On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition

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On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition

by Charles Darwin, David Quammen (Editor)

3.88 · rating details · 9,544 ratings · 564 reviews

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles DarwinA Main Selection of Scientific America.

Hardcover, 560 pages

Published October 7th 2008 by Sterling (first published November 24th 1859)

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Sep 14, 2007

Pam rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone with an open mind

Shelves: purchase

such a freakin' genius! and the sadest part is, that his "science" literally killed him. if you've read a lot in Darwin (as I have) you come to understand that as a religious man, his studies seriously conflicted with his beliefs. I hate it when I hear someone say that Darwin says, "we come from monkeys." because that is not the case.

his theory is on EVOLUTION, not monkeys. all he wanted people to understand was adaptation and survival of the fittest is reall...more

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Oct 27, 2007

Jessica rated it

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Are you an Evangelical Christian? Or, perhaps you are a student participating in one of nation's modern and progressive science classes, learning about the Origins of Man, but confused by the lack of scientifically observable studies missing from your text books. Fortunately for you, Darwin spent decades of his life documenting the observable changes in various species, hypothesizing about these changes and drawing some interesting conclusions about his life's work.

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Jul 25, 2007

Anouk rated it

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Shelves: non-fiction

Darwin's The Origin of Species is the best eye-opener for people who want to understand the theory of evolution. With the current paradigm of creationism and its argument against evolution, it is the best book to refer too. Darwin's theory is very strong and realistic and can be easily related to today's universe.

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Jun 20, 2010

Joe rated it

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Shelves: classics, nonfiction

Having finished Origin, I am taking the liberty of adding a few comments at the top of what I posted when I first added it to my "currently-reading shelf."

To the would-be classics reader who is a bit daunted at the notion of tackling a fourteen chapter science book written in 19th Century technical terms I offer the suggestion that the back half of Origin is purely optional and can be let go. The first six chapters are the most enjoyable. Four is the big one, where Dar...moreHaving finished Origin, I am taking the liberty of adding a few comments at the top of what I posted when I first added it to my "currently-reading shelf."

To the would-be classics reader who is a bit daunted at the notion of tackling a fourteen chapter science book written in 19th Century technical terms I offer the suggestion that the back half of Origin is purely optional and can be let go. The first six chapters are the most enjoyable. Four is the big one, where Darwin presents the big pitch, with One through Three being the wind-up to prep the audience. Six is fairly unusual in science literature, being an effort to admit problems with the theory and making efforts to address them.

Chapter Seven, on instinct, is aumsing but not vital to the core of the work if your attention is already starting to wander. The rest that follow involve technical arguments that may be pointless to most modern readers. To follow why Darwin makes them one would have to conversant in the state of the art in zoology, botany and geology as it was 150 years ago. I skipped much of it.

A few points readers with only a casual knowledge of science may take from this book- Evolution predates Darwin, whose contribution is actually the mechanism of natural selection which explains how it works. He also contributed another mechanism, sexual selection, for traits inherited for their value in obtaining mates. Darwin offers an unexpected chuckle in a quote from Aristotle which suggestive of an understanding of something very much like natural selection.

>What follows is old commentary.

I am reading this one for the historical value, not the science. A big joke is that people of a certain outlook do try to read it for the science so they can refute it. Silly. Origin is as about as state of the art on evolution science as Newton is on 21st Century string theory. Ah, well.

What I have found interesting so far is the struggle Darwin goes through to make his argument in the absence of the kind of modern scientific language or terminology that would have made things simple and clear to his readers. Even more interesting is that Darwin had no clue as to the mechanics of inheritance and admitted as much (the discovery of DNA was a long way off in the future), and yet was able to work out so much on his own without that knowledge.

Cool factoid: Darwin took his time pondering his theories for many years before suddenly rushing to get them into print. It seems that while he was taking his time another naturalist named Wallace worked out natural selection too...and then wrote to Darwin for help in placing his findings in front of the right experts! You know how the science establishment is about giving credit to the first one to publish and forgetting the also-rans who came to the same conclusions just a tad too late. One party gets into the textbooks of future generations, while the other is lucky to become a footnote.

