George Gaylord Simpson – Paleontologist & Evolutionist - Softcover

Laporte, Léo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0231120656 ISBN 13: 9780231120654

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2000

Synopsis

In 1978 the distinguished paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson published his autobiography, Concession to the Improbable, which gave the basic facts of his life but left more questions than it answered. Now Leo F. Laporte presents this absorbing intellectual study of Simpson's major areas of work. Focusing on Simpson's scientific contributions, Laporte provides chapters on Simpson's earliest paleontological research through his distinguished Alexander Agassiz professorship at Harvard and his extensive fieldwork for the American Museum of Natural History, where he developed the core themes set forth in his most prestigious work, Tempo and Mode in Evolution (Columbia University Press, 1944). Simpson was arguably the first evolutionary paleontologist to combine descriptive taxonomy with the modern approaches of genetics and statistical analysis. Despite his brilliance Simpson was a difficult person to know; Laporte addresses the nature of Simpson's interpersonal problems with colleagues during his life. An introductory overview provides the biographical context of Simpson's career and provides the framework for his major paleontological and evolutionary contributions.

About this title

About the Author

Leo F. Laporte is Professor Emeritus of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Edition details

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0231120656
• ISBN 13: 9780231120654
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 350