false 6071984 0307270785 9780307270788 115 47 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255641360m/6071984.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6071984.Angels_and_Ages_A_Short_Book_About_Darwin_Lincoln_and_Modern_Life 4747 Adam Gopnik 3018 636 0 1 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 06:36:28 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 06:36:59 -0800 2009
Well-summarized on its cover as “A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life,” Angels and Ages takes us rapidly through popular themes in the lives of Lincoln and Darwin, who were born on the same day in 1809. It reinforces much of what we know about them, clarifies some common misunderstandings, resolves a mystery or two, and, throughout, offers compelling reflections on how Lincoln and Darwin shaped the world we live in today.

At the heart of Gopnik’s reflections lie insight into the complexities of Lincoln and Darwin’s reputations and an appreciation for how the two men changed the attitudes of the world. Lincoln, remembered as an empathetic and generous sage, was also a shrewd and calculating politician. Darwin, perceived by many as the purveyor of a cold and merciless vision of nature’s order, was a deeply sensitive man and an eloquent writer. And both of them, through their words and actions, presented to the world a new kind of liberal thought.

A collection of essays, Angels and Ages walks us through these ideas not only to illuminate the personal and professional lives of the two great thinkers, but also to try to draw larger meaning from them. How is the world after Darwin and Lincoln different than it was before them? How did emancipation and evolution shift the way we perceive ourselves? What larger meaning can we draw for ourselves from their experiences? It is in his explorations into these questions that Gopnik enters as a third subject of this book—and serves as a contemporary example of the kind of thinking and analysis that Lincoln and Darwin invited.

Reading Angels and Ages, one can’t help but notice these interjections—Gopnik is so present, in fact, that reading this is like building a friendship with him; we notice his idiosyncrasies, we recognize the recurring themes in his thought, and we adjust our own reading for the sake of the conversation. Openness to this will determine whether readers enjoy the book.

Give it a chance, and we find that Gopnik’s lively intellect darts from idea to idea in a voice inclined to rhetorical flourishes and lengthy sentences full of sub-clauses. He does this, it seems, to include every last reflection, idea, nuance, and comparison. Some people will call it enriching; others will call it rambling. Either way, it reveals measured and thought-provoking observations about how the lives of two men from two centuries ago shaped not just the sciences and politics of our time, but also the very way we think in a modern world.

Do I recommend it? Yes. It is short and full of stuff.
Would I teach it? Not in its entirety, but there are sections I might excerpt, including a few terrific pages about reconciling the arts and the sciences.
Lasting impressions: You have to like Gopnik’s style to really enjoy this book—he can repeat himself, both in content and form—but it is worth the adjustment if you’re not initially drawn to it, for the text really is full of rich analysis and interesting trivia from the lives of Darwin and Lincoln. And, Gopnik has a facility for drawing themes out of their lives and using them to illuminate our own.
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