‘Africa Forms the Key’

Suryakanthie Chetty is Senior Lecturer in History at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her current research interests are in the history of science, specifically geology. She has published in Historia, the African Historical Review, Kronos: South African Histories, the Journal of Natal and Zulu History and the South African Historical Journal.

“Everyone – scientists and the general public alike – with an interest in both the deep and recent past and of knowledge generated in and about South Africa will welcome the appearance of this book. In fluent and readable style, it deals with the life and work of eminent geologist Alex du Toit … . this book brings to light, for the first time within a single publication, an explanation of the evolution of the ideas around continental drift ... .” (Jane Carruthers, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, September 8, 2021)

• 1 Introduction.- 2 In the Beginning…: Geology in South Africa and the Early Years of Alex Du Toit.-3 A World in a Grain of Sand: A Brief History of Geology and the Origins of Continental Drift Theory.- 4 Bedrock: Geology and the Shaping of a Nation.- 5 On the Shoulders of Giants: Early Drift Theorists.- 6 Looking Through … the Keyhole of Nature: Du Toit and Early Continental Drift.- 7 And Yet It Moves…: Du Toit’s South American Journey.- 8 The Cradle of Humankind: A Pivotal Decade for Science in South Africa.- 9 Our Wandering Continents: Du Toit’s Definitive Work, Controversy and Consensus.- 10 A Frozen History of the Past: Antarctica, Gondwana and an Unfulfilled Dream.- 11 The Final Years.- 12 Pale Blue Dot: Conclusions.