Bully for Brontosaurus. Reflections in Natural History

Gould, Stephen Jay

ISBN 10: 0091747627 / ISBN 13: 9780091747626

Published by Hutchinson Radius / Random House, London, 1991

About this Item

First Uk edition, first impression. Some edge wear to top and bottom of jacket and spine, some yellowing to white parts of jacket, corners slightly bruised, front and back flaps slightly stretched, not price clipped (£16.99), no inscriptions, internally clean tight and square, overall a vg+ copy for its age. 540pp. In this classic collection of essays, Gould exposes muddled thinking about matters biological, and makes the point that evolution is not a ladder but a bush ever dividing, branching and making twigs. Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002), was an American palaeontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation. Gould spent most of his career teaching at Harvard University and working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Gould's thesis in 'Wonderful Life' was that chance was one of the decisive factors in the evolution of life on earth. He based this argument on the wonderfully preserved fossil fauna of the Burgess Shale, animals from around 505 million years ago, just after the Cambrian explosion. Gould argued that although the Burgess animals were all exquisitely adapted to their environment, most of them left no modern descendants and, more importantly, surviving creatures did not seem better adapted than their now extinct contemporaneous neighbours, a view that has now been challenged by Richard Dawkins and others. Quite a scarce book.

Seller Inventory # 008806

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Bully for Brontosaurus. Reflections in Natural History
• Publisher: Hutchinson Radius / Random House, London
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0091747627
• ISBN 13: 9780091747626
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Jacket by Charles R. Knight
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Publisher: Hutchinson
Date of Publication: 1991
Binding: hard cover
Edition:
Condition: Good +/Good
Description: 0091747627

Synopsis

Lord Castlereagh, the early 19th century Tory Foreign Secretary, was a depressive. He committed suicide, and his nephew's fear of inheriting his madness led him to take a world cruise for the British Admiralty. He sought a companion to guard against his black moods and Charles Darwin got the job. Darwin's theory of evolution, argues the author, may never have developed if this series of events had not occured. This book is a metaphor for the way individuals and unpredictable events influence history. In response history, suggests the author, is the best model for evolution. The author explores the science of improbable outcomes in this wide ranging book written on the evolutionary theme. Stephen Jay Gould also wrote "Wonderful Life".