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Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
Classic · Science, Nonfiction, Biology

Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

by Stephen Jay Gould
1989 · 347 pages · Nonfiction
42 Classic ★ 4.14 on Goodreads · 10K ratings
Critics' pick
≈ 9 hours to read · about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day

Is it worth reading?

Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) finalist (1990). 4.14★ from 10K Goodreads ratings.

By the numbers

42Must-Read Score
  • Readers67 out of 100 · counts 40%+30
  • Critics32 out of 100 · counts 32% (its stronger lane)+12
  • Bestseller1 out of 100 · counts 14%+0
  • Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 15%+0

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero.

Where it ranks

Shortlisted

Reads as

True story, Thought-provoking

How we rank

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