On the Origin of Species (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

9780140439120: On the Origin of Species (Penguin Classics)
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
Charles Darwin's seminal formulation of the theory of Evolution, On the Origin of Species continues to be as controversial today as when it was first published.

Written for a general readership, On the Origin of Species sold out on the day of its publication and has remained in print ever since. Instantly and persistently controversial, the concept of natural selection transformed scientific analysis about all life on Earth. Before the Origin of Species, accepted thinking held that life was the static and perfect creation of God. By a single, systematic argument Darwin called this view into question. His ideas have affected public perception of everything from religion to economics. William Bynum's introduction discusses Darwin's life, the publication and reception of the themes of On the Origin of Species, and the subsequent development of its major themes. The new edition also includes brief biographies of some of the most important scientific thinkers leading up to and surrounding the Origin of Species, suggested further reading, notes and a chronology.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
It's hard to talk about The Origin of Species without making statements that seem overwrought and fulsome. But it's true: this is indeed one of the most important and influential books ever written, and it is one of the very few groundbreaking works of science that is truly readable.

To a certain extent it suffers from the Hamlet problem--it's full of clichés! Or what are now clichés, but which Darwin was the first to pen. Natural selection, variation, the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest: it's all in here.

Darwin's friend and "bulldog" T.H. Huxley said upon reading the Origin, "How extremely stupid of me not to have thought of that." Alfred Russel Wallace had thought of the same theory of evolution Darwin did, but it was Darwin who gathered the mass of supporting evidence--on domestic animals and plants, on variability, on sexual selection, on dispersal--that swept most scientists before it. It's hardly necessary to mention that the book is still controversial: Darwin's remark in his conclusion that "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history" is surely the pinnacle of British understatement. --Mary Ellen Curtin

Book Description:
Jim Endersby's major new scholarly edition debunks some of the myths that surround Darwin's book, and expores how it was originally written, published and read. Endersby provides a new, up-to-date and very readable introduction to this classic text and a level of scholarly apparatus unmatched by any other edition.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Seller Image

Darwin, Charles; Bynum, William (INT)
Published by Penguin Classics (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Softcover Quantity: 5
Seller:
GreatBookPrices
(Columbia, MD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Seller Inventory # 6220534-n

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 9.57
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 2.64
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Darwin, Charles
Published by Penguin Classics (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Lakeside Books
(Benton Harbor, MI, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Brand New! Not Overstocks or Low Quality Book Club Editions! Direct From the Publisher! We're not a giant, faceless warehouse organization! We're a small town bookstore that loves books and loves it's customers! Buy from Lakeside Books!. Seller Inventory # OTF-S-9780140439120

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 8.23
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Darwin, Charles
Published by Penguin Classics (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Soft Cover Quantity: 10
Seller:
booksXpress
(Bayonne, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Seller Inventory # 9780140439120

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 12.29
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Darwin, Charles (Author); Bynum, William (Introduction by); Bynum, William (Notes by)
Published by Penguin Random House (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Softcover Quantity: > 20
Seller:
INDOO
(Avenel, NJ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Brand New. Seller Inventory # 0140439129

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 9.50
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Darwin, Charles
Published by Penguin Classics (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Paperback Quantity: 4
Seller:
Save With Sam
(North Miami, FL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Brand New!. Seller Inventory # 0140439129

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 15.31
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Charles Darwin, William Bynum (Editor), William Bynum (Introduction), Damien Hirst (Illustrator)
Published by Penguin Classics (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Ergodebooks
(Houston, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Seller Inventory # DADAX0140439129

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 16.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Darwin, Charles
Published by Penguin Classics (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Lucky's Textbooks
(Dallas, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580020037

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 12.06
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Charles Darwin
Published by Penguin Books Ltd (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New PAP Quantity: 4
Seller:
PBShop.store US
(Wood Dale, IL, U.S.A.)

Book Description PAP. Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # GB-9780140439120

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 16.43
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Charles Darwin
Published by Penguin Books (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Puddle
(New York, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). pp. 480. Seller Inventory # 26657710

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 12.79
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Charles Darwin
Published by Penguin Books Ltd, London (2009)
ISBN 10: 0140439129 ISBN 13: 9780140439120
New Paperback First Edition Quantity: 1
Seller:
Grand Eagle Retail
(Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Hirst, Damien (illustrator). Paperback. The anniversary paperback edition of our new On the Origin of Species edited by Professor William BynumThis exciting anniversary edition has a new introduction and scholarly references by William Bynum, and the cover design is by Damien Hirst. It replaces our existing 1968 edition.The Origin of Species is one of the most important and influential books of its time and remains one of the most significant contributions to philosophical and scientific thought. The theories Darwin sets out here had an immediate and profound impact on the literature and philosophical thought of his contemporaries, and continue to provoke thought and debate today. Written for the general public of the 1850's, The Origin of Species laid out an evolutionary view of the world which challenged contemporary beliefs about divine providence and the fixity of species. He also set forth the results of his pioneering work on the interdependence of species- the ecology of animals and plants. Before the "Origin of Species", accepted thinking held that life was the static and perfect creation of God. By a single, systematic argument Darwin called this view into question. This edition includes brief biographies of some of the most important scientific thinkers leading up to and surrounding the "Origin of Species". Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780140439120

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 16.86
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book