The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History

The "argument from design" traces back at least to the medieval theology as a favorite proof for the existence of God. The argument runs that the exquisite design and interrelation of earthly organisms can be explained only by the existence of an Intelligent Designer. I continue to believe in God, but Stephen Jay Gould's essays in "The Panda's Thumb" is a rather large nail in the coffin of this argument. In essay after essay,... Read Full Review

`The Panda's Thumb' is the second in a long series of bound essays by leading science writer Stephen Jay Gould. As important as these columns from the journal `Natural History' is, this is but a modest part of Gould's importance in American intellectual life. Gould, who died about three years ago from cancer, was a professor of geology, biology, and history of science at Harvard University and one of the world's leading researchers... Read Full Review

"Panda's Thumb" is the second volume in a series of essay collections culled primarily from Gould's column "This View Of Life" that was published for nearly thirty years in Natural History magazine, the official popular journal of the American Museum of Natural History. Once more readers are treated to elegantly written, insightful pieces on issues ranging from racial attitudes affecting 19th Century science to evolutionary... Read Full Review

I'll be short, there are plenty of other good reviews. My main point is that this book, although written over 20 years ago, retains its readability and accuracy because many of the topics it discusses are historical, and also many of the chapters concern general aspects of human nature and science, which are timeless. An excellent overview of evolutionary theory, and well worth a read as an introduction to natural science... Read Full Review

What Carl Sagan is to astronomy, Stephen Jay Gould is to biology. Both men can write about their subjects fascinatingly and in layman's terms without dumbing down the material. That said, Gould is more down-to-earth, with a sense of humor that is more uplifting than caustic. In "Bathybius and Eozoon" (no, that's not a comic book duo) and "Crazy Old Randolph Kirkpatrick," he takes a look back at two of science's more... Read Full Review