The richness of Britain's geological history is without equal. THE HIDDEN LANDSCAPE - destined to become a classic - is a unique exploration of that diversity. In this book, Richard Fortey peels away the top layer of Britain to reveal the hidden landscape - the rocks which contain the story of distant events which dictate not only the personality of the landscape but the nature of the soil, the plants that grow in it and the regional characteristics of the buildings. We travel with him as our guide throughout the British Isles and as the rocks change so we learn to read the clues they contain- that Britain was once divided into two parts separated by an ocean, that Scottish malt whiskey, Harris tweed, slate roofs and thatched cottages can be traced back to tumultuous events which took place many millions of years ago.