I'll post some stars when I'm done reading.(less)

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Apr 27, 2008

Ruth rated it

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With my brand new shiny degree in geology/paleontology, this was the first book I read after commencement. I give it 5 stars for the importance of its text, not for its readability.

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Mar 04, 2010

Jeremy added it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-writing

While this is obviously a hugely important piece of work that had major implications for evolutionary theory, ecology, and eventually genetics, it's one of the most dully written things I've come across. When he talks about the theory itself it's fine, but he spends so much time explaining things like pigeon coloring, and plant stamens, that I found myself throwing it down from sheer boredom. I was surprised by how tame the text was considering the firestorm of bullshit that asshole creationists...more

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May 24, 2009

Cora Judd rated it

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Recommends it for: Anyone looking for a delightful surprise in one of those innumerable books they "ought to" read.

Richard Dawkins' narration of this book is excellent -- I enjoyed it immensely, however, without my semester of physical anthropology, the essential points would have required much more mental attention.

Dawkins inserts clarifying information throughout the book and while Darwin's writing is wonderfully clear, I think more of Dawkins' notes and updates would have been an enhancement.

I was surprised to see how diverse Darwin's background research was and how elegantly he wrot...more

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Jan 24, 2009

Kendall rated it

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Recommends it for: Scientists, creationists, intelligent desginers, everybody else

Recommended to Kendall by: My mother, who thought it was from the devil

Finally re-read after decades of good intentions. For a recondite classic it is full of surprises, mostly pleasant; its supposed impenetrability largely confined to parts we already knew were directed at specialists—I admit to slogging through the section on barnacles, for example. But Origins is highly readable, pleasurable even, almost in the way of an Edmund Wilson essay. Darwin proceeds deliberately through the mountain of evidence he collected over twenty years as he constructs a virtua...more

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Mar 23, 2008

Barry added it · review of another edition

Shelves: science, evolution

It seems that every discussion of the evolution of evolution starts with that poor wrong-headed Lamarck and his idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. What a dummy! He thought Giraffe's necks got longer because each generation kept straining to reach ever higher leaves. Well, Darwin thought the same thing. In a section called Use and Disuse he says, "I think there can be little doubt that use in our domestic animals strengthens and enlarges certain parts, and disuse diminishes...moreIt seems that every discussion of the evolution of evolution starts with that poor wrong-headed Lamarck and his idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics. What a dummy! He thought Giraffe's necks got longer because each generation kept straining to reach ever higher leaves. Well, Darwin thought the same thing. In a section called Use and Disuse he says, "I think there can be little doubt that use in our domestic animals strengthens and enlarges certain parts, and disuse diminishes them; and that such modifications are inherited".

He's a genius anyway, even if he didn't know how mutations actually happened. His passion shines out of every page. He argues, that since varieties of horses, when bred together, often show the same pattern of stripes, the ancestor of all horses must have had those stripes. He says to believe otherwise is to "make the works of God mere mockery and deception; I would almost as soon believe with the old and ignorant cosmogonists, that fossil shells had never lived, but had been created in stone so as to mock the shells now living on the sea-shore".

There's a little unintended irony in his describing convergent evolution as being like two men independently hitting on the same invention. He actually had to rush this book into print to beat Wallace, who independently developed the same theory.

It's obvious that lifetime's observation went into this book. Just reading the examples of experiments he did and behavior he observed is exhausting. Dogged observer and experimenter that he was, he also gets a little mystical sometimes, talking about an unknown bond between species related to the "principle of life". He is also surprisingly parochial at times. At one point he refers to the "most impressive" observations of a "Mr. Smith of Jordan Hill".

He explains that, in light of his theory, classification should be regarded as demonstrating descent, not the plan of the Creator.

