The Mismeasure of Man

Stephen Jay Gould

Norton, 1996 - Psychology - 444 pages

When published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits.And yet the idea of innate limits--of biology as destiny--dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined by Stephen Jay Gould. In this edition Dr. Gould has written a substantial new introduction telling how and why he wrote the book and tracing the subsequent history of the controversy on innateness right through The Bell Curve. Further, he has added five essays on questions of The Bell Curve in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general. These additions strengthen the book's claim to be, as Leo J. Kamin of Princeton University has said, "a major contribution toward deflating pseudo-biological 'explanations' of our present social woes."

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Review: The Mismeasure of Man

User Review  - Corey - Goodreads

As has been demonstrated elsewhere, there are enough flaws in this book that it cannot be recommended.

About the author

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology and Professor of Geology at Harvard University. He published over twenty books, received the National Book and National Book Critics Circle Awards, and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Mismeasure of Man
• Author: Stephen Jay Gould
• Edition: illustrated, revised
• Publisher: Norton, 1996
• ISBN: 0393314251, 9780393314250
• Length: 444 pages
• Subjects: Psychology / Assessment, Testing & Measurement; Social Science / Sociology / General