Description: W. W. Norton & Company(Non-Fiction, Science) Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould Shop Villagelder's Books-N-Games From the PrefaceThis book, to cite some metaphors from my least favorite sport, attempts to tackle one of the broadest issues that science can address-the nature of history itself-not by a direct assault upon the center, but by an end run through the details of a truly wondrous case study. In so doing, I follow the strategy of all my general writing. Detail by itself can go no further; at its best, presented with a poetry that I cannot muster, it emerges as admirable "nature writing." But frontal attacks upon generalities inevitably lapse into tedium or tendentiousness. The beauty of nature lies in detail; the message, in generality. Optimal appreciation demands both, and I know no better tactic than the illustration of exciting principles by well-chosen particulars. My specific topic is the most precious and important of all fossil localities-the Burgess Shale of British Columbia. The human story of discovery and interpretation, spanning almost eighty years, is wonderful, in the strong literal sense of that much-abused word.
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All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Book Title: Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
Author: Stephen Jay Gould
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Genre: Life Sciences
Topic: Science