He published this document in a world in which almost everyone was a creationist. In the final chapter, he says, "Nothing at first can appear more difficult to believe than that the more complex organs and instincts should have been perfected, not by means superior to, though analagous with, human reason". He then goes on to explain why his theory is actualy indisputable. Tough guy.

His theory is called revolutionary, and he cites no contributors, as if he made the whole thing up himself. Yet, he seems to refer to battles between evolutionists and creationists. He talks about embryos displaying characteristics of earlier species. To him, the stamp of evolution could not be plainer, and creationists "willfully will not understand".

Carrying the implications of evolution theory back to the beginning of life, Darwin conjectures that animals descended from four or five progenitors, and plants, perhaps, less. Then he goes further, hypothesising "one primordial form, into which life was first breathed".
(less)

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Nov 24, 2007

Kyle rated it

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Very convincing argument, hardly long at all, related in a calm voice that inspires interest in what must have consumed Darwin for over a decade - with all the experiments he writes about one can imagine him in his backyard, examining bird droppings, or in his lab, testing how long an apple would float in salt water. How he need to write how much he trusts others informing him, even his own son at one point. For all of his calm, rational explanation, there is still enough digs at contrary natu...more

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Jul 18, 2007

Ben rated it

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I can't imagine anything less necessary than writing a capsule review of the Origin of Species, but... it's a really great read. Darwin was unusually reflexive and tempered in his writing, probably owing at least in part to the heavy disapproval he know he would encounter from everyone from the clergy to other scientists, but props to him for writing in a way that is at once confident and humble. Reading this after Feyerabend's Against Method, the major thing I took away from it was that s...more

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Jul 31, 2009

Mike rated it

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I listened to an abridged audio version of this book and it was enough for me to get the point. This isn't the devil book that many people want it to be. Darwin doesn't spend much time on the theological implications of his theory. He is on a mission to present evidence of his theory.

What I wasn't expecting was how often he talked about the alternate theory of "creation," which has little to do with the biblical passages in Genesis and everything to do with the idea of spontaneous gen...more

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Aug 02, 2008

Alan rated it

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Recommends it for: Everyone

Charles Darwin, the revolutionary scientific theorists that introduced the theory of evolution to the world. His findings are praised by the scientific society and despised by religious establishments. Origins of Species is a amalgamation of Darwin's comprehensive analysis's on various physical characteristics of animals that corroborate the theory of evolution. He gives thorough explanations on the difference between evolution of domesticated animals and wild animals, in addition to countles...more

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Feb 08, 2008

Heather rated it

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Recommends it for: anyone intersted in origins

Oos is the book that popularized the theory of materialistic origins, evolutionary theory. I think it is important for people to read. It's a good book, as long as you keep in mind that it was written in 1860, and has all the pomp and fluff of verbose 1860 English writing. The arguments themselves are fascinating. Creationist and materialist alike can gain some insight into the whole debate by reading this book. What I found most fascinating in the whole thing was just how much Darwin's underst...more

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Feb 11, 2011

Michael G. rated it

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I swear I cannot figure what all the fuss is about. This is a science book. It was sometimes a bit tough to read because of the depth into detail. If I were an anthropologist I'm sure I would more appreciate that detail, but as a layman it did at times seem too thick.

If I were lost in an uncivilized world and had only two books, I would want a Webster's dictionary and this Origin of Species. The dictionary to learn word definitions and this book to learn about the flora and fau...more

