Questioning the Millennium

Questioning the Millennium
Author Stephen Jay Gould
Country United States
Language English
Publisher Harmony Books
Publication date
 1997
2nd ed. 1999
Media type Print, e-book
Pages 224 pp.
ISBN 0-609-60541-0
OCLC 42258219
Preceded by Full House
Followed by Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms

Questioning the Millennium is a 1997 book by Stephen Jay Gould that deals with the definition and calculation of the millennium, and its meaning in Western culture. New York Times reviewer Robert Eisner described it as a "slim and attractive meditation," which touches upon calendrics, Biblical exegesis, millennial cults, and includes "a charming essay on a young autistic man whose amazing ability to calculate instantly which day of the week coincided with any date mentioned over many centuries".[1] Gould reveals that this young man was his autistic son, Jesse.[2]

Michiko Kakutani wrote that while not one of Gould's more important books, Questioning the Millennium "beguiles and entertains, even as it teaches us to reconsider our preconceptions about the natural world." Kakutani noted that its subject was much broader that simply the millennium, encompassing the human love for order and regularity.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Eisner, Robert (1997). "The Big Round One." The New York Times Nov. 9.
  2. ↑ Gould, S. J. (1997) "Five Weeks," Questioning the Millennium, New York: Crown Publishing Group, pp. 189-205.
  3. ↑ Kakutani, Michiko (1997). "2,000 Years, What's the Big Deal?" The New York Times.

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