Get the Summary of Simon Winchester & Soun Vannithone's The Map That Changed the World in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. "The Map That Changed the World" chronicles the life and work of William Smith, an English geologist who created the first detailed geological map of England. Born in 1769 in Churchill, Oxfordshire, Smith grew up during a time of significant scientific and industrial change. Despite his modest upbringing and the loss of his father at a young age, Smith developed a keen interest in geology through his observations of local stones and fossils on his uncle's farm...