Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the History of Nature

I think this book is a classic of popular science writing. Although some small parts may be outdated now (for example earlier examples of vertebrates than Pikaia have since been discovered) the book is still worth a read.The book tells the story of the pain staking methodical re-classification of the tiny fossils of the Burgess Shale into completely new phylums (a fantastic piece of science) and looks at the bigger picture and how at the time this had massive implications for our view of life - although we think of "survival of the fittest" there is also a massive element of chance in the evolutionary process and makes you realise of the extreme improbability of human evolution - for example - it took a meteor to wipe out the dinosaurs to allow the mammals to rise and diversify. Evolution isn't a cone of ever increasing diversity with a trend towards increased complexity.If you're interested in evolution, nature, the bigger picture etc this is a great choice. There is a good proportion of the text devoted toward detailed descriptions of the morphology of the animals and is quite detailed but I felt that helped the reader understand the methodical and detailed nature of the research of Whittington and Morris et al.

A wonderful book - it challenges the route of evolution of humankind and prompted us to book a hike up Mount Stephen to the Burgess Shales this September. A must read for anyone studying palaeontology or indeed any subject connected with evolution and life on earth. Stephen Jay Gould's overall views of evolution were latterly challenged by Simon Conway Morris (check out Melvin Bragg's podcast on the BBC iPlayer), and, interestingly, the jury is still out on who might be correct. Was (intelligent and sentient) humankind always going to evolve in some form from the primaeval soup or are we just a random chance outcome? Please read this book!

I'm glad to report that my latest book purchase arrived in great condition well packed and within the time stated. World Books are good to deal with, their prices are very reasonable and they always keep me informed by email of delivery - I thoroughly recommend them to everyone.

It all began in 1909 when Charles Walcott discovered some exceedingly peculiar fossils. They were small marine creatures unlike any previously found. Walcott interpreted them as belonging to existing animal groups. However, more recent studies have shown that the animals are far more diverse and unusual than Walcott suspected.So far, so good. Gould has written a racy detective story which is well worth reading. His narrative is full of boyish enthusiasm and his style, though florid, is usually very readable.The problems arise when Gould tries to extrapolate some grand notions about evolutionary theory from these miniature nightmares (one is called "Hallucigenia"!). A bunch of creepy-crawlies from the dawn of time may well show huge diversity in their anatomical arrangements. But whether this says anything profound about evolution remains doubtful. Gould's theories have largely been discredited.But it's still a good read. And I love the illustrations by Marianne Collins.

An unsurpassed read on a very niche subject.

The author admits this edition corrects some of the earlier misconceptions, including his own.While modern ideas on evolution may have moved on a bit, in my opinion this remains a wonderfully informative work and certainly added to my understanding and appreciation of early animal evolution. Anyone should be able to read this and gain both enjoyment and knowledge at the same time. Surely this has to be a must read for people interested in anything to do with animals, life sciences, conservation, biology, earth history, etc,

small print a problem

Absolutely wonderful book! <3

One of the finest nonfiction science books ever. Thoughtful, insightful and engaging, it's easy to read but will change how you see the world - and humanity.

I stopped reading the Vintage edition because the type was simply too small for my 50-year-old eyes and the photos were quite dark. I can highly recommend the Norton edition with its beautiful easy-to-read type and much clearer and lighter photos.Amazing how Stephen Jay Gould makes fossils come alive. I heard once how Gould's genius is in making connections, and his connections are brilliant (including the title "Wonderful Life" alluding to the eponymous movie).

Perfect one

Gould's book lacks scale on his figures. An unforgivable scientific sin, and I had to figure out from the text just how big the fossils were. Having visited the site myself, I doubt very much if the sedimentary host environment is a turbidite, so I worry that this famous paleontologist does not know much about sedimentology.

Print quality is really bad, illustrations lose a lot of detail. Look for a better print. Content is amazing