Stephen Jay Gould - Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

Pros: Opens up the topic of early diversity of life on earth

Cons: Some of the conclusions seem a bit too broad based on the evidence

Review: In "Wonderful Life", Stephen Jay Gould gives us a new view on the fossil life forms represented in the Burgess Shale (one of the oldest fossil bearing shale formations on the planet). Previous attempts at examining life forms represented in...

Pros: exquisite detail

Cons: recent research has dated parts of this work

The Bottom Line: Very nice.

Review: Stephen Jay Gould writes of the exploration of the Burgess Shale – “The human story of discovery and interpretation, spanning almost eighty years, is wonderful, in the strong literal sense of that much-abused word.” In Wonderful Life: The ...

Pros: Gives meaning to human existence through the fossil record!

Cons: Great message but it takes awhile to get there!

The Bottom Line: A must read for any student of evolution or anyone who would like to have a little more meaning in their life.

Review: Stephen Jay Gould was nothing less than an inspired evolutionary biologist. His writings draw references from far afield to illuminate his interpretations of why biology can have real meaning in our lives. In Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale &...

Pros: beautifully written, fascinating subject, thought-provoking

Cons: confusing, misleading, very probably wrong, builds a case without presenting the other side

The Bottom Line: One of the clearest looks at Stephen Jay Gould’s view of science, history and evolutionary biology. Controversial and authoritative, but very beautifully written.

Review: The late Stephen Jay Gould was one of the greatest popular science writers ever, and certainly one of the top three in evolutionary biology (the other two, as far as I’m concerned, being Thomas Henry Huxley and Richard Dawkins). For twenty-five years ...