I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 432 pages
• Published by: Three Rivers Press; 1 Reprint edition April 22, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1400048044
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1400048045
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 14.2 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Gould, whose name has become synonymous with evolutionary biology, once again collects 31 essays from his Natural History column. Gould completed his 300th column for the magazine on the doubly significant 2001 millennium and centennial of his family's arrival at Ellis Island (thus the title, borrowed from his grandfather's journal entry that day). Several of these essays explore the ambiguous relations of art, science and the natural world. Gould compels readers to see the natural world outside the frame of the familiar, to seek the quirky outside the canonical, to challenge our assumptions. This is evident when he gleefully reports on the Human Genome Project, showing our genetic stuff to be only twice what a roundworm requirements "to manufacture its utter, if elegant, outward simplicity." His essays affirm his belief in the power of science to overcome past error, and as always, he is intolerant of the misapplication as well as the rejection of science, dismissing left- and right-wing claims about Darwin as brusquely as he does the anti-evolutionist Kansas Board of Education, whose yellow brick road "can only spiral inward toward restriction and ignorance." Gould is at the peak of his abilities in this latest menagerie of wonders.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This is the tenth and final anthology of Gould's essays from Natural History magazine. Through the writings in this series, Gould has influenced public opinion on science in numerous ways that other scientists, who eschew the essay as a vehicle for technical communication, cannot even approach. As in all of the volumes, Gould writes on Darwinism, evolutionary theory, the history of science, and the joys of doing scientific research. Somewhat more in this volume than in the others, he expresses his personal thoughts and experiences, such as in the titular essay and in the concluding short piece, "September 11, 2001." Some critics wince at his often turgid prose and argue that he depicts his opinions as facts, but this volume, which coincides with the publication of his magnum opus, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, deserves to be celebrated as a career accomplishment. Gould's many fans and foes alike should congratulate him for these achievements and also for having the grace to know when to move on. This anthology belongs in all public and academic libraries. Gregg Sapp, Science Lib., SUNY at Albany
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: I Have Landed: The End of a Beginning in Natural History (Hardcover) That's how one review in the media described this - the tenth and final collection of Gould's essays written for Natural History. Another commented on the fact that Gould knew when to move on - to give up writing scientific essays, even though he is widely recognized as being the first to "popularize" science using this format. Most scientists avoid writing essays, largely they argue, because it's inappropriate for science. You wouldn't be too far off however if you thought that perhaps it's also because Gould had already mastered the genre, and absolutely no scientist wishes to come second to Gould. If you know only one thing about the "science wars" it's a good bet it's you know that mentioning the name Stephen Jay Gould to many scientists is akin to waving a red flag at a bull. Much of science reading will be that much duller now. Gould's death from cancer earlier this week makes this last group of thirty essays truly his final collection. It's thus likely to be much more popular that many previous ones. All the more so when you start reading and see here that Gould is much more personal, ranges further and deeper with his philosophical thinking, and refreshingly is less polemical in his views. Although on this last point in an essay on the Human Genome Project and its revelation that our genome contains only about a third of the number of genes predicted, Gould takes his mandatory swipe at the "Dawkinsian" scientists and says that the HGP shows "the failure of reductionism". Another essay I enjoyed is Gould's discussion of recent feathered dinosaur finds and their significance to understanding the origins of flight. Also interesting is his thinking on the supposed incompatibilty of the humanities and science (he sees a commonality of motive, if not methodology) These are just two of the more contentious topics in their respective areas of science and so it's natural that Gould would tackle them with gusto. His usual self-confident, opinionated, the-world-according-to-Gould, style of writing remains on display and still has the capacity to annoy. This time though it's definitely tempered by Gould's openess and willingness to share more of himself. Gould begins and ends talking about family and connectedness through time and the similarity of the tree of life with that of a family tree. Gould speaks of his continuation of the dreams that his beloved grandfather arrived on these shores with on September 11, 1901. Stephen writes poignantly of the aborted celebration of the centenary of his grandfather's arrival at Ellis Island; his flight to New York on September 11, 2001 was diverted for obvious reasons. Read the following tribute to his grandfather and then allow yourself to see a different Gould than the abrasive and boastful one we thought he was. "Dear Papa Joe, I have been faithful to your dream of persistence and attentive to a hope that the increments of each worthy generation may buttress the continuity of evolution...I have finally won the right to restate your noble words and to tell you that their inspiration still lights my journey: I HAVE LANDED. But I also can't help wondering what comes next!" Goodbye Stephen Jay Gould. Both you and your books will be greatly missed