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  • How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America (Princeton Modern Knowledge)

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How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America (Princeton Modern Knowledge) Hardcover – October 8, 2024

by Caroline Winterer (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars (20)
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How the idea of deep time transformed how Americans see their country and themselves

During the nineteenth century, Americans were shocked to learn that the land beneath their feet had once been stalked by terrifying beasts. T. rex and Brontosaurus ruled the continent. North America was home to saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths, great herds of camels and hippos, and sultry tropical forests now fossilized into massive coal seams. How the New World Became Old tells the extraordinary story of how Americans discovered that the New World was not just old—it was a place rooted in deep time.

In this panoramic book, Caroline Winterer traces the history of an idea that today lies at the heart of the nation’s identity as a place of primordial natural beauty. Europeans called America the New World, and literal readings of the Bible suggested that Earth was only six thousand years old. Winterer takes readers from glacier-capped peaks in Yosemite to Alabama slave plantations and canal works in upstate New York, describing how naturalists, explorers, engineers, and ordinary Americans unearthed a past they never suspected, a history more ancient than anyone ever could have imagined.

Drawing on archival evidence ranging from unpublished field notes and letters to early stratigraphic diagrams, How the New World Became Old reveals how the deep time revolution ushered in profound changes in science, literature, art, and religion, and how Americans came to realize that the New World might in fact be the oldest world of all.

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  1. Book 1 of 1
    Princeton Modern Knowledge
  2. Print length
    392 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  5. Publication date
    October 8, 2024
  6. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0691199671
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0691199672
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From the Publisher

How the New World Became Old The Deep Time Revolution in American By Caroline Winterer

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[An] elegant history." ― New Yorker

"As the historian Caroline Winterer shows in her new book How the New World Became Old: The Deep Time Revolution in America, [geology] can shape how an entire nation sees itself. . . . [A] knotty, complex history of a previous intellectual transformation."---Jacob Mikanowski, Chronicle Review

"A fascinating and extremely well written book that helps understand not only the facts but also the cultural roots and dimensions of the still fascinating mystery of deep time. . . . Winterer’s book is a jewel, an awesome, jargon free, often witty, perfectly documented and suggestively illustrated synthesis of what remains one of the most powerful enigmas to the human brain."---Jan Baetens, Leonardo

"Fascinating. . . . How the New World Became Old intertwines science, politics, culture and ideas to reveal a history of intellectual nationalism that fleshes out and raises up the story of nineteenth-century America."---Michael Taylor, Times Literary Supplement

"Powerful. . . . A richly detailed and indispensable exposition of how American geology found its place commensurate with the Old World and became a partner in a truly global science."---Markes E. Johnson, H-Net Reviews

"Winterer not only skillfully weaves together the discourses that professionalized the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, paleontology, and geology; she also demonstrates how these same developments were deployed to effect a reality that would benefit the United States economically, politically, culturally and spiritually. . . . [A] major accomplishment."---Emmanuel Ramos-Barajas, Hemisphere

"Recommended." ― Choice

"[How the New World Became Old] remind[s] us that scientific truth isn’t transcendent but, as historians of science have long argued, emerges from and reflects specific social circumstances."---Andrew Katzenstein, The Nation

"[Winterer’s] book is primarily concerned by the way these geologists read God’s handiwork into these unexpected discoveries. She captures this labor beautifully, pinpointing how faith in a God-centered natural order, unfolding over previously unfathomable units of time, deepened as biblical literalism eroded. . . . [How the New World Became Old] is thought-provoking from start to finish."---Ryan Irwin, H-Diplo

"Caroline Winterer’s sophistication as an intellectual historian shines throughout this book. . . . [How the New World Became Old] will inspire and challenge historians of science and early Americanists alike."---Cameron B. Strang, Journal of Southern History

"In How the New World Became Old, Caroline Winterer tells the story of the discovery of American deep time as a story of intellectual nationalism and a rather halting advance of secularization."---Felix Lüttge, Berlin Review

"How the New World Became Old . . . promotes a series of intellectually ambitious claims about the cultural and political contexts of 'the Deep Time Revolution in America.' . . . An invigorating and informative exploration into the history of American geology."---David Spanagel, Earth Sciences History

Review

“How the New World Became Old is full of fresh insights about the intellectual history of geology in the nineteenth-century United States and the cultural context in which the science developed. Winterer’s lively, lucid writing makes the book engaging and accessible.”—Marcia Bjornerud, author of Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the Worldand Turning to Stone: Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks

“A compelling story of culture, fossils, and American history intertwined. Winterer brings a historian’s scholarship and an abiding enthusiasm for fossils to explore America’s long and complicated relationship with the antiquity of deep geological time. Authoritative and engaging, How the New World Became Old gives a fresh perspective on how geology and paleontology helped transform American society.”—Steve Brusatte, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

“How the New World Became Old is exceptional. Winterer’s book is beautifully written, immensely learned but remarkably accessible and extremely timely. No question: this is a tour de force written by a terrifically creative, original, and erudite American cultural historian.”—Suzanne L. Marchand, author of Porcelain: A History from the Heart of Europe

“The lost world of deep time in America is now found—the discovery of the profound antiquity of the newly discovered continent is marvelously detailed in Caroline Winterer’s absorbing and important How the New World Became Old. Winterer reveals, through intense research and compelling narratives, how people came to grips with the radical idea of an unimaginably ancient America.”—Adrienne Mayor, author of Fossil Legends of the First Americans

“Caroline Winterer is a leading light in American intellectual and cultural history, and this book reminds us why. Vivid, luminous, lyrical, nuanced, playful, striking—How the New World Became Old offers a master class in historical research and imagination.”—Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen, author of American Intellectual History: A Very Short Introduction and American Nietzsche

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 8, 2024
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 392 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691199671
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691199672
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.75 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches
  • Book 1 of 1 ‏ : ‎ Princeton Modern Knowledge
  • Best Sellers Rank: #213,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.6 out of 5 stars (20)

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Caroline Winterer

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Customer reviews

3.6 out of 5 stars
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

  • Clarence A. Crawford
    1.0 out of 5 stars Grossly over-rated
    Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This book is apparently well researched, but the writing is sloppy, including inappropriate slang such as "discombobulated," and inappropriate metaphors. She invents scenes, such as a scientist writing while "his candle guttered". She claims that southern planters "could take comfort in the fact" (how would she know that?) that a geological "revolution" had occurred that had not been created by the "mute creatures": fossils! (page 114). This is incomprehensible. She claims that growing cotton in the rich soils of the South by exploiting slaves is somehow primarily connected to the underlying geology and not, apparently, to the deposition of alluvial sediment and the buildup of surface soil. I fault the reviewers who gave positive notices without, I would guess, reading the book carefully.
    One person found this helpful
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  • hhgg
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2025
    Format: Hardcover
    I read this on a whim inbetween books. Well written. Easy to read. Perhaps a bit more info in some spots than I needed but I still leaned many new facts from this book. And it held my interest. Worth reading. Covers the history of differed evolution beliefs and the religious beliefs as well.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Dale Campbell,M.A.
    1.0 out of 5 stars Not Worth It
    Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Forget this diatribe
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Pat
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Invention of Deep Time
    Reviewed in Germany on April 18, 2025
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Had a great read: very anecdotal the author takes us through the exploration and invention of Deep Time in North America. But also includes transatlantic relationships and achievements.

    As the book was conceived more as an overview and leaves little to be desired, it is easy to lose the common thread of this excess of facts or miss the lack of in-depth coverage.

    As an art historian and geology enthusiast, this is a formidable book that is compelling in its explanations and choice of illustrations.
    Report
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