Overview
Considered by many during his lifetime as the most well-known scientist in the world, Stephen Jay Gould left an enormous and influential body of work. A Harvard professor of paleontology, evolutionary biology, and the history of science, Gould provided major insights into our understanding of the history of life. He helped to reinvigorate paleontology, launch macroevolution on a new course, and provide a context in which the biological developmental stages of an organism's embryonic growth could be integrated into an understanding of evolution. This book is a set of reflections on the many areas of Gould's intellectual life by the people who knew and understood him best: former students and prominent close collaborators. Mostly a critical assessment of his legacy, the chapters are not technical contributions but rather offer a combination of intellectual bibliography, personal memoir, and reflection on Gould's diverse scientific achievements. The work includes the most complete bibliography of his writings to date and offers a multi-dimensional view of Gould's life-work not to be found in any other volume.
Full Product Details
Author: Warren D. Allmon ,
Patricia H. Kelley ,
Robert M. Ross
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:
Width: 23.40cm
, Height: 3.30cm
, Length: 15.50cm
Weight: 0.706kg
ISBN: 9780195373202
ISBN 10: 0195373200
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 06 November 2008
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
A dozen or more of Gould's ex-students assess his science, standing and personality, six years after his untimely death. He emerges as a genius of sorts, but - appropriately for his geologist beginnings - with feet not unmarked by clay. Time Higher Education Supplement
He [Gould] emerges as a genius of sorts, but - appropriately for his geologist beginnings - with feet not unmarked by clay. - Nature One of the first important works in what may someday be an extensive field of Gouldiana. The wonderful collection of essays reflecting on Gould's view of life, edited by his former students, presents a variety of insightful assessments of his work, while also giving us a glimpse of the man himself through the eyes of people who knew him well - his students and close colleagues. All the authors who a clear affection for Gould and an admiration for his accomplishments. However, none are servile followers, unwilling to criticize (Gould would have admired them for this). Thus, this volume is not, as the editors note their preface, an attempt at hagiography, but rather, a serious engagement with Gould's intellectual legacy. -- Monthly Review An interesting collection of essays. --American Scientist There are many perceptive and useful essays in this collection, and anyone interested in the development of 20th -century evolutionary thought will be fascinated by their insights. --Reports of the National Center for Science Education
A dozen or more of Gould's ex-students assess his science, standing and personality, six years after his untimely death. He emerges as a genius of sorts, but - appropriately for his geologist beginnings - with feet not unmarked by clay. * Time Higher Education Supplement *
Author Information
Warren D. Allmon is Director of the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, NY, and Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. Patricia H. Kelley is Professor of Geology at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Robert M. Ross is Associate Director for Outreach at the Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY.
