The Richness of Life: The Essential Stephen Jay Gould

Somewhat oddly, I was introduced to evolution through evolutionary psychology, specifically, through Steven Pinker's How the Mind Works. And, following Pinker's references, I read Dawkins, Dennett, Cosmides, Tooby and that crowd. To put it mildly, Stephen Jay Gould was never popular with these writers so I found myself being suspicious of and vaguely hostile to Gould, despite having read only bits of his work. When I came across this collection of Gould's writings, it struck me how unreasonable my attitude was: partisans never paint a flattering picture of their opponents. I would have to read Gould himself to come to a fair assessment. So I bought the book and read all 600+ pages and I am extremely glad I did. Gould was without doubt a masterful essayist, a stupendously gifted writer, enormously erudite and capable of making charming connections between seemingly disparate topics. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Gould was one of the greatest 20th century essayists, up there with Peter Medawar and Isaiah Berlin. That is not to say that I agree with Gould about everything or that I think his work was uniformly excellent. On the contrary, I think "The Spandrels of San Marco" was a travesty (and unoriginal to boot), and "More Things in Heaven and Earth" (his infamous New York Review of Books piece) was just horrendous. Gould's views about evolutionary psychology ("ultra-Darwinism" he called it) and the evolution of the human mind generally were silly. And, the actions of Science For the People - with which Gould was centrally involved - were inexcusable. Moreover, Gould misled the public because he failed to be clear about when he was explaining or illustrating settled science and when he was engaging in partisan debate. All that said, I don't think we should condemn him too much: it's human to be led astray by one's passionate political and moral convictions. Besides, there is no doubt that nearly anyone has much to learn from Gould and that his essays are, on the whole, delightful, cogent and enlightening. Read Gould (but with eyes open and pinches of salt at the ready).

Gould is probably the best popularizer of natural history since Audubon. This is the first collection of Gould's work. Either you love it or you haven't read it... Doc Ock

Stephen Jay Gould is a leading scientist of modern times deemed a 'Living Legend' by Congress in 2000, and his THE RICHNESS OF LIFE offers up a collection of the range of his writings, from his most famous essays and selections from his many major books to speeches and articles. It's an entertaining mix of science and social observation and while its appearance is weighty, even general-interest library holdings will find it holds strong appeal, especially to patrons who like scientific reflections tailored for lay audiences.

Anyone familiar with Gould will immediately understand and appreciative my little quip of a title. Stephen J Gould remains the quintessential scientist - a thirst for knowledge, an original thinker, king of the scientific essay for the layman, a genius in multiple areas. Yet he was also involved in the details of everyday life - he was a family man who loved singing in great choirs, he quoted Gilbert & Sullivan by heart, lived & breathed baseball and was always grateful he lived in a nation where he could fulfill his dreams. His passing left a huge hole that has yet to be filled. This book is a large collection of essays - both from his many books of Natural History essays and from his crowning achievement, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Oddly, we begin with the last essay, the incredibly beautiful and poetic, "I Have Landed". The book is arranged as groups of writings demonstrating the wide scope of his thought on so many areas. There are autobiographical essays (including one on his reaction upon learning he had cancer) and biographical ones on people famous and not so famous, on Evolutionary Theory (technical essays in which he outlined his iconoclastic take on Darwinian theory, namely punctuated equilibrium as a method for explaining sudden appearances of species without transitional forms). Other subjects include, form & shapes, sociobiology, racism and finally religion. The last piece, the story of whales and transitional forms, is a tour de force, outstanding by any measure. Gould tried his best to stave off the anti-religious Crusade started by Dawkins & Company for the same reason Darwin refused to join such an escapade - it is inevitably self-defeating and scientifically irrelevant, distracting attention from science to things science should not be engaged in (proselytizing for a belief system). As an atheist, he knew the pitfalls of associating a belief (or nonbelief) system with "truth" and felt that religion and science, both human enterprises, served different functions. He always said, "You don't read the Bible to learn about natural selection." Gould was active to the bitter end, writing, editing, learning. This great man and his great thoughts bring to mind the poem that cosmologist Beatrice Tinsley wrote on her deathbed: "Let me be like Bach, creating fugues, Till suddenly the pen will move no more. Let all my themes within - of ancient light, Of origins and change and human worth - Let all their melodies still intertwine, Evolve and merge with ever growing unity, Ever without fading, Ever without a final chord... Till suddenly my mind can hear no more."