Review: Dinosaur in a Haystack

Dinosaur in a Haystack by Stephen Jay Gould
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I purchased this book at The Word Secondhand Books in Montreal.

Immediately upon starting the book, I remarked to my husband because of the dedication in this book. Gould dedicates this book to his brother, who had apparently passed away the year prior to this book being published. "May we someday, somewhere and somehow live together in that two-family house of our lifelong dreams." This was incredibly touching to me because though I have no siblings of my own, I know my husband feels a lot of affection for his brother and often remarks about how he wishes we could all live in a duplex together.

His first essay, "Happy Thoughts on a Sunny Day in New York City," was also personally relevant. I visited my husband at work on August 21, 2017, the day of a total solar eclipse, though it was only a partial eclipse in New York City. People at his workplace made pinprick devices and went out to the park (they work for the NYC Parks Department) to view the eclipse, just like Gould describes. I love how he appreciates these human moments of people connecting to scientific phenomena.

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