The Lying Stones of Marrakech: Penultimate Reflections in Natural History

Stephen Jay Gould

Harmony Books, 2000 - Evolution - 372 pages

In his latest collection of essays, Gould once again offers his unmistakable perspective on nature and the people who have tried to make sense of it. 30 illustrations.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - pbjwelch - LibraryThing

Loved the title essay; skipped three of the more esoteric chapters; was a bit miffed over the Darwin chapters as I'm a Wallace supporter; and ended by thinking essays and columns are perfect for ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - hcubic - LibraryThing

I find it surprising that this is the first book by Stephen Jay Gould that I selected as a "Pick" for the Journal of Chemical Education, since I own and have enjoyed reading many of them. I have had ...

Contents

• Preface: 1
• and Revision of Nature: 115
• DARWINS CENTURYAND OURS: 145

About the author

Born in New York City in 1941, Stephen Jay Gould received his B.A. from Antioch College in New York in 1963 and a Ph.D. in paleontology from Columbia University in 1967. Gould spent most of his career as a professor at Harvard University and curator of invertebrate paleontology at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology. His research was mainly in the evolution and speciation of land snails. Gould was a leading proponent of the theory of punctuated equilibrium. This theory holds that few evolutionary changes occur among organisms over long periods of time, and then a brief period of rapid changes occurs before another long, stable period of equilibrium sets in. Gould also made significant contributions to the field of evolutionary developmental biology, most notably in his work, Ontogeny and Phylogeny. An outspoken advocate of the scientific outlook, Gould had been a vigorous defender of evolution against its creation-science opponents in popular magazines focusing on science. He wrote a column for Natural History and has produced a remarkable series of books that display the excitement of science for the layperson. Among his many awards and honors, Gould won the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. His titles include; Ever Since Darwin, The Panda's Thumb, Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes, Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory and Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin. Stephen Jay Gould died on May 20, 2002, following his second bout with cancer.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Lying Stones of Marrakech: Penultimate Reflections in Natural History
• Author: Stephen Jay Gould
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Harmony Books, 2000
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Jan 27, 2010
• ISBN: 0609601423, 9780609601426
• Length: 372 pages