Evolution

Book Description

Mark Ridley 's Evolution has become the premier undergraduate text in the study of evolution. Readable and stimulating, yet well balanced and in-depth, this text tells the story of evolution, from the history of the study to the most recent developments in evolutionary theory.The third edition of this successful textbook features updates and extensive new coverage. The sections on adaptation and diversity have been reorganized for improved clarity and flow, and a completely updated section on the evolution of sex and the inclusion of more plant examples have all helped to shape this new edition. Evolution also features strong, balanced coverage of population genetics, and scores of new applied plant and animal examples make this edition even more accessible and engaging.

Customer Reviews:

Superb.......2007-07-13

The price of this book is well worth it -- A book of this nature is no small task to assemble. Broad in scope, Ridley had done a very thorough job on comprehensively covering technical topics, leaving out opinion and covering subjects from multiple perspectives.
However, it is a fairly technical read, and lengthy, which should only be undertaken by those who take the subject seriously. Each topic has a multitude of citations and the chapters end with recommendations for further reading. A true work of scientific literature by an author who cares about educating his reader.

A thorough and clear book.......2007-06-28

I have used this book through my undergraduate and early graduate years and have been very pleased with the layout, the content, and the writing. I would recommend this text to anyone who has taken a first year biology course and wants or needs to learn more on the background for much of the current work in evolutionary science.

Poor excuse for science...missing pages = poor production.......2006-11-24

After paying over 100 dollars for the book I finally got around to reviewing it. As you read the chapter summaries you'll get tired of reading about how such and such data "suggests" or "may" or "can". These are not the words of science. Science is about knowing. Ridley quite masterfully takes data and weaves his faith of evolution to connect dots that have no reason to be connected...except that he presupposes evolution as fact.

There's very little in this book that the evolutionist can stand on that points to "PROOF" of macroevolution.

Not only this...my book jumps from page 614 to page 647. That's 33 pages that are missing. Ridley might suggest the book has evolved, but the creationist suggest that a loss of information never accounts for parts and can not be the basis for macroevolution. Is the author/publisher planning on sending supplements for those of us with the missing pages.

Mine is the third edition with the moth and flower on the front

Excellent review of modern evolutionary thought.......2004-06-24

I saw the 2 star review and decided I could not let it sit without challenge. I have just received my Phd in psychology and masters in statistics, and have decided to attempt to make a career out of behavioral genetics and evolutionary genetics. Mark Ridley's book was an absolute inspiration to me when I first read it, and it continues to be a must-have reference. The book is noteworthy because it explains the major debates in evolutionary thought in a balanced yet readable way. For example, Ridley gives an excellent introduction into the fundamental question about what maintains genetic variation in the face of selection, an issue that is given only cursory attention in other books of this kind.

I first read this as an undergraduate, yet it continues to serve as my fundamental reference to evolutionary biology. This is truly a wonderful introduction to evolution.

Technical evolutionary biology.......2004-05-04

The neo-darwinian evolutionary synthesis has been called a genetic takeover. This book testifies to the truth of this dictum. Genes are of the utmost importance. EVOLUTION is not so much about evolution as teaching theoretical evolutionary biology without much feeling for practical evolutionary research or the natural world. As an introductory textbook, Ridley's book will succeed in making students avoid evolutionary biology, as a subject full of theoretical debates with little biological sense

From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals)

Average customer rating:

Can't Beat It
Four classics
Wonderful writing wrong package
Too big
From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, T

From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals)
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393061345

Book Description

A gorgeous gift and a landmark work that is an essential addition to everyone's personal library.

Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin—Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)—been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slipcased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products. Slipcased hardcover; 101 illustrations, map.

Customer Reviews:

Can't Beat It.......2007-04-03

I bought this book knowing very little about Darwin or his theories. From So Simple a Beginning was an easy read about a very interesting man. I would hope that not just supporters of evolution would read this book there is more to the man then just one theory.

Four classics.......2007-01-12

Excellent in every particular. Five stars in delivery time, condition, quality of the experience.

Wonderful writing wrong package.......2007-01-10

There is no gainsaying the writings of Darwin or the thinking of my favorite living scientist, E.O.Wilson. But the package is wrong.
Four books in one. Too heavy, too cumbersome. Discouraging.

