Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

Stephen Jay Gould

Apr 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Jonathan Sleep

About this audiobook

"[An] extraordinary book . . . Mr. Gould is an exceptional combination of scientist and science writer . . . He is thus exceptionally well placed to tell these stories, and he tells them with fervor and intelligence."-James Gleick, New York Times Book Review High in the Canadian Rockies is a small limestone quarry formed 530 million years ago called the Burgess Shale. It holds the remains of an ancient sea where dozens of strange creatures lived-a forgotten corner of evolution preserved in awesome detail. In this book, Stephen Jay Gould explores what the Burgess Shale tells us about evolution and the nature of history.

Ratings and reviews

I listened to the 2023 audiobook of this classic and was surprised that it didn't sound dated. Since the book largely focuses on the history of how the Burgess Shale fossils were interpreted, it captures and analyzes a snapshot of time in a way that illuminates not just the research but the process of research itself. If you're interested in how multicellular life began to flourish and create the world we know today, you won't want to miss this book. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

About the author

Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology and Professor of Geology at Harvard University and the author of over twenty books.

After graduating from Georgia State University with a film degree, Jonathan Sleep went to work developing and creating shows for a TV production company in Atlanta. When the opportunity came for him to narrate audiobooks, he jumped in with both feet and hasn't looked back since.