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Aug 12, 2011

Siri added it · review of another edition

It is almost touching to read this book, holding such an important historical document in your hands – a book that has had such a profound impact on how we as humans would come to see our place in the world. It is important to note that Charles Darwin was far from the first that had begun to doubt the claims by the Church: that Earth was only a few thousand years old, and that everything had been created in the current state observed. Indeed, the reason why Darwin finally decided to publish On t...moreIt is almost touching to read this book, holding such an important historical document in your hands – a book that has had such a profound impact on how we as humans would come to see our place in the world. It is important to note that Charles Darwin was far from the first that had begun to doubt the claims by the Church: that Earth was only a few thousand years old, and that everything had been created in the current state observed. Indeed, the reason why Darwin finally decided to publish On the Origin of Species when he did, was because another man – Alfred Russel Wallace – published a paper sketching out similar ideas to those of Darwin. However, what was extraordinary about Darwin’s theory was that he brought together evidence from such varied fields as botany, zoology, geology and palaeontology to argue that the Earth was far older than a few thousand years old – perhaps millions of years old – and in this time animals and plants had gone through many changes – evolved – adapting to the changes in environment and to new habitats along the way, and that only those best adapted would survive and have offspring. Darwin didn’t get everything right: he couldn’t fathom that dogs have evolved from wolves, and he was reluctant to accept continental drift, but he argues very well for his theory of Natural Selection, and to this day, no other theory comes close to explain so well how life as we see it has arrived at its current state. Darwin was the first to truly grasp that we as humans are not created apart from the animals, set to above them in an elevated state to be their masters; we are ourselves very much part of nature, related – however distantly – to all life surrounding us, depending on its welfare for our own existence: “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed lass or gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”(less)

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Aug 06, 2011

Graham Tapper added it · review of another edition

It's taken me a while to finish this book, which I've been meaning to read forever. The reason is not that it's a difficult book to read; it isn't. Darwin explained his ideas in extraordinarily easy to understand language, which you may find surprising for what is, after all, basically a scientific document.

No, the reason that it took a while to finish is that I read it as an eBook, downloaded from Project Gutenberg, and read with eReader Pro on my Nokia 5230. Consequently I only carried on r...moreIt's taken me a while to finish this book, which I've been meaning to read forever. The reason is not that it's a difficult book to read; it isn't. Darwin explained his ideas in extraordinarily easy to understand language, which you may find surprising for what is, after all, basically a scientific document.

No, the reason that it took a while to finish is that I read it as an eBook, downloaded from Project Gutenberg, and read with eReader Pro on my Nokia 5230. Consequently I only carried on reading when it was convenient, such a on bus or train journeys and in bed, when I could switch off the bedroom light and read by the backlit screen of my phone.

Throughout Darwin's masterpiece he is constantly at pains to admit that, despite how much had been discovered by his day, there was still so much that remained unknown. A reader such as myself, today, is constantly thinking, "If only you had known then what we know now...".

He also regularly refers to the work of other scientists and gives due credit to their ideas and discoveries. Darwin's humility shines through in recognising that his ideas are not just his own but are in common with those of some very eminent people.

He is also constantly aware that he is arguing his corner against the then prevalent dogma of the creationists, who insisted that all things were created by a God. Creationism is nothing new; in Darwin's day it was the dominant belief; it's just remarkable that it survives today, in the light of the incontrovertible evidence against it.

Darwin elucidates his ideas in chapters which cover the subjects of the species and varieties of life created by man through cross-breading and compares this with how Nature does the same job, but at a far slower pace, by essentially the same means: the selection of characteristics, in the case of breeding, to meet a breeder's desires and in the case of Nature, to meet the changing demands of the environment.

In successive chapters he deals with heredity and, the area where he admits the greatest challenge to his ideas, the proof of gradual change brought about by heredity, as recorded in the geology of the Earth, or, more accurately, incompletely recorded. As we now realise and Darwin suspected, the likelihood of a fossil record for all stages of evolution of a life-form is so unlikely for any form that does not live in the sea that it is no surprise that there appear to be brand new forms of life appearing, seemingly out-of-the-blue.

But, his most deadly dagger in the heart of Creationism revolves around redundant features, such as the remnants of wings of birds and insects that cannot fly. His argument essentially is, If God is perfect and created anything, what possible reason could He have for creating creatures with features that serve no earthly purpose? The answer is, of course, He didn't: they evolved that way as the creature evolved to meet changing circumstances and requirements in order to avoid extinction.