Too big.......2007-01-05

This book is way too big to hold to read, so it is not useful. From the picture I thought I was ordering 4 different books in a book holder, not one giant book. I recommend buying them separately unless you have very strong arms and wrists.

From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, T.......2006-07-02

Good

Average customer rating:

Elegantly brilliant
More Christian propaganda to seperate people
Great edition
One of the Greatest Books ever written
A Handy Edition of this Vital Classic

The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: Gramercy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Evolution | Science | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

General | Science | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0517123207
Release Date: 1995-05-22

Amazon.com

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

The Origin of Species sold out on the first day of its publication in 1859. It is the major book of the nineteenth century, and one of the most readable and accessible of the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination.
The Origin of Species was the first mature and persuasive work to explain how species change through the process of natural selection. Upon its publication, the book began to transform attitudes about society and religion, and was soon used to justify the philosophies of communists, socialists, capitalists, and even Germany's National Socialists. But the most quoted response came from Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwin's friend and also a renowned naturalist, who exclaimed, "How extremely stupid not to have thought of that!"

Download Description

In the Origin of Species (1859) Darwin challenged many of the most deeply held beliefs of the Western world. Arguing for a material, not divine, origin of species, he showed that new species are achieved by 'natural selection'. Development, diversification, decay, extinction and absence of plan are all inherent to his theories. Darwin read prodigiously across many fields; he reflected on his experiences as a traveller, he experimented. His profoundly influential concept of 'natural selection' condenses materials from past and present, from the Galapagos Islands to rural Staffordshire, from English back gardens to colonial encounters. The Origin communicates the enthusiasm of original thinking in an open, descriptive style, and Darwin's emphasis on the value of diversity speaks more strongly now than ever.

Customer Reviews:

Elegantly brilliant.......2007-09-17

I had read The Voyage of the Beagle first. It is easy to see how Darwin's theory of evolution was growing as he traveled and saw how plants and animals adapted to different environments. Then he invented a theory to explain what he had observed.
This book is a 300 page definition of the theory of natural selection. Darwin goes through a detailed explanation of how evolution must have occured. He is very methodically, very detailed. When he doesn't understand something, he says he doesn't. He is humble in his presentation, giving credit to other scientists. I was amazed at how many experiments he performed himself, growing generations of plants and insects, watching how they developed and changed.
There is a quote in the book from Darwin's gardener who said, "He's really a sad little man. Sometimes he stands and stares at a flower for hours. I really think he'd be better off if he had something to do."
We are so lucky that Darwin inherited money and could spend his early years traveling and his later years in contemplation and writing.

More Christian propaganda to seperate people.......2007-07-31

Darwin was a born again Christian. Few people know that. And if there's one thing you need to know about Christians it's the fact that they are always trying to put one group of people against another. Divide and conquer. Darwin's plan(actually the plan of the intelligentsia that Darwin was a member of) was to create a new theory for the creation of man and then use Christian beliefs to blow it out of the water. It didn't work though. Even though Darwin picked the most crazy idea he came up with, man coming from monkeys!!!, people began to believe it. The powers that be saw that Science could very well be a new religous dogma and people would believe anything as long as a man in a white coat said it. Besides everyone knows that Allah created man in his supreme mercy, Allah Akhbar!!

Great edition.......2007-06-02

I liked the edition very much. Its legibility is very nice and it's a lightweighted version, dispite its 470 pages. I was just disapointed with the illustrations, that have very little relation to the text. But this fact doesnt compromise the quality of the whole. And the content... well, it's darwin world changing work, very readable.

One of the Greatest Books ever written.......2007-05-12

Darwin was one of the most brilliant men who ever lived. He was perhaps the greatest observer the world has known. In 1831, he set sail on the Beagle, a tiny little ship, for a five-year cruise around the world, and without pay, as naturalist. He had studied theology, medicine, and, finally, biology and geology. He saw how organisms change with time and environment and how Biblical events simply could not have happened as stated. He spent twenty-three years going over his notes, rethinking, and agonizing over the results. In 1859, he published Origin of Species, and it upset the world. He demonstrated evolution as no one had. Uneducated religious leaders may ridicule it, but evolution is a fact, accepted by any intelligent, educated, honest person.

