So said the New York Times headline when geologist Marie Tharp discovered the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the gash in the earth that proved the theory of continental drift and helped establish the field of plate tectonics. Tharp made this discovery while producing the first comprehensive maps of the ocean floor. Author Hali Felt, who chronicled Tharp’s life in her book, Soundings, spoke to LQ about this remarkable and overlooked scientist.
Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War. More
Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of Second Nature: Scenes from a World Remade. More
Lewis Lapham talks with historian Miles Unger about the Florentine father of modern political science. More
Lewis Lapham talks with historian James Mather about a time when British foreign relations were more peaceful and diplomatic than they later became. More
Lewis H. Lapham speaks with the author of The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind: Thomas Jefferson’s Idea of a University. More
Lewis H. Lapham talks with Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald Maclean. More
