The Meaning of Fossils : Episodes in the History of Palaeontology

"It is not often that a work can literally rewrite a person's view of a subject. And this is exactly what Rudwick's book should do for many paleontologists' view of the history of their own field."—Stephen J. Gould, Paleobotany and Palynology "Rudwick has not merely written the first book-length history of palaeontology in the English language; he has written a very intelligent one. . . . His accounts of sources are rounded and organic: he treats the structure of arguments as Cuvier handled fossil bones."—Roy S. Porter, History of Science An Absorbing History Of Changing Views Of What Fossils Are And How They Contribute To An Understanding Of The History Of The Earth. Rudwick Makes Ample Use Of Primary Sources Ranging In Time From The First Book With Illustrations Of Fossils (1565) To O.c. Marsh's Study Of Horse Evolution In The 1870s. He Documents The First Attempts To Collect Groups Of Fossils, Determine Whether They Were The Remains Of Organisms, Relate The Fossils To Their Surrounding Rock Strata, And Integrate Fossil Evidence Into The Concept Of Evolution--back Cover. I. Fossil Objects -- Ii. Natural Antiquities -- Iii. Life's Revolutions -- Iv. Uniformity And Progress -- V. Life's Ancestry. Martin J.s. Rudwick. Reprint. Originally Published: New York : Science History Publications. 2nd. Ed. 1976. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Examines the way in which the study of fossils in five historical periods since the Renaissance reflects man's changing view of natureA little slow on rendering.