Georges Cuvier, Fossil Bones, and Geological Catastrophes: New Translations and Interpretations of the Primary Texts

by Martin J. S. Rudwick

Overview

French zoologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) helped form and bring credibility to geology and paleontology. Here Martin J. S. Rudwick provides the first modern translation of Cuvier's essential writings on fossils and catastrophes and links these translated texts together with his own insightful narrative and interpretive commentary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226731087
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	04/15/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	318
Lexile:	1440L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Martin J. S. Rudwick is professor emeritus of history at the University of California, San Diego and affiliated scholar in the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Notes on the Texts

1: The Theory of the Earth

2: Living and Fossil Elephants

3: The Megatherium from South America

4: A Research Program on Fossil Bones

5: An Appeal for International Collaboration

6: The Animals from the Gypsum Beds around Paris

7: A Pouched Marsupial from Paris

8: Popular Lectures on Geology

9: A Review of Fossil Pachyderms

10: A Report on Andre's Theory of the Earth

11: The Progress of Geological Science

12: The Geology of the Region around Paris

13: Fossil Deer and Cattle

14: Collected Researches on Fossil Bones

15: The Revolutions of the Globe

16: Conclusions

Further Reading

Bibliography of Cuvier's Sources

Bibliography of Works by Historians of Science

App: French Texts of Previously Unpublished Manuscripts

Sources for Figures

Index

Editorial Reviews

this edition of Cuvier's writings will become an essential tool for all who research and teach the history of geology, paleontology, and evolutionism. -- American Scientist

Peter J. Bowler

Until recently, Cuvier (1769-1832) has been remembered chiefly for being on the losing side of two great scientific debates: he opposed the biological theory of evolution, and he championed the geological theory of catastrophism. Now, a new translation of the "Preliminary Discourse" along with translations of several obscure or unpublished works and the author's insightful narrative place Cuvier's work in its biographical, scientific and social context, providing a view of a scholar who made profound contributions to the theory and practice of biology and paleontology. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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