Wonderful Life
The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
1 of 1 copy available
High in the Canadian Rockies is a small limestone quarry formed 530 million years ago called the Burgess Shale. It holds the remains of an ancient sea where dozens of strange creatures lived—a forgotten corner of evolution preserved in awesome detail. In this book, Stephen Jay Gould explores what the Burgess Shale tells us about evolution and the nature of history.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 11, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9798765090732
- File size: 308558 KB
- Duration: 10:42:49
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 5, 1990
The Burgess Shale, a small quarry in the mountains of British Columbia, opened a window on the first multicellular animals (late Cambrian, 530 million years ago). These fossils were discovered in 1909 by America's foremost paleontologist, Charles D. Walcott, who classified them according to modern animals. More than 60 years later, three British scientists began an exhaustive re-examination of the Burgess fauna--with startling results for evolutionary theory and the history of life on earth. Presenting the revision as a play in five acts, Gould, eminent life-historian and author ( The Flamingo's Smile ), introduces us to the creatures of Burgess Shale and to the men who have painstakingly examined them. He explains Walcott's failure to recognize his greatest discovery in terms of his background, then discourses on the value of history as a scientific tool. This is exciting and illuminating material on the beginnings of life. Illustrations. BOMC, QPB and History Book Club selections. -
September 12, 1990
The Burgess Shale, a small quarry in the mountains of British Columbia, opened a window on the first multicellular animals. Gould, eminent life-historian and author, introduces us to the creatures of Burgess Shale and to those who have painstakingly examined them. ``This is exciting and illuminating material on the beginnings of life,'' wrote PW. Illustrated.
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