As the publisher remarks, "When published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits." In the 1996 edition, Gould added a substantial new introduction explaining why he wrote the book and tracing the subsequent history of the controversy up to the publication of Richard J Herrnstein and Charles Murray's The Bell Curve. In addition, he expanded the book by adding five essays on questions of The Bell Curve in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general.