The Structure of Evolutionary Theory.

STEPHEN JAY GOULD 

Ten years in the making, this is Gould's magnum opus on evolutionary theory past and present. In this stellar work, Gould, who died recently, explains 19th-century Darwinism, and the neo-Darwinism that has evolved during the past 50 years or so. The three fundamental principles of natural selection and classical Darwinism, writes Gould, are that natural selection works on organisms, not genes or species; that natural selection is nearly exclusively the mechanism of evolutionary change; and that tiny changes in individual organisms can explain the entire history of life. Gould also explains the major challenges to those three core ideas, as embodied in neo-Darwinism. By integrating the challenges with the core principles of classical Darwinism, Gould provides a "distinct [new] theoretical architecture" of evolution. While the text can be challenging, Gould's often lyrical prose facilitates the reading of this book. This tome is the final legacy of one of the greatest thinkers and naturalists of our time. HUP, 2002, 1,433 p., b&w photos/illus., hardcover, $39.95.