SOURCE: “Foxes and Hedgehogs: A Look at Four Books by Celebrated Scientists.” American Scientist 76, no. 5 (September/October 1988): 503-04.

In the following review, the critic questions the self-reflective nature of An Urchin in the Storm.

How should a collection of reviews be reviewed? I would rather not second guess Gould by presenting my opinion of the books he has reviewed [in An Urchin in the Storm,] but would rather consider the special set of stylistic attitudes and circumstances that provide unity and interest to this volume, conceding that the ideas and images presented have been constrained by Gould's role as book reviewer so that they are not quite a freestanding sample of his thought. The reviews are rather pegs on which Gould hangs his favorite ideas in poster form.

Problems begin with the dust jacket, which bears the author's name first, the title, and then a drawing of a...