Ragnarok : the Age of Fire and Gravel

"Ragnarok: the Age of Fire and Gravel" by Ignatius Donnelly is a scientific exploration from the 1800s that studies the puzzling geological deposits known as "the Drift." This book looks at catastrophic events in Earth’s history, suggesting the Drift may have come from comets or ice ages, instead of the slow changes scientists usually talk about. The beginning of the book talks to the reader about the Drift, pointing out how widespread and important it is. Donnelly describes this Drift as a weird geological thing without layers, different from other rock layers because it looks strange and doesn't have fossils. He questions common ideas about how it formed, like big ice sheets or floods, but doesn't think they fully explain things. Donnelly wants us to really understand how the Drift was made, hinting that it was shaped by violent cosmic events and invites us to examine these possibilities.