I cannot recommend Darwin's book to highly. It isn't overly long and it certainly is largely very easy to read. He does go on about pigeons rather a lot and uses them regularly in his examples but then he was a pigeon breeder and so I suppose we can forgive him his passion.

Oh, and by the way, NOWHERE in Darwin's book does he ever claim that Man was descended from apes, so let's lay that lie to rest.(less)

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Mar 13, 2011

Peter added it · review of another edition

Buy this book and decide for your self!!: The Origin of Species is a great read and of interest to anyone who would like to make there own mind up about Darwinism rather than take for granted some ones else's opinion. Darwin makes this book very readable to the masses I my self am not I Biology student but managed to understand the book with relative ease and Darwin helps this along by using everyday language. This book is also of particular interest to any one who is interested in ideas and phi...more

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Jan 29, 2012

Sandra rated it

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Shelves: classics, science

I've been promising myself for years that I would read Darwin's original treatise, and finally got around to it as it is now available as a free Kindle book. Finished it just in time for Darwin's upcoming birthday on Feb 12th. I did not find it an easy read because of the archaic language and the redundancies of content, but I am very glad I did read it because I now can more fully appreciate how difficult it must have been for Darwin to formulate this theory in all its complexity given the sta...more

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Sep 23, 2011

Vivian rated it

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So wonderful to read, in ways I can't even explain but that have to do with confronting what Darwin actually says after years of being exposed only to hearsay through the cultural ubiquity of his ideas. To feel informed, to come face-to-face with the actual words, is both relieving and empowering. The problematic implications of his ideas--eugenics, etc.--are almost entirely absent here; they surface far more troublingly in the Descent of Man, and surface even more in work inspired by but not co...more

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Sep 21, 2011

Steve Merrick rated it

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Most Victorian writers have a tendency to make me despair, but that is another argument all together, putting aside my dislike of the period I can say that something strange happens in this book. Yes the theory of evolution is a masterpiece of scientific deduction and logic, and to my mind one of the most profoundly beautiful discoveries in our history, yet what is strange is the man who discovered it. Somehow Charles Darwin the person is in every page of this work. his personality is etched int...more

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Sep 14, 2011

Sean rated it

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This is a work of absolute genius.

I was inspired to read it when watching the film "Creation," which is a beautiful and moving film about the family life of Charles Darwin that sadly was not locally available apparently due to anti-Darwin prejudice (?) so anyway a friend pirated it. Though it didn't focus on his work, it included some quotations from "Origin" which were so well-expressed that I began reading the book that same night. Unfortunately I was in the mid...moreThis is a work of absolute genius.

I was inspired to read it when watching the film "Creation," which is a beautiful and moving film about the family life of Charles Darwin that sadly was not locally available apparently due to anti-Darwin prejudice (?) so anyway a friend pirated it. Though it didn't focus on his work, it included some quotations from "Origin" which were so well-expressed that I began reading the book that same night. Unfortunately I was in the middle of a couple other books at the time and was distracted, so finishing it has waited until recently: I began listening to it on CD while on a solo road trip and am now nearly finished.

While listening, I was almost continually utterly astonished at its scope and at how well-developed his theory was even at the time that he introduced the rest of the world to it. It is on the one hand a very simple idea, but with endless subtle implications touching on a vast array of facts and observations, an impressive fraction of which had been made by Darwin himself, spanning his own extremely productive lifetime and multiple scientific fields. To have synthesized so much otherwise-confusing information and unified it under so simple and radical (at the time) a theoretical framework is such an impressive intellectual accomplishment, precisely because of how well Darwin demonstrates his detailed knowledge and appreciation of the natural world in its daunting variety and the difficult cases it presents. Indeed, a primary pleasure in reading this book is simply to learn a lot of fascinating and sometimes almost unbelievably amazing things about a wide variety of plants, animals, places, and processes. I had no idea so much was known in the 1850s: plenty enough to make me often feel more like I was on a field trip around the world than like I was reading a theoretical treatise!

