The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution. Great Discoveries.

QUAMMEN, David. [Charles Darwin].

ISBN 10: 0393059812 / ISBN 13: 9780393059816

Published by Atlas Books / W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2006

About this Item

First edition / First printing. Signed and dated 3/27/09 on the half-title page by David Quammen, additionally inscribed: To Paul - with high respect. Additionally Signed and warmly inscribed to Paul Johnsgard on the back of a Charles Darwin photo postcard dated 2/22/11. Black paper-covered spine, beige paper-covered boards. 304 pages. Very fine in a very fine dust jacket. Paul Johnsgard was an Ornithologist at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln from 1961 to his retirement in 2001. He continued as an emeritus researcher. Johnsgard was regarded as a prominent expert of Sandhill Cranes. Quammen worked with him and regarded him as a friend.

Seller Inventory # 18847

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution. Great Discoveries.
• Publisher: Atlas Books / W. W. Norton & Company, New York
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0393059812
• ISBN 13: 9780393059816
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Weight: 2 pounds
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Signed Books
  • Biography
  • Science

About this title

Synopsis

A fresh look at Darwin's most radical idea, and the mysteriously slow process by which he revealed it.

Evolution, during the early nineteenth century, was an idea in the air. Other thinkers had suggested it, but no one had proposed a cogent explanation for how evolution occurs. Then, in September 1838, a young Englishman named Charles Darwin hit upon the idea that "natural selection" among competing individuals would lead to wondrous adaptations and species diversity. Twenty-one years passed between that epiphany and publication of On the Origin of Species. The human drama and scientific basis of Darwin's twenty-one-year delay constitute a fascinating, tangled tale that elucidates the character of a cautious naturalist who initiated an intellectual revolution.

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin is a book for everyone who has ever wondered about who this man was and what he said. Drawing from Darwin's secret "transmutation" notebooks and his personal letters, David Quammen has sketched a vivid life portrait of the man whose work never ceases to be controversial.

About the Author

David Quammen, the author of The Song of the Dodo, is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award, most recently for a National Geographic story on Darwin. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.