A Handy Edition of this Vital Classic.......2007-05-11

There are many different versions of Darwin's "The Origin of Species" available, but I found this one particularly helpful. First, while it is nicely printed and easy to read on good paper, it is not terribly expensive. Second, it reprints the first or original version of the book which Darwin subsequently modified substantially in the the further five editions he published. Third, it also includes Darwin's "Historical Sketch" and "glossary" which had not appeared in the first edition. Fourth, the color cover illustration by the Victorian artist Henry de la Beche is an important indicator of why the Victorians were so into prehistoric studies. However, the thing that really distinguishes this Penguin Books edition is the incredibily incisive and invaluable introduction by the editor, J.W. Burrow. Burrow is beyond question one of the most significant intellectual historians of our time. Among other things he has written extensively on the concept of evolution in Victorian thought in his classic "Evolution and Society: A Study in Victorian Social Theory." In 37 crisp pages, Burrow incomparably sketches the Victorian intellectual background against which Darwin wrote. Although the essay is nearly 40 years old, it has stood the test of time very well. It alone is worth the price of the book. Altogether, a very nice introduction to this critical event in scientific and intellectual history.

Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)

Average customer rating:

You can ask for little more in so little space
Adequate
This author knows the subject too well to explain it

Darwin's Origin of Species: A Biography (Books That Changed the World)
Janet Browne
Manufacturer: Atlantic Monthly Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Scientists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0871139537

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

You can ask for little more in so little space.......2007-09-09

Simple me, I enjoyed the book tremendously. I was impressed by the author's ability to cover so much territory in so little space (the book is, in the end, a biography of both Darwin and Darwinism). Even condensed, it reads well. The last chapter, on the fate of Darwinism after his death, did seem a little rushed, but it was all so new to me that I was happy to have it, rather than nothing at all. This is, after all, an introductory book, and after you have read it, you can look elsewhere for something more substantial. You should judge a book by what it sets out to do, not by what you would do if you were the author.

Adequate.......2007-06-07

This short book is devoted to exploring Darwin's Origin of Species. Browne provides concise summaries of the background to the Origin, Darwin's life, the circumstances under which it was published, and its reception. Overall, these parts of the book are solid and essentially glosses of Browne's outstanding 2 volume biography of Darwin. The final part of the book is a brief tour of the subsequent history of Darwinian ideas from the late 19th century to the present. This is simply too much stuff in too brief a format and is superficial.
Readers interested in a better exploration of this topic would do well to read Browne's biography of Darwin. This is a thick book but very well written and is simply superb as an introduction to Darwin and the relevant 19th century history. Another complementary and excellent book is Ruse's The Darwinian Revolution.

This author knows the subject too well to explain it.......2007-05-22

This book was very disappointing to me, in that it failed to accomplish its main task. It's supposed to help us see how The Origin of Species changed the world, right? To do that it would have to make us see what the belief system was that Darwin's book upset. What did intelligent, educated people believe about animal and other species before Darwin came along? Why was his thesis so shocking? I am sure Janet Browne herself understands this thoroughly, but she makes the Number One mistake of bad pedagogues, which is to fail to imagine what her readers know and don't know - to fail to see the subject from her readers' point of view. We all live in a world steeped in the idea that species evolved over vast spans of time, through random variations, into the ones we know today, which are still evolving. Before Darwin, however, a different dogma was in the air, and I could not grasp from Browne's text what it was.
She should have devoted a whole chapter to putting us back into that mind-set, so we could then appreciate the shock of Darwin's theory.

Average customer rating:

Excessive observant eye
The Fact of Evolution and the Theory of the Mechanisms of Evolution
A Great Scientist
Does not waste time with controversy; just read the book.

Origin Of Species
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: Castle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0785819118

Customer Reviews:

Excessive observant eye.......2007-07-16

Darwin's theory begins with individual variability(individual variation).

What does individual variability mean? Not to mention, it means that one individual differs from another one. A group of different individuals makes species or genus. When the individual variability proceeds to a certain degree, the creature produces defective offspring. This creates the difference of species or the wall of species. So we tell about biological diversity.

But there is no continuity between the individual variability and the change of species(evolution). For examble, at which point would our ancestors change to other species, when we go back to our distant ancestors? Our ancestors hold their continuity as species and they do not break.

