Darwin's Origin of the Species: A Biography - Hardcover

Browne, Janet

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0871139537 ISBN 13: 9780871139535

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007

Synopsis

Charles Darwin’s foremost biographer, Janet Browne, delivers a vivid and accessible introduction to the book that permanently altered our understanding of what it is to be human.  A sensation on its publication in 1859, The Origin of the Species profoundly shocked Victorian readers by calling into question the belief in a Creator with its description of evolution through natural selection.  And Darwin’s seminal work is nearly as controversial today.  In her illuminating study, Browne delves into the long genesis of Darwin’s theories, from his readings as a university student and his five-year voyage on the Beagle , to his debates with contemporaries and experiments in his garden.  She explores the shock to Darwin when he read of competing scientist’s similar discoveries and the wide and immediate impact of Darwin’s theories on the world. As one of the launch titles in Atlantic Monthly Press’ “Books That Changed the World” series, Browne’s history takes readers inside The Origin of the Species and shows why it can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published.

About this title

About the Author

Janet Browne is a professor at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London.

Reviews

Starred Review. It may seem peculiar to write a biography of a book, but Darwin's Origin of Species is certainly a worthy subject. A foremost Darwin biographer, Browne takes a straightforward approach to the life and times of this famous tome, beginning with Darwin's early years and journey around the world. She then explains how he developed his theory of evolution (a word that doesn't appear in the first edition) during his years as a country scientist. Darwin included an unusual chapter on things he couldn't yet explain with his theory. On publication, the book gained instant celebrity around the globe—even Queen Victoria took notice of it, though she mused that the book would be too difficult for her to understand. In her discussion of the storm the book aroused, Browne makes the fascinating point that Darwin highly respected his American friend Asa Gray, whose views were very similar to those of today's advocates of intelligent design. Browne's final chapter on the book's legacy isn't comprehensive, but it's a good summary of subsequent modifications to Darwin's theory. This excellent introduction is highly recommended for all readers who want to better understand the heated debates that this book still causes today. (Mar.)
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Browne is probably the most knowledgeable living Charles Darwin expert. Author of a two-volume biography detailing his remarkable and influential life, she now presents a biography of the book that made Darwin a household name, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1859). Browne's contribution to the Books That Changed the World series is written with verve as she emphasizes the immediacy of the book's impact as Darwin shattered the biblical Creation story with a theory elegant in its simplicity. Naturally, religious leaders and other believers in faith over facts challenged the book's evolutionary vision. But Darwin's logic withstood all scrutiny. A mild man with a relentlessly curious, profoundly scientific mind, Darwin never intended to upset his world's moral values, nor could he have imagined that his book would transform Western thought. Steve Weinberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0871139537
• ISBN 13: 9780871139535
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320