Under The Microscope

WONDERFUL LIFE: THE BURGESS SHALE AND THE NATURE OF HISTORY, by Stephen Jay Gould; Penguin, 1991; 347 pp; $27.95
DINOSAUR IN A HAYSTACK, by Stephen Jay Gould; Penguin, 1997; 480 pp; $24.95

Reviewed by Judith Sidaway

"Nobody up here pays attention to reviews...most of the written word has gone the way of the dinosaur" -- Bruce Willis at the Cannes film festival (when asked to comment on negative criticism of his latest film).

I wonder if Stephen Jay Gould has read this quote attributed to Bruce Willis! In the introduction to Dinosaur in a Haystack he commented: "I have been writing the monthly essays that construct these books since January 1974. This volume, the seventh in a continuing series, includes the piece that I wrote to mark the completion of twenty years with never a month missed." Furthermore, Gould will try to write his essays every month until January 2001. So much for the written word going the way of the dinosaur.

What was the way of the dinosaur? Or the way of the Burgess shale fossils? Could be that you're not interested -- try reading Dinosaur in a Haystack or Wonderful Life and you're bound to change your mind.

Stephen Jay Gould, evolutionary biologist and palaeontologist, is a captivating though leisurely writer. Dinosaur in a Haystack is the title essay of a collection that covers subjects such as astronomy, literature, natural history museums and eugenics. Nonetheless, the emphasis remains on topics dear to Gould's heart -- evolutionary theory and patterns in the recorded history of life. These topics, along with a tale of human effort, were woven together by Gould to make a full-length book, Wonderful Life, which won The Science Book Award for 1991. In Wonderful Life, Stephen Jay Gould gives an account of the Burgess shale fossils which were found in 1909 and interpreted in a conventional way by a famous palaeontologist. He describes the modern re-evaluation of the fossils and explores their evolutionary significance in the light of their new classifications.

Gould writes an engrossing story and will not be hurried as modern journalists tend to be. Wonderful Life unfolds in a fascinating way but the detail in it offers a challenge to the reader. Dinosaur in a Haystack is a less demanding read than Wonderful Life and would be of more popular appeal. For those who pay attention to reviews -- if you're not already addicted to the written word of Stephen Jay Gould -- try one of his books.

Judith Sidaway teaches biology at Riccarton High School in Christchurch