Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man - Hardcover

Berra, Tim M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801891043 ISBN 13: 9780801891045

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Two hundred years after Charles Darwin's birth (February 12, 1809), this thoroughly illustrated, yet concise biography reveals the great scientist as husband, father, and friend.

Tim M. Berra, whose "Darwin: The Man" lectures are in high demand worldwide, tells the fascinating story of the person and the idea that changed everything. Berra discusses Darwin’s revolutionary scientific work, its impact on modern-day biological science, and the influence of Darwin’s evolutionary theory on Western thought. But Berra digs deeper to reveal Darwin the man by combining anecdotes with carefully selected illustrations and photographs.

This small gem of a book includes 20 color plates and 60 black-and-white illustrations, along with an annotated list of Darwin’s publications and a chronology of his life.

About this title

About the Author

Tim M. Berra is professor emeritus of evolution, ecology, and organismal biology at the Ohio State University and a three-time Fulbright grant recipient. He is the author of several books, including Evolution and the Myth of Creationism.

Reviews

Derived from the author’s introductory university lecture on Darwin, this précis is a viable option for the short-biography requirement—not every collection, after all, stocks the magisterial two-volume Charles Darwin (1995), by Janet Browne. Berra meets the essential curiosities a reader new to Darwin will have about a scientist still controversial in some quarters: Berra describes Darwin’s wealthy family background; notes his search for a purpose in life, which led to his embarkation on the survey ship HMS Beagle; chronicles Darwin’s fabled voyage on that ship; steers Darwin into his happy marriage to an heiress to the Wedgwood pottery fortune; and recounts the éclat with which On the Origin of Species burst upon the world in 1859. So far, so good, but a finer asset of this volume is its abundance of portraits and illustrations, including a suite of photos taken by Berra of Darwin’s home. The ensemble of text and illustrations will render an indelible image of Darwin for those beginning to study him, and evolution, while a brief bibliography points the way to further exploration. --Gilbert Taylor

Edition details

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801891043
• ISBN 13: 9780801891045
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 144