When the Beagle sailed out of Devonport on 27 December 1831, Charles Darwin was twenty-two and setting off on the voyage of a lifetime.read full description
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Apr 16, 2009
Erik
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Upon matriculating into Loyola University's MA/PhD program in philosophy during the late summer of 1980, I was assigned to Bill Ellos as his teaching assistant. Bill, a deep-cover Jesuit, had come to Chicago from Washington State, having done some work there with educational film as well as being a university professor. His interests were diverse to say the least. His doctoral dissertation form the Pontifical Institute in Rome was on Wittgenstein, but the work he had me doing originally was m
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Apr 10, 2009
Darwin was largely a paternalistic meliorist, who apparently genuinely believed that Europeans were improving people's lives through colonialism, missionaries, etc.
This book reveals odd doubts, though. Darwin expresses agnostic puzzlement about oral histories telling of terrible plagues accompanying the arrival of Europeans. He's not sure how to believe it, and yet can't (quite) dismiss it--so he recommends further study (which, I might add, has confirmed the stories of epidemics More...
This book reveals odd doubts, though. Darwin expresses agnostic puzzlement about oral histories telling of terrible plagues accompanying the arrival of Europeans. He's not sure how to believe it, and yet can't (quite) dismiss it--so he recommends further study (which, I might add, has confirmed the stories of epidemics More...
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Feb 18, 2009
John
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Commanders in the Royal Navy could not socialize with their crew. They ate their meals alone-- then they met with the officers on board ship. This took it's mental toll on the ship's Captain's and so they were allowed a "civil" companion-- someone from outside the Navy who would be under their command but was not part of the crew. Captain Fitz Roy (age 26), a Nobleman and a passionate Naturalist chose Charles Darwin (a wealthy, upper-class Naturalist "enthusiast") to be his c
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Aug 25, 2011
Katya
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I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was a delight for me to discover that Charles Darwin was a real geek, brimming with an enthusiasm for all things geological or entomological (or zoological) that shines through in spite of the incredibly dry and haughty reading by David Case (I was listening to the audiobook). Darwin went on an unimaginably wild five-year adventure all the way around the world, but he refers only in passing to any of the danger or drama encountered: To him the fossils and geo
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Aug 04, 2011
Brandon T.
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In the conclusion to his book, The Voyage of the Beagle, Charles Darwin writes, “it appears to me that nothing can be more improving to a young naturalist, than a journey in distant countries.”
He couldn’t have known at the time just how true those words were - for himself. The observations he made while sailing with the English ship H.M.S. Beagle would provide an underpinning for Darwin when he later formulated his theory of evolution.
The five-year expedition, under the comma More...
He couldn’t have known at the time just how true those words were - for himself. The observations he made while sailing with the English ship H.M.S. Beagle would provide an underpinning for Darwin when he later formulated his theory of evolution.
The five-year expedition, under the comma More...
Dec 21, 2009
Jeffrey
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Darwin was so much more than just the discoverer of evolution. He was an intrepid explorer, riding hundreds of miles across the pampas of South America, bushwacking his way up every mountain or hill that he saw, and recording his observations about the animals, plants and people of the lands he visited as a clever and thoughtful observer. I read this book to prepare for a trip to the Galapagos this winter. I got much more than expected. I can heartily recommend this book to all erstwhile 25 year
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May 13, 2011
Sean
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What I found more fascinating in Darwin’s journey vs his better known work is the sheer exuberance of discovery. Through observation and reasoning alone he builds his understanding as he picks up the jigsaw pieces he later brings together in Origin of Species. It is this ability to reason things out that is sadly lacking in modern culture. The opening section drifts with more “episodic” tales about what he sees, almost as a tourist, detailing the geologic anomalies and life forms that he encoun
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Mar 22, 2009
David
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My higher hopes for this journal of Darwin's voyage on the Beagle were never realized. I sought greater details of his observations such that I could see what he saw and understand more how he reached his celebrated conclusions. But this book falls far short of my expectations and hopes to glimpse the processes of a great thinker.
What I did not expected was the degree of the author's nationalism and how, even as a naturalist, the author seems to be most taken with the state of human More...
What I did not expected was the degree of the author's nationalism and how, even as a naturalist, the author seems to be most taken with the state of human More...