Nevertheless Darwin connects individulal variability with the variation of species. It is because his definition of species is very obvious and the definition of classification is also not clear.

Hegel says in §229 of "Shorter Logic": "Definition involves the three organic elements of the notion: the universal or proximate genus (genus proximum), the particular or specific character of the genus (qualitas specifica), and the individual, or object defined."(From the site of MIA)

To put it briefly, when there are more objects than two: the identity(commonality) of the two objects is the universal; the distinction(difference) of them is the particular; the two objects is the individual. In other words, it is the whole-part relationship. Therefore Darwin lacks this distinction, that is, the particular.

Therefore, however significantly the parts may change(and the too major change of parts produces defective offspring), so far as the whole does not change, the transition of species does not occur. The theory of explaining evolution does not exist.

Only the hierarchical structure of creatures explains biological diversity.

Without the hierarchical structure, Darwin was not able to flow it and to tell about evolution. The evolution lacking the hierarchical structure is only `change.' Here there is only a continuum.

He did not find discontinuity in the nature and understand the aspect of distiction. There are an infinite abyss between part and whole, and between whole and whole.

Finally it hits fundamental limits, or the problem of `infinitesimal,' and this problem could be solved by `0.999~ = 1,' which would make the theory probabilistic and statistical.

Also, `the 0.999~ = 1' makes the distinction indiscriminating or continuous. Thereby in the continuum there is `a middle species,' so-called `the missinglink.' And infinite middle species.

But, ignoring the hierarchical structure, the fact that Darwin was seduced by the continuum forms a grave crime.

The Fact of Evolution and the Theory of the Mechanisms of Evolution.......2007-03-13

Charles Darwin (a naturalist) is the father of modern Evolution (not *Evil*ultion; it is pronounced *Evo*-lution).

Darwin's overall explanations of evolution in this book are not modern evolution. Modern evolution can, and does, critic Darwin.

Darwin's model is often called Darwinism, a philosophical concept with references to the science of biology. It is sometimes said that modern evolution disproved parts of Darwinism and this is somewhat true. This does not mean that Darwin was in complete error. Darwin almost got it all right. His underlying points still remain quite valid in modern evolution. Thus we say that Darwinism was then a very broad general hypothesis that contained valid theories.

Theories are comprised of facts without gaps. Theories are factual. Theories contain facts to explain a factual instance of something material. Theories do not contain fabrications or a little bit of lies plus some truths. If a theory is not all facts then it is not a theory.

The phrase "it is just a theory and not fact" is a contradiction of terms. A factual instance of something (such as observing speciation) needs to be explained. Facts are used to explain the factual instance of something material. A theory means that a set of facts explain a factual instance.

Darwin used philosophy and biological science to develop the concept of evolution which is primarily based on the theory of `natural selection'. Darwin observed in the world about him what he believed to be the result of a single cell organism that had evolved into all forms of life we see today. More importantly, there is no chaos involved. It has order. "Origin of the Species" is all about Darwin discussing how he came to this conclusion.

In the 21st Century, "Speciation" has been observed countless times. Go search right now for "Observed Speciation Events".

***Speciation is a fact whether we can explain the mechanisms of how it works or not. This can not be understated! A fact is a fact regardless of our ability to explain how it works. Gravity existed well before Newton could explain it. Speciation exists (a new species suddenly popping up in the world, under scientific observation) meaning evolution is a fact. Look at the title of this review. Nobody should have to explain evolution in order to prove it factual. ***

Now is the time to say this. If you don't believe theories are factual, then stop engaging the results of factual science in your life right now. Walk the talk. Turn off the PC. Turn off the electricity. Turn off the heating... and walk. I will allow you the option of a bronze spear... that is if you know how to smelt bronze.

As a note, the Catholic Church has been teaching the fact of evolution and the theory of the mechanisms of evolution in Catholic schools since the 1950s. This is exactly the same coursework that secular schools have on evolution.

