This unusual approach gives Mr Pohl the freedom to delve into an extraordinarily diverse range of topics, including the operation of neutrino observatories, the physics of rainbows, the principles of plate tectonics, and how to search for fossils in your office's marble lobby.

ECONOMIST: Good sport

Some things which seem obvious now could not have been found without maps: that Brazil's bulge fits neatly into West Africa's dent, and so to the theory of plate tectonics, for example.

ECONOMIST: Modern man knows where he stands. His map tells him

Geological processes, such as plate tectonics, erupting volcanoes, advancing glaciers and river networks, have altered Earth's surface over billions of years.

MSN: Saturn's moon Titan may have seen Earth-like erosion