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ejthomas's review against another edition
3.0
So... Gould is a good writer, clearly very intelligent and one of the great thinkers which is why I gave this book an extra star but this book wasn't really for me. I found my mind wondering and many of his essays did not engage with me. There were a few that held my attention which were those that were less philosophical or literature based but all in all I was reading this book to just get through it and pick up another
spitzig's review against another edition
3.0
Gould clearly has skill as a writer. I liked how many different subjects he brought together into his essays. I'd give it a higher rating, but paleontology just doesn't grip me. Especially not mollusks. But, even with that, I was amazed that the only book Edgar Allen Poe profitted from was a textbook on the subject. Gould was able to pull seemingly disparate facts like Poe and mollusks together and make an essay, while also pulling in other topics.
henry_wallison's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a slam dunk; through his essays, Gould manages to expertly amalgamate vastly differing subjects to some of the more interesting facets of evolutionary thinking. In particular, I was especially drawn to his essay on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the several essays about eugenics, and the essay from which this book derives its name. All around, this book was highly engaging, and I would eagerly recommend it to anybody interested in a polymath's view of evolution.
kiramke's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Excellent and thought-provoking. It's an older collection but as we're discussing culture, history and science, that doesn't affect the discourse. Provided, of course, you're engaging with it.
mvuijlst's review against another edition
3.0
Bij het herlezen is het toch minder dan ik het me herinnerde: telkens hetzelfde formuletje, met niet echt een lijn erin. Maar toch: zeer goed, en een uitstekend boek om op het toilet te leggen en daar te lezen: een essay kan in twee, ahem, keer, gelezen zijn.
benedorm's review against another edition
5.0
A stunning collection of essays. Even the least of them are consistently engaging, and several of them are true masterworks, moving seamlessly between seemingly disparate subjects, highlighting the previously unseen thread that connects them.
And then there's what I consider to be the centerpiece of the volume, "Four Antelopes of the Apocalypse." Simultaneously a fascinating detective story, a heartbreaking elegy for every lost thing destroyed by humanity, and a hymn for curators, archivists, librarians, and everyone else whose job is remembering, it's one of the most brilliant essays of any kind that I've ever read. The volume would be worthwhile if there was nothing else good in it.
But there's so much that's beautiful here. I felt educated, entertained, and even inspired reading it.
And then there's what I consider to be the centerpiece of the volume, "Four Antelopes of the Apocalypse." Simultaneously a fascinating detective story, a heartbreaking elegy for every lost thing destroyed by humanity, and a hymn for curators, archivists, librarians, and everyone else whose job is remembering, it's one of the most brilliant essays of any kind that I've ever read. The volume would be worthwhile if there was nothing else good in it.
But there's so much that's beautiful here. I felt educated, entertained, and even inspired reading it.
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