Penguin science

4 total works

Dinosaur in a Haystack

by Stephen Jay Gould

Published 1 January 1995

Gould's writing remains the modern standard by which popular science writing is judged. Ever since the late 1970s, his monthly essay in NATURAL HISTORY and his full-length books ahve bridged the yawning gap between science and the wider culture. He has a gift for colloquial and vivid explanation, an unquenchable passion for Darwinian science, and a deep democratic commitment which resists any reduction to biological urges. The characteristic themes of Gould's essays are brilliantly displayed in this, his seventh generous collection of essays. They range from his beloved New York City to the wider realms of discredited scientific theory, in which Gould always manages to find a nugget of insight which we ignore at our peril. He discusses Jurassic Park, the reconstruction of dinosaurs and the tragic myth of Frankenstein. He is as fascinated by tongue-worms and water beans as he is by dinosaurs and giant fungi. His literary references extend from the Old Testament through Edgar Allan Poe to Stephen King. He writes about the glory of museums, the older the better. And as always, there are more strictly scientific essays that discuss problems of evolutionary theory.

An Urchin in the Storm

by Stephen Jay Gould

Published 17 September 1987

Ranging as far as the fox and as deep as the hedgehog (the urchin of his title), Stephen Jay Gould expands on geology, biological determinism, "cardboard Darwinism," and evolutionary theory in this sparkling collection.

Wonderful Life

by Stephen Jay Gould

Published 22 November 1989

High in the Canadian Rockies is a small limestone quarry formed 530 million years ago called the Burgess Shale. It hold the remains of an ancient sea where dozens of strange creatures lived—a forgotten corner of evolution preserved in awesome detail. In this book Stephen Jay Gould explores what the Burgess Shale tells us about evolution and the nature of history.

Bully for Brontosaurus

by Stephen Jay Gould

Published 18 April 1991

"Provocative and delightfully discursive essays on natural history. . . . Gould is the Stan Musial of essay writing. He can work himself into a corkscrew of ideas and improbable allusions paragraph after paragraph and then, uncoiling, hit it with such power that his fans know they are experiencing the game of essay writing at its best."--John Noble Wilford, New York Times Book Review