Mar 01, 2011
raul
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I have an old colonial binding of this book titled Darwin's Journal of a Voyage round the World. It's a slightly different edit than the Voyage of the Beagle but it's taken from the same source material. This is not adventure writing, it's the writing of a scientist trying to understand a world that is largely new and foreign to him. The scope is vast, the observation is dry, but keen and humble. The book is also a fascinating window onto the observation that led to the Origin of the Species a f
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Jan 24, 2010
Erneilson
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I had read this book years ago as a biology student, so I was unsure if I wanted to read it again, but I talked myself into it. While a bit dry, it was fascinating to me to see his perspective on not just the biology of the areas he visited, but the local cultures, especially of the native peoples. He had the typical 19th century British prejudices, but generally was pretty open minded and fair. The best part was finding those particular insights that we now know lead him to his theory of evo
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Dec 17, 2010
Jefke
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Prachtig boek, maar dat weet iedereen!
Als 21ste eeuwer is het wel interessant om een aantal culturele geplogenheden en wereldvisies te horen uit de 19de eeuw. Darwin wijdt uit over culturen, over hoe een European in die tijd keek naar "de wilden" (een term die tegenwoordig politiek incorrect is). Over slavernij.
Meest opmerkelijk vond ik dat hij het meest onder de indruk is van Patagonië terwijl hij het lelijk vindt. Ik ben daar ook geweest en voor mij was het de mooiste plek More...
Als 21ste eeuwer is het wel interessant om een aantal culturele geplogenheden en wereldvisies te horen uit de 19de eeuw. Darwin wijdt uit over culturen, over hoe een European in die tijd keek naar "de wilden" (een term die tegenwoordig politiek incorrect is). Over slavernij.
Meest opmerkelijk vond ik dat hij het meest onder de indruk is van Patagonië terwijl hij het lelijk vindt. Ik ben daar ook geweest en voor mij was het de mooiste plek More...
Nov 07, 2008
Gilly
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What I wrote in my LJ while I was reading it.
_
So I've started reading The Voyage of the Beagle. I've only read a chapter or so so far, but it's very enjoyable. I just kind of wish I'd paid more attention to my geology classes in school. It's a lot more relaxed and not nearly as self-conscious and defensive as TOoS was. It's all along the lines of "Hi all! We arrived on Random Island today. The trees are pretty but the people didn't even give us coffee. Can you believe it?! More...
_
So I've started reading The Voyage of the Beagle. I've only read a chapter or so so far, but it's very enjoyable. I just kind of wish I'd paid more attention to my geology classes in school. It's a lot more relaxed and not nearly as self-conscious and defensive as TOoS was. It's all along the lines of "Hi all! We arrived on Random Island today. The trees are pretty but the people didn't even give us coffee. Can you believe it?! More...
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Feb 27, 2007
keith
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The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin (w-1839 r-12/2006 hrs-9). A captivating narrative of scientific exploration, and probably the best adventure travel book I've ever read. Certain to uplift your mind and your spirit.
First, although he is occasionally a bit long-winded in a Victorian way, and also occasionally goes into deep scientific detail which the modern lay reader will be tempted to skim, the majorioty of the volume is terse, modern, and exciting. Second, there is an a More...
First, although he is occasionally a bit long-winded in a Victorian way, and also occasionally goes into deep scientific detail which the modern lay reader will be tempted to skim, the majorioty of the volume is terse, modern, and exciting. Second, there is an a More...
Jan 01, 2010
Matthew
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Note: I read the edition included in the EO Wilson 4-book compilation, not the edition as listed in MyBooks.
First of all, Darwin is an amazingly modern-sounding writer, given when this was written. Unlike many contemporaries, he is easy to understand and did not write in the overly wordy style often encountered. Although I tired of some of the descriptions of travelling over the pampas, in general this is an interesting travelogue by a guy who was alert and interested in everything More...
First of all, Darwin is an amazingly modern-sounding writer, given when this was written. Unlike many contemporaries, he is easy to understand and did not write in the overly wordy style often encountered. Although I tired of some of the descriptions of travelling over the pampas, in general this is an interesting travelogue by a guy who was alert and interested in everything More...
Mar 24, 2009
I read the parts of this book relating to Patagonia in southern Chile while I was traveling in this region. I found Darwin's observations fascinating, particularly concerning the differences in climate, fauna and animals between this area and areas, such as Dublin, of comparable latitude from the North Pole as southern Chile is from the South Pole. It is also amazing that Darwin was in Chile during a major volanic eruption, earthquake and tsunami.
