Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Stories in Stone

Subtitle: Travels Through Urban Geology

Author: David B. Williams

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-18-13

Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Within the fabric of every stone building is a wondrous story of geological origins, architectural aesthetics, and cultural history.

You probably dont expect to make geological finds along the sidewalks of a major city, but when natural history writer David B. Williams looks at the stone masonry, facades, and ornamentations of buildings, he sees a range of rocks equal to any assembled by plate tectonics. In Stories in Stone, he introduces us to a three-and-a-half-billion-year-old rock called Morton gneiss that is the color of swirled pink-and-black taffy; a 1935 gas station made of petrified wood; and a fort in St. Augustine, Florida, that has withstood 300 years of attacks and hurricanes, despite being made of a stone (coquina) that has the consistency of a granola bar.

Williams shows us why a white, fossil-rich limestone from Indiana became the only building stone to be used in all 50 states; how the construction of the granite Bunker Hill Monument in 1825 led to Americas first commercial railroad; and why Carrara marble - the favorite sculpting material of Michelangelo - warped so much after only 19 years on a Chicago skyscraper that all 44,000 panels of the stone had to be replaced. From Brooklyn to Philadephia, from limestone to travertine, Stories in Stone will inspire readers to realize that, even in the most modern metropolis, evidence of our planets natural wonders can be found all around us in building stones that are far less ordinary than we might think at first glance.

Members Reviews:

Lots of geology!

More geology than I anticipated, which is a good thing. I put off getting this book for a while because I was afraid it would be more about architecture than I cared for, but I was pleasantly surprised. A good geologic history behind many types of building stones.

Interesting and informative

If you have an interest in geology or architecture, you will surely enjoy this book. Well researched and fascinating.

very informative

What made the experience of listening to Stories in Stone the most enjoyable?

Has a variety of interesting stories about a variety of places the reader can relate to.

What did you like best about this story?

Tells the possible geological happenings as well as peoples relationship with stone.

Which character as performed by Michael Prichard was your favorite?

This is the first book I've read performed by the speaker. Honestly the book is far better than the speaker.

Any additional comments?

The speaker isn't the best (opinion) but I found if I slowed the speed down it was slightly more pleasing. Kind of wish audible had more ear pleasing speakers.