Stories in Stone

"The more people live in cities, the less they see of the natural world. David Williams has neatly hacked this problem by using urban building stones as polished portals to intriguing stories about Earth's history."—Kirk Johnson, Sant Director, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

"Williams's lively mixture of hard science and piquant lore is sure to fire readers' curiosity about the built environment around us."—Publishers Weekly

"Each line of inquiry coaxes out some expressive scientific, emotional or philosophical nugget from a piece of travertine, slate or, in one Pop Art extravaganza, a gas station made of petrified wood. Makes stone sing."—Kirkus Reviews

"Stories in Stone is chock full of fascinating geologic tidbits . . . [but] how the geology is intercalated with the architectural and engineering aspects of building stone is really what this book is about and why it is a good read."—WIRED, reviewing a previous edition or volume

"Williams' record of human dreams worked in stone is as richly textured and full of life's imprints as a fossil-rich piece of travertine."—Booklist

"From a kitschy gas station in Lamar, Colorado, contructed of petrified wood, to the working quarries where Michaelangelo cut slabs for David, Moses, and the Pieta, Williams is a knowledgable and enthusiastic guide. . . . Stories in Stone invites readers to ground their intuitive sense on the bedrock of geologic knowledge."—Natural History Magazine