Rereading the Fossil Record

“David Sepkoski’s book is the first to examine the rise of paleobiology and the emergence of macroevolution as a discipline in the 1970s.” —Kevin Padian, University of California, Berkeley

Rereading the Fossil Record presents the first-ever historical account of the origin, rise, and importance of paleobiology, from the mid-nineteenth century to the late 1980s. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, David Sepkoski shows how the movement was conceived and promoted by a small but influential group of paleontologists and examines the intellectual, disciplinary, and political dynamics involved in the ascendency of paleobiology. By tracing the role of computer technology, large databases, and quantitative analytical methods in the emergence of paleobiology, this book also offers insight into the growing prominence and centrality of data-driven approaches in recent science.

“In the 1970s, a new kid on the block was shaking up paleontology, geology and biology. Historian David Sepkoski charts the rise of paleobiology from 1945 to 1985, driven by a small but illustrious band of paleontologists including Stephen Jay Gould and David Raup, who grappled with how the geological record could produce evidence for evolution. The solution, as Sepkoski engagingly relates, lay in quantitative analysis of evolutionary patterns in fossils.” —Nature

“David Sepkoski’s book is the one book that anyone interested in evolution should buy this year. And next year. And probably the year after. The reason is that, for the first time, the emergence of the modern science of macroevolution receives its due.” —Reports of the National Center for Science Education