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95th out of 129 books
—
50 voters
Eight Little Piggies: Reflections in Natural History
Among scientists who write, no one illuminates as well as Stephen Jay Gould doesthe wonderful workings of the natural world. Now in a new volume of collected essays—his sixth since Ever Since Darwin—Gould speaks of the importance of unbroken connections within our own lives and to our ancestralgenerations. Along with way, he opens to us the mysteries of fish tails, frog ca...more
Paperback, 480 pages
Published
April 17th 1994
by W.W. Norton & Company
(first published January 1st 1993)
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Eight Little Piggies by Stephen Jay Gould; a Review.
By Juanita Rice.
Oooh. The day has come. One Stephen Jay Gould book too many, and my head has exploded. I've struggled for several weeks with this review, but it won't cohere. In lieu of a "book review" proper, then, I offer these observations. If you already know Gould and his popular and literate writings on science, go ahead and skip to the next paragraph. If you don't know him, you can turn to almost any of my other reviews for enthusiasm an...more
By Juanita Rice.
Oooh. The day has come. One Stephen Jay Gould book too many, and my head has exploded. I've struggled for several weeks with this review, but it won't cohere. In lieu of a "book review" proper, then, I offer these observations. If you already know Gould and his popular and literate writings on science, go ahead and skip to the next paragraph. If you don't know him, you can turn to almost any of my other reviews for enthusiasm an...more
Mr. Gould was a Harvard professor and since the early 70's has been writing essays
on natural history, evolution, paleontology (study of prehistoric life). His essays were bundled
and published into books. Dinosaur in a haystack was probably his most notable.
I've liked his works as he's very accessible despite the technically scientific jargon and concepts he introduces. He doesn't dumb it down, but gives the reader enough to understand the importance of a particular essay. TO do this he sprinkles...more
on natural history, evolution, paleontology (study of prehistoric life). His essays were bundled
and published into books. Dinosaur in a haystack was probably his most notable.
I've liked his works as he's very accessible despite the technically scientific jargon and concepts he introduces. He doesn't dumb it down, but gives the reader enough to understand the importance of a particular essay. TO do this he sprinkles...more
A collection of essays from the evolutionist. Strong writing, as always, with that fire of deep passion for natural history. Unfortunately, its one I dont share (yes, in fact, there are actually subjects Im not interested in, or at least not passionate about). Also, it took me all of Hens Teeth and Horse's Toes and most of this book to realize just what's going on with these essays. It's a strange feeling when you agree wholeheartedly with somebody, as I do in this case, but find their style of...more
Ho letto varie raccolte di saggi di Gould, ma sempre abbastanza vecchie. E' la prima volta che leggo una raccolta fra la più recenti, e mi ha colpito sotto vari aspetti, qualcuno anche negativo.
Innanzi tutto si vede chiaramente che Gould è più maturo. Il suo stile leggendario acquista ancora più profondità, compaiono temi più attuali e "impegnati" (fra cui il rapporto uomo ambiente nella nostra società), e aumentano le incursioni in ambiti inaspettati (bellissimo il saggio sui meccanismi del ric...more
Innanzi tutto si vede chiaramente che Gould è più maturo. Il suo stile leggendario acquista ancora più profondità, compaiono temi più attuali e "impegnati" (fra cui il rapporto uomo ambiente nella nostra società), e aumentano le incursioni in ambiti inaspettati (bellissimo il saggio sui meccanismi del ric...more
Dec 01, 2010
Robert
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anybody interested in evolutionary theory.
Shelves:
science
This collection of essays is Gould's last as an author but my first as a reader of him. They are somewhat eclectic, though grouped according to theme and overall evolution and scientific method crop up the most often. Technically, the approach is less diverse, with an opening starting with some personal or topical (at the time of writing) anecdote leading into a more general discussion of a Big Idea. This is somewhat irritating to me, because it reminds me of Radio 4's Thought for the Day, in wh...more
May 06, 2011
Chuck Weiss
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in pop-paleontology
Typical Stephen Jay Gould reflections on evolution, the odd development of mammalian vertebrae, Darwinism and human nature. The book is a collection of some of his most famous essays, so I read each chapter just before bed.
Awesome overview of evolution, and really interesting examples of how life develops, why we have 5 fingers, etc. Great read.
If you absolutely love evolution and you like it when authors use big words, you might like this book. Overall, I found half the essays interesting enough to read, and half boring enough to skip. Occasionally, Gould brings in an interesting annecdote to bring his points home, but there's a whole lot of sleep-inducing talk about skull shapes and such as well. I don't think I'll read another Stephen Jay Gould book for a while.
This book is the collected essays of Stephen Jay Gould. In delves into such things as geological time, climate change and frogs. I liked the book. It is easy to reads and held my attention well. If you are interested in Nature History and look books based on essays, this is a must read. Allow a few days to read it.
More SGJ awesomeness.
Paperback
I wish he were still alive and could come teach debaters logic.
See my comments on Ever Since Darwin. Gould tackles fun topics such as memory and ecology in this book of essays on natural history.
All I can say is that I really liked this book. A lot. Gd is in the details... yeah.
May 11, 2013
Sean Mcmahon
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
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Stephen Jay Gould was a prominent American paleontologist, 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.
Most of Gould's empirical research was on land snails. Gould...more
More about Stephen Jay Gould...
Most of Gould's empirical research was on land snails. Gould...more
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