Harvard University professor and paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, who died on May 20, 2002, became well known within the scientific community for refining the theories of Charles Darwin within the field of evolutionary biology. He also become a celebrity among the general reading public due to his efforts to translate the complex work of scientists into language that lay readers can understand. In books such as the award-winning The Panda's Thumb: Reflections in Natural History and Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes: Further Reflections in Natural History, Gould communicated his enthusiasm and fascination for the changes that evolution has wrought upon the species that inhabit Earth. As Los Angeles Times critic Lee Dembart called Gould "a man of extraordinary intellect and knowledge and an uncanny ability to blend the two. He sees familiar things in fresh ways, and his original thoughts are textured with meaning and powerfully honed. . . . The publication of a new book by Gould is a cause for celebration." Frederic Golden was equally laudatory in Time, praising Gould's ability to "turn a musty, bone-littered, backbiting discipline into the most exciting of sciences.
