description: When published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits. Yet the idea of of biology as destiny dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined. In this edition, Stephen Jay Gould has written a substantial new introduction telling how and why he wrote the book and tracing the subsequent history of the controversy on innateness right through The Bell Curve. Further, he has added five essays on questions of The Bell Curve in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general. These additions strengthen the book's claim to be, as Leo J. Kamin of Princeton University has said, "a major contribution toward deflating pseudo-biological 'explanations' of our present social woes."
language: English
title: The Mismeasure of Man (Penguin science) by Gould, Stephen Jay
titlecomplete: The Mismeasure of Man (Penguin science) by Gould, Stephen Jay
genres: History, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Biology, Science, Politics, Nonfiction, Evolution, Anthropology
ratings_count: 8785
awards: awardedAt: 347184000000
name: National Book Critics Circle Award
category: General Nonfiction, awardedAt: 378720000000
name: National Book Award Finalist
category: Science (Hardcover)
publisher: Penguin Books Ltd