Only in a few relatively unimportant respects did this classic book feel dated to me. I expected the 19th century ignorance of genes and DNA to leave a more gaping hole in the book, but, for example, contrary to what I've read about "Origin," I don't even recall any part in which Darwin made any explicit or implicit commitment to the idea of "blending inheritance," which is considered fatal to the theory of evolution and not overthrown until Mendel. Maybe I missed something (it was an audio book after all), or maybe others have misinterpreted his discussion about how extinction of parent forms and of whole groups and the imperfection of the fossil record explains the lack of a continuous spectrum of graduated variety across all extant organisms. I didn't think the notion of a continuous spectrum needs to be taken too literally, and has room for discrete, but still small, mutations.

On the other hand, I was more confused by the discussion of Use and Disuse. It often seemed to have a Lamarckian flavor, and though Darwin amply demonstrated his understanding that natural selection can explain at least some cases of what might be attributed to Use or Disuse, I was never sure that he wasn't in general using these terms to mean some mysterious process separate from natural selection.

The lack of radiometric dates for strata and the lack of discoveries of pre-Silurian fossils were further interesting reminders that this book wasn't written in the 21st century by some kind of biologist version of Carl Sagan or a more open-minded version of Richard Dawkins. I wish Darwin could have lived to see these discoveries validate and further enrich the understanding he pioneered, but he made brilliant use of the information he had available, and I found it fascinating to see how well his arguments could be made even without the benefit of our ridiculously detailed (so it almost seems to me now) modern understanding of the exact mechanisms involved, as well as to see the interesting evidences that tend to be passed over now in favor of the kind of data obtainable only with today's tools.

I would recommend this book to anyone whose interest in the natural world exceeds their potential intolerance for long, even if elegant, sentences, and feel very sorry for anyone who is the other way around! And I include creationists in my recommendation, as long as their curiosity exceeds their prejudice, and I feel even more sorry for them if it doesn't, because they'd be missing out on such a rich treasure-trove of knowledge and ideas.(less)

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May 21, 2011

Kate Mollohan rated it

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I don't think this is the version of the book that I read, but it's the only one I found on goodreads that has the title somewhat correct. (It's not The Origin of Species...it's actually On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection.)

Clearly it's a classic for people in science, especially biology and zoology, but it's also been banned, debated ad nauseam, and it's a book everyone should read. Darwin's predictive power and the science he outlines is an example of good science and exp...more

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May 02, 2011

Katherine rated it

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When Charles Darwin published “The Origin of Species” on November 24, 1859, England was plunged into a standoff of science versus theology. The ideas for the journal were gathered on Darwin’s voyage aboard the H.M.S. Beagle. While not the most easily readable book, it is full of information pertinent to both scientists and theorists. Darwin’s intention was not to create a rift between religion and science, but to merely present his findings from a strictly scientific position. Though it was p...moreWhen Charles Darwin published “The Origin of Species” on November 24, 1859, England was plunged into a standoff of science versus theology. The ideas for the journal were gathered on Darwin’s voyage aboard the H.M.S. Beagle. While not the most easily readable book, it is full of information pertinent to both scientists and theorists. Darwin’s intention was not to create a rift between religion and science, but to merely present his findings from a strictly scientific position. Though it was published in 1859, it is still highly relevant today.
Darwin begins his discussion by exploring the concepts of husbandry and breeding. He uses the ideas behind these practices as a base example for the principals of what we call Darwinian evolution. Husbandry works by breeding any animal with another to get a certain characteristic. He then moves on to explain natural selection. The most famous of Darwin’s findings comes into play in this specific part of the journal. He details the varying shapes of the Galapagos Island finches’ beaks and explains how this allows them to break open certain nuts. A bird which is able to open a greater range of nuts is going to be able to survive when food is scarce. He suggests this ties into sexual selection. If an animal is stronger or better adapted to its environment its body will be able to spend excess resources on reproduction.
Darwin concludes by hoping people will listen to his argument, and expresses the hope that it would change how people view natural history. People certainly did listen. This small but informative journal changed how much of the population viewed evolution and I highly recommend it. Though it may be difficult to understand at points, I view it as necessary reading for any informed and education person. Evolution is still a controversial topic in today’s society, and the only way to understand what it is and why it is so controversial is to read the very journal that sparked the argument that has spanned centuries. (less)

