Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History

I do enjoy Gould's essays, but this is very very clearly his first collection. Two things stood out - the title (it's not bad, but no match for The Panda's Thumb or The Lying Stones of Marrakech or...) and the fact that he accepts and references some of the 'myths of science' that he debunks later

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- for instance, he makes casual reference to "the meeting where Huxley demolished 'Soapy Sam' Wilberforce...". In a later book (can't remember which), he's examined the actual records and contemporary references to said meeting, and discovered that it didn't happen that way. No comments about being descended from an ape, and no snappy comeback. Since I've read almost all his essay collections and a good many others he's written, I've come to expect that any time he mentions a convenient myth like that it's only for the purpose of debunking it - it quite startled me when he merely referred to it as a fact and moved on. It's still a good book, with a lot of familiar themes and interesting insights into them. Just a little odd to someone thoroughly familiar with Gould's work.

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Ever Since Darwin is a collection of Stephen Jay Gould's essays. As the title suggests these essays deal mainly with various topics relating to Darwin and the understanding and interpretation of evolutionary theory throughout history.

I found his style generally very easy to follow and, in contrast

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to the articles in many scientific journals, approachable by the lay-reader.

Those who enjoyed this book might also want to check another book of his essays: The Panda's Thumb.

- Peter K.

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This collection, Gould's first, has gotten a bit dated over the years, but his style comes through even here. While I don't agree with all of his conclusions, his essays are just about always worth the read, and some of them (as on Darwin's role aboard the Beagle and about the Irish elk) are simply

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delightful.

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#106, 2004

I've had this on my shelf for something close to 20 years, and never managed to read it until now. I finally "forced" myself by offering it on BookRelay - once it was accepted, and I knew I'd have to send it to someone else, I had an incentive to sit down and work my way through. And I'm

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really glad I did . . . this was a fascinating collection of essays about Darwin's theory and its far-reaching effects - on topics from plate tectonics to genetics to racism to taxonomy to studies of other planets in our solar system. It did take me longer to get through than most books, because I actually had to pay close attention, which is not the case with some of the fluff I usually read. :D I think the most interesting thing about the book was the way Gould talks about scientists, and the role of science in culture . . . science is *not* (as many would like to believe) just a cold, uninterested study of facts. Scientists bring their own biases and worldviews to the table with them, and it has a huge effect on the results that are produced. Also, since the book is several years old, I'm interesting in learning about more current research in some of the areas he discussed. A great book, well worth reading (at least for a wanna-be science geek like myself).

LJ Discussion

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33 fascinating essays about evolutionary principles and examples.

The first volume of Gould's collected essays that appearead monthly in "Natural History" magazine. These essays are almost always a joy to read.

Gould is remarkable for his ability to write about science in a way that is captivating even to those of us who are not, by nature, scientific thinkers.

Gould's first book. A collection of his articles. A cracking good read.

This kind of work is Gould's forte.

A real grab bag mix of subject matter but all told with the same idiosyncratic writing style of a writer born and not made.

Personal claim to fame - the elk skeleton discussed in chapter three

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is now in a museum not far from me (in Leeds) and has recently been re mounted and put back on display.

Gould picks his subjects seemingly at random, perhaps responding to the misconceptions and false claims of others but in every case uses his careful and reasoned approach to work out a persuasive lesson to be learned.

A must buy.

Now I have read this I can better understand the fuss about Gould's work and his dedicated fans.

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Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History: Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould is a collection of essays, his first, that brings together his knowledge, wit and intellectual musings to the art of writing a scientific essay as no other can.There are 33

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essays in the tome that are unparalleled and are far beyond any of his contemporaries, but brought to us by his unmatched ability, so the common man can understand his intrinsic intuitive profundity.
Gould brings us essays on Darwiniana, Human Evoution, Odd Organisms and Evolutionary Exemplars, Patterns and Punctuation in the History of Life, Theories of the Earth, Size and Shape, from Churches to Brains to Planets, Science in Society-- a Historical View, The Scince and Politics of Human Nature. All of these are thought provoking with a sophistication unmatched in the realm of science today.
As we read on in the book, we see the knowledge brought to us. Can we who read this comprehend both the lessons and the limits of scientific understanding here? Gould brings us his thoughts, as we read, I can only wonder and learn. This is a remarkable achievement.

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I read this before and will certainly read it again. Excellent essays that make evolution clear and plausible. A fun aspect of Gould's essays are his commentaries on historical figures in science and how some of the oddities, not to say absurdities, of the history of science fit into its progress.

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Chapters on midges who grow by consuming the mother, the Irish Elk's antlers (formed by sexual selection), criticism of the genetic basis of IQ, how Engels argued correctly that human upright posture preceded our large brain (sharing with John Dewey a criticism of the dominant prejudice against work that favors thinking over work). Gould is for the most part congruent with the Kuhn's _Structures of Scientific Revolutions_, however, there are times when his exposition of science could use some correction of Richard Rorty's concept of cultural politics.

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I always love Stephen Jay Gould's books. This is the very first book he wrote, and it did not leave me down. His craftsmanship and intellectual power over tthe essay is superb. Very simply, he always weaves a spell that will not let me put his books down. I find it horrible that he has passed away,

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but I can take some solace in knowing, I still haven't read all of his essays and books.

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Gould is best known as an advocate for atheism, but those leanings are not readily apparent here. The book is a series of short essays on various aspects of evolutionary theory as seen from a 1977 perspective and as such is of historical interest. Additionally, most of what Gould says is still

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mainstream opinion and hasn't changed in nearly 40 years. His approach to evolution is best summed up by the last sentence in the book: "I will rejoice in the multifariousness of nature and leave the chimera of certainty to politicians and preachers."

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Collection of columns.