Rating: 
Summary: Further Natural History Essays of a Master
Review: Stephan Jay Gould was certainly one of the most prolific and interesting of modern essayists on evolutionary theory. He often goes on delightful side trips (a mark of a skillful writer, as such devices can be dangerous to an essay) and rarely (but occasionally) follows the wrong path. Whether you agree with him or not, he is always thought provoking."The Lying Stones of Marrakech" is no exception. Another one of his series of books of essays from his column "This View of Life" in NATURAL HISTORY magazine, the essays deal with a number of fascinating biological subjects from fake fossils (the lying stones mentioned in the title) to measuring evolution in the real world. While some editing might have made this book even better, it is still a very good read and certainly thought inspiring. Gould is often especially forceful in dealing with biological determinism, as in the (I think) false idea that we are totally what our genes make us. Now to be fair there are few proponents of evolutionary psychology or other biological determinist groups that would make such a statement (just as there are few total blank slate idealists, despite Stephan Pinker's views), but the ideas often expressed by such researchers make one wonder exactly where they are leading. From the "killer ape" mentality to the "naturalness of rape" they often tread close to a position that man is not improvable and so why bother? There are almost no modern scientists (as Gould points out) who would deny genetic influence on behavior. Certain mental diseases, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, have obvious genetic components. Nor would they deny that we are an evolutionary product of our ancestors Pliocene and Pleistocene environments (and even earlier ones). However, humans exhibit a remarkably plastic behavioral ability, which is also evolutionarily derived. What makes us human is exactly that plasticity. Given the current state of the planet we had better hope that we can rise above the pre-civilized part of our brains and alter our collective behavior- otherwise we are dead as a species! These and other fascinating (and often obscure) biological issues are grist for Gould's mill. To follow his interest in the national sport he even throws in a few short pieces on baseball. Essays on the difficulties of predicting the future of technology, the contributions of Lamark, the career of the great French naturalist Buffon, and how vulva stones became brachiopods (they always were of course!), are also among those in this collection. This book is well worth the reading, despite the digressions!
Rating: 
Summary: Gould at the top of his writing skills
Review: Stephen Jay Gould certainly doesn't need any introduction as one of the leading and most convincing voices in evolutionary thinking. However, I'm often surprised that many well-read people haven't heard about him. Not that everybody is obliged to read Gould, but if one wants to round up one's culture, paying attention to some of his ideas, even if one doesn't agree with him, won't do any harm. He always provides good food for thought--and that, at least in my books, marks him as a good writer. 'The lying stones of Marrakech' is no exception to Gould's excellent writing--and it should serve as a good introduction to his world to those that still haven't read him. What strikes the most about this new volume of essays is the humanistic and incisive way in which he debunks some of our most cherished myths, especially those about our perception of science and evolutionary thinking in particular. To be sure, he has done that before--but in this volume he does it with more force. To me, the best essays in this volume are the last three, in the section he calls 'Evolution at all scales'. I was particularly surprised with the one entitled 'Of embryos and ancestors', where he writes about the incredible discovery of fossilized triploblastic embryos that antedate the famous Cambrian explosion of animal morphology and even the so-called Ediacaran fauna that comes before that explosion. That essay, in my estimation, opens up a new world of interpration on the history of life, where the succesion of animal groups seems to follow a more general pattern than previously thought from almost the very inception of life close to 3.5-3.6 billion years ago. Also, the essay 'The paradox of the visibly irrelevant', in the same section, puts the dots on the i's as far as our perception of evolutionary trends is concerned. Certainly, Gould writes in that essay, animals adapt to environments in a few generations visible to our human eyes, but do those adaptations have any ultimate meaning in broad evolutionary trends? I won't spoil it to the readers of this short note by saying what Gould's answer is--but I must say that his anwer is cleverly counterintuitive and very cogent. There are six short pieces about personalities in the world of sport, music, and science. I found this rather uncommon in Gould's collections of essays, but at the same time I found them thoroughly delightful. I was deeply moved by Gould's piece on the death of Carl Sagan, who did so much in popularizing science but who was so scorned by his colleagues because of that. Certainly the 'immortals' of science can deign to talk to plain people about their enterprise; how else can they hope to garner public support for what they do? Carl Sagan took the job--and he did it excellently. Gould's piece is a tribute to a great, humanistic scientist. In short, I recommend Gould's penultimate collection of essays (23 in total). And I'm sure that those who haven't read him before and start with this volume would like to read more from this great man of science.