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Dec 20, 2010

Zinger rated it

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Shelves: 2010

This took me a long time to read. It is so wordy and ...I admit very dry reading. I had to keep reminding myself of when it was written, and what was known at the time of him writing it. Then I was able to appreciate Darwin's keen observations and his theories of explanation.

Inheritance or heredity is passed down to offspring from their parents with variation. Variations give some individuals better advantages, and others less advantages in dealing with their environment. Those wi...more

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Nov 19, 2010

Felix Dance rated it

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This biological revolution is one of the most important books ever written and it’s hard not to find your spine tingling when you read Darwin expostulate his world-changing theory. You can really see just how the world went from being a mysterious God-created entity to a materialist place we can understand, right in front of your eyes. Darwin’s reasoning is totally devastating, and I discovered reading it that he carried Natural Selection so far into its logical extremities that the superficial ...more

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Feb 28, 2010

Bryan Coyle rated it

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Recommends it for: Every human being on the planet.

Absolutely a critical book for every living, breathing human being. Darwin's genius and ability to condense such difficult topics and make them palatable and understandable can NOT be overstated.

I truly believe this book is more important and timely than ever before while this country regresses back and is allowing "creationism" to gain in popularity through legitimization of disinformation. Facilities such as Kentucky's own Creation Science Museum reinforce this myth that ...more

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Jan 24, 2010

Jeffrey rated it

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After the first two chapters I asked, "How could anyone question his conclusions?" The arguments are so clear and the answers so obvious that you would have to be blind and deaf to not get the obvious conclusion that the world is more than 6000 years old and that God did not put everything on Earth just as we found it in the last 2000 years. Of course, those who are blinded by religious belief are deaf to the rational arguments of others. Thus, the argument goes on.

I read...more

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Jan 19, 2010

Eric Kibler rated it

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This isn't a book you'd read for fun, but for understanding and enrichment. Personally, I found it edifying to understand Darwin's thinking. In his younger days, he had traveled much of the world, and was primarily employed in collecting specimens from each region he visited. Over the years, he connected with farmers to discuss how different plants and animals were bred for certain traits. He catalogued the variations in species he would find in different areas having different "conditions ...more

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Oct 31, 2009

Daphna rated it

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Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: coursework-assigned

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About Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, eminent as a collector and geologist, who proposed and provided scientific evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community and the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selec...moreCharles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, eminent as a collector and geologist, who proposed and provided scientific evidence that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process he called natural selection. The fact that evolution occurs became accepted by the scientific community and the general public in his lifetime, while his theory of natural selection came to be widely seen as the primary explanation of the process of evolution in the 1930s, and now forms the basis of modern evolutionary theory. In modified form, Darwin’s scientific discovery remains the foundation of biology, as it provides a unifying logical explanation for the diversity of life.

Darwin developed his interest in natural history while studying medicine at Edinburgh University, then theology at Cambridge. His five-year voyage on the Beagle established him as a geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell’s uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author. Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin investigated the transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838. Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority. He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay which described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories.

His 1859 book On the Origin of Species established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature. He examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.

In recognition of Darwin’s pre-eminence, he was one of only five 19th century UK non-royal personages to be honoured by a state funeral, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton.
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Books by Charles Darwin

Voyage of the Beagle : Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, 1809-1882

On Natural Selection (Penguin Great Ideas, Series 1)

The Origin of Species & The Voyage of the Beagle

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Quotes from The Origin of Species

“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” — 65 people liked it

“Nothing is easier than to admit in words the truth of the universal struggle for life, or more difficult--at least I have found it so--than constantly to bear this conclusion in mind.” — 7 people liked it

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On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition

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