In 1978 the distinguished paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson
published his autobiography, "Concession to the Improbable, " which
gave the basic facts of his life but left more questions than it
answered. Now L?o F. Laporte presents this absorbing intellectual
study of Simpson's major areas of work.
Focusing on Simpson's scientific contributions, Laporte provides
chapters on Simpson's earliest paleontological research through his
distinguished Alexander Agassiz professorship at Harvard and his
extensive fieldwork for the American Museum of Natural History,
where he developed the core themes set forth in his most
prestigious work, "Tempo and Mode in Evolution" (Columbia
University Press, 1944). Simpson was arguably the first
evolutionary paleontologist to combine descriptive taxonomy with
the modern approaches of genetics and statistical analysis.
Despite his brilliance Simpson was a difficult person to know;
Laporte addresses the nature of Simpson's interpersonal problems
with colleagues during his life. An introductory overview provides
the biographical context of Simpson's career and provides the
framework for his major paleontological and evolutionary
contributions.
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