Aug 31, 2011
Kam-Yung
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An enjoyable read and more readable compared to 'On the Origin of Species'. On his journey, he makes observations on geology, the various species of animals and plants and on the human condition (slavery and its ill effects).
The Galapagos (and its finches and tortoises) make an appearance but it is his theory of coral atoll formation by subsidence that is put in writing in this book. Some parts feel dated (like the superiority of English civilisation) but easily forgotten as you jour More...
The Galapagos (and its finches and tortoises) make an appearance but it is his theory of coral atoll formation by subsidence that is put in writing in this book. Some parts feel dated (like the superiority of English civilisation) but easily forgotten as you jour More...
Aug 26, 2008
Sue
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The Voyage of the Beagle gave me some insight into the 5-year journey Charles Darwin took which gave rise to the theory of evolution. I didn't like the fact that it was mostly a travelogue and catalog of natural history. But the parts where he expresses thoughts that would later be incorporated into evolution were interesting, as when he is wondering at the different species of finches on the different Galapagos Islands, or noting the very unusual fauna of Australia. This edition also has an ess
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Mar 16, 2010
James
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Librivox.org podcast. This is a wonderful natural history diary of Charles Darwin's nearly five year tour around the world. He was an incredibly intelligent and insightful man. I read a very short Darwin biography that stated he was "the discoverer of natural selection..." No, he postulated the theory and presented evidence to back up his theory. He was not the only one to see the relationships between time and the differences in earth forms, and the differences in families and species
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Jun 08, 2009
Dennis
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This is the abridged version by Millicent E. Selsam. Amazing account of Darwin's 5 years at sea. You really get insight into how he was able to put together his theory of evolution. Interesting how he thought through the way coral reefs were formed.Very readable. This version is from the 1950's and probably out of print, but still quite relevant today.
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Oct 08, 2011
arg/machine
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This exciting and often-entertaning travelogue - and also a valuable scientific journal - is in the public domain, and a free electronic copy is available here.
Jun 11, 2009
Frightful_elk
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Definitely no page turner, but the persistent reader will find rewards. Besides the knowing smile at watching a great find chew over a problem you know the answer to, I found this book primarily of interest as a look into the colonial Victorian mind. Darwin provides a guide to the ideas that drove the colonialism of the period, and it's impossible not to feel sympathetic for the high minded ideals while slightly uncomfortable at the blinkered values with which he judges the natives.
I woul More...
I woul More...
Dec 29, 2008
christine
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Darwin was rereading Paradise Lost when he took of on his four year sojourn that spawned his theory of natural selection. His virtuoso cataloging of observed phenomenon is infused with a romantic (i.e. exclamatory) sensibility that rivals Milton's best descriptions of chaos and eden.
Jun 27, 2011
Mike
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Read while travelling: the best time to read such a book. Now I've finished one of my "to-do" lists: I read _The Origin of Species_ a few years ago. It was amazing to see how short the description of the Galapagos is: yet it is the main thing one thinks of in connection with his trip.
Dec 08, 2010
Dayna
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It was interesting to read just how intelligent Darwin was. Besides being a biologist and studying the effects of natural selection on finches in the Galapagos, he studied geology, paleontology, and botany. While his written is the easiest to read, it is fascinating.
Sep 03, 2009
Zinger
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U enjoyed Darwin's narrative of his travels and observations. I can't help but wonder what his keen observations would be today if he possessed the scientific knowledge that is now available. Reading the book also made me want to visit South America again.
Apr 19, 2009
Murray
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A really great travel and scientific journal of South America. Recommended reading for anyone planning a trip to Brazil, Patagonia, Ecuador, etc. The historical context and zoological and geological descriptions are interesting to this day.
Jul 20, 2011
Sara
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a window in time, his humility as a fellow person is shown here. I love his non judgement and description of the natives, especially the one of watching native mother nurse her infant while snow fell on them both and neither noticed.
Jan 10, 2011
Doug
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What an interesting read. It is a travelogue, history book, science journal and an adventure story in one. If you like Josh Sloacum, you will love this book. Darwin was such an inquisitive and keenly observant person.
Jul 24, 2009
Logan
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I like this book as a study of the writing-style, technical language, and scientific perspectives of the time, but it is not essential reading for the study of evolution. Of Darwin and the history of evolutionary theory, surely, but not the active study.
