mason on 01206 625010 or email Fiona@wordafterword.org.uk