A collection of thirty-five essays--representing the best of the column "This View of Life" from "Natural History" magazine--focuses on the themes of evolution and of the innumerable oddities of nature

Reviews

Successor to The Panda's Thumb , The Flamingo's Smile and other books, this collection of essays from Natural History magazine may be Gould's finest to date. Focusing on evolution, oddities of nature, remote connections between historical figures and the battle against creationism, the author is severely critical of science education in the U.S. and, in "The Case of the Creeping Fox Terrier," textbook publishers who fail to adequately update their revisions. He introduces the (French) Royal Commission of 1784 and its investigation of Mesmerism as an example of logic; discourses on the real origin of baseball; attempts to reconstruct the human family tree. In "Justice Scalia's Misunderstanding," Gould chides Antonin Scalia for his dissent in the 1987 Supreme Court creationism case; the justice, he argues, equated creation and evolution. Whether his topic is typewriter design, the technical triumph of Voyager or Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, Gould holds our attention. His essays are illuminating, instructive and fun to read. Photos. BOMC selection; History Book Club featured alternate.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gould is a masterful essayist whose previous collections, such as The Flamingo's Smile ( LJ 9/15/85), as well as other titles, notably Wonderful Life ( LJ 9/1/89), have been well received. Most of the essays here, some with added postscripts and notes, were selected from his column in Natural History magazine (1985-90). Like those in his previous collections, these pithy essays focus on evolution and the workings of science. Gould's fans, serious readers many of whom eagerly await his essays to appear in book form, will find these works fascinating, literate, and often challenging--vintage Gould. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/90.
- Joseph Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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