Rating:
Summary: Gould at the top of his writing skills
Review: Stephen Jay Gould certainly doesn't need any introduction as one of the leading and most convincing voices in evolutionary thinking. However, I'm often surprised that many well-read people haven't heard about him. Not that everybody is obliged to read Gould, but if one wants to round up one's culture, paying attention to some of his ideas, even if one doesn't agree with him, won't do any harm. He always provides good food for thought--and that, at least in my books, marks him as a good writer. 'The lying stones of Marrakech' is no exception to Gould's excellent writing--and it should serve as a good introduction to his world to those that still haven't read him. What strikes the most about this new volume of essays is the humanistic and incisive way in which he debunks some of our most cherished myths, especially those about our perception of science and evolutionary thinking in particular. To be sure, he has done that before--but in this volume he does it with more force. To me, the best essays in this volume are the last three, in the section he calls 'Evolution at all scales'. I was particularly surprised with the one entitled 'Of embryos and ancestors', where he writes about the incredible discovery of fossilized triploblastic embryos that antedate the famous Cambrian explosion of animal morphology and even the so-called Ediacaran fauna that comes before that explosion. That essay, in my estimation, opens up a new world of interpration on the history of life, where the succesion of animal groups seems to follow a more general pattern than previously thought from almost the very inception of life close to 3.5-3.6 billion years ago. Also, the essay 'The paradox of the visibly irrelevant', in the same section, puts the dots on the i's as far as our perception of evolutionary trends is concerned. Certainly, Gould writes in that essay, animals adapt to environments in a few generations visible to our human eyes, but do those adaptations have any ultimate meaning in broad evolutionary trends? I won't spoil it to the readers of this short note by saying what Gould's answer is--but I must say that his anwer is cleverly counterintuitive and very cogent. There are six short pieces about personalities in the world of sport, music, and science. I found this rather uncommon in Gould's collections of essays, but at the same time I found them thoroughly delightful. I was deeply moved by Gould's piece on the death of Carl Sagan, who did so much in popularizing science but who was so scorned by his colleagues because of that. Certainly the 'immortals' of science can deign to talk to plain people about their enterprise; how else can they hope to garner public support for what they do? Carl Sagan took the job--and he did it excellently. Gould's piece is a tribute to a great, humanistic scientist. In short, I recommend Gould's penultimate collection of essays (23 in total). And I'm sure that those who haven't read him before and start with this volume would like to read more from this great man of science.
Rating:
Summary: Essays with a split personality
Review: The first three sections of this book have essays from the magazine Natural History about the history of "natural history." They are drier and of less general interest, covering people and issues in the development of the science. This certainly would not be the perfect introduction to the late Stephen Jay Gould's writing and research styles. . . Nonetheless, they are well-researched and written in Gould's loving detail for the accurate story, in contrast to the historical myth. You might find yourself skimming the details of animal classifications to find the gems that remind us of major shifts in scientific thinking. The second three sections are written to a broader audience and start with obituaries of Carl Sagan, Mel Allen and Joe DiMaggio. These essays are more readable (though Gould continues his love for parenthetical additions at least twice on every page). In this latter half of the book, Gould covers subjects such as social Darwinism; Dolly (the cloned sheep) and the nurture vs. nature argument; ways in which evolution is visible among living species; and competitive equilibrium in nature. Here Gould ensures that his essays are relevant to current social issues.
Rating:
Summary: Essays with a split personality
Review: The first three sections of this book have essays from the magazine Natural History about the history of "natural history." They are drier and of less general interest, covering people and issues in the development of the science. This certainly would not be the perfect introduction to the late Stephen Jay Gould's writing and research styles. . . Nonetheless, they are well-researched and written in Gould's loving detail for the accurate story, in contrast to the historical myth. You might find yourself skimming the details of animal classifications to find the gems that remind us of major shifts in scientific thinking. The second three sections are written to a broader audience and start with obituaries of Carl Sagan, Mel Allen and Joe DiMaggio. These essays are more readable (though Gould continues his love for parenthetical additions at least twice on every page). In this latter half of the book, Gould covers subjects such as social Darwinism; Dolly (the cloned sheep) and the nurture vs. nature argument; ways in which evolution is visible among living species; and competitive equilibrium in nature. Here Gould ensures that his essays are relevant to current social issues.
Rating:
Summary: The Lying Stones of Marrakech
Review: The Lying Stones of Marrakech by Stephen Jay Gould is an excellent read; written by one of the foremost original thinkers of our time. His humanistic sensibility and passionate arguments are painstakingly historical... you are nerver left in doubt when reading Gould's prose. When reading this book you see in his writings a musing underlining his brilliant intelligence and scholarship with his signature wit becoming evident. In these twenty-three essays an erudite discussion comes to light from on of the most fertile minds of science today. We are educated... better enlightened to a point of view which only Gould can provide. As with all good things, they must come to an end since this is the penultimate work of essays... which leaves one more to astonish us. But I'm sure that we will not see the end of writing from him. I highly recommend reading this brilliant collection of essays from a the most revered and eloquent author and educator of our times.
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