The theory of the mechanisms of evolution is independent of the fact of evolution. The theory of the mechanisms of evolution is a compilation of facts (without gaps) used to explain the fact of evolution. The theory of the mechanisms of evolution is here, in part, but are much better explained and referenced by modern evolution. If its modern evolution you want (and you may well do if your first search brought you here) then go to talkorigins on the net and read about the "29+ evidences for macroevolution". It can take days, weeks months, or years, or a lifetime to parse the data, but keep going over it and it will eventually click.

Darwin in OFTS starts by describing his life and times as a naturalist. Darwin then goes straight into variations under domestication showing that farmed animals are substantially different from their wild counterparts from which they came. Darwin also revises Gregor Mendel's laws of inheritance for us, an introduction to basic genetics. Darwin may err in stating that this species came from that species (a common mistake due to the lack of ability to genetically analyse the living thing's DNA; something that has always clouded the term `species' and how it is defined, now set right by modern genetic mapping) but the bases for the assertion that a species come from other closely related species is absolutely fundamentally correct. Any breeder can confirm his claims. Competition and Natural Selection is his big essay. Here he goes from the farmed variations back into the wild to show that nature is a bigger breeder than we can ever be (until the dawn of genetic manipulation arrived on the scene, but even then the quality of our work over nature is debatable). The complex web of relations with livings things to the environment is staggering yet so obvious in hindsight. The environment has an impact of living things and living things have an impact on the environment. This is a symbiotic relationship. There is an opportunity for improvement or deterioration in the offspring just on the basis of all possible genetic combinations. Minor changes add up to big ones.

Darwin's speculation about how the environment causes variations in living things is accurate in his proposals although his tenders are mostly humanistic with references to biology especially with regards to "monstrosities" that simply don't have any reason for things like "wings", such as some insects and some birds, if they can't fly. Vestiges are an extremely good case for evolution. The cave crab with an eye stalk without an eye is like a telescope without the lens. Darwin identifies the possibility of sex linked traits in animals, a proven point today. Darwin even critics himself and covers areas that he knows he hasn't got down pat. Reading OFTS is like a romance novel where the birth of something to unify the sciences further is described in a man's love for nature and his crucial discovery.

To impose another explanation for the species outside of evolution, we can quote Darwin who says "[Independent creations hypothesis]... rejects a real [fossil record] for an unreal, or at least for an unknown, cause. It makes the works of God a mere mockery and deception;"

A Great Scientist.......2005-12-27

Many people assume that Darwin's initial account of natural selection is so out of date that it is to be avoided in favour of more recent text books of evolutionary theory. While it is true that huge gains have been made in the one and a half centuries since the first publication of "The Origin", there is nothing in this work which is wrong. Darwin was too good a scientist and too cautious.

Some claim that Darwin admitted of the possibility of Lamarkian mechanisms. They have not read the original. Darwin knew nothing of the molecular basis of genetics, but knew that natural selection did not need a Lamarkian mechanism. He simply did not rule it out, although he found it improbable. Everything that is stated in this great classic is as true today as it was at the time of first publication.

It is also said that Charles Darwin was a lesser intellectual when compared to most other great names of science; that he was a plodder, a naturalist, a sort of gentleman stamp collector who pressed flowers into his books and barely a scientist in the contemporary sense. This is nonsense. Darwin was one of the giants of rigorous systematic thinking; the kind of rigorous thinking and critical attitude that asks the right questions and provides the capacity to answer them. Let me buttress this claim with one example.

At the end of chapter six Darwin noted that the theory of natural selection could not account for structures or behaviors found in one species that exist solely for the benefit of another unrelated species. In setting out the theoretical terms for the refutation of the theory in this way, he anticipated Karl Popper, that analytical non-nonsense philosopher of science, by more than a century.

I recommend you read this book with an attentive curious analytical mind. You will find yourself walking in the footsteps of an intellectual giant.

Does not waste time with controversy; just read the book........2005-08-12

This is a quick review of the book not a dissertation on Darwin or any other subject loosely related. At first I did not know what to expect. I already read " The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches" (see my review). I figured the book would be similar. However I found "Origin" to be more complex and detailed.

Taking in account that recent pieces of knowledge were not available to Charles Darwin this book could have been written last week. Having to look from the outside without the knowledge of DNA or Plate Tectonics, he pretty much nailed how the environment and crossbreeding would have an effect on natural selection. Speaking of natural selection, I thought his was going to be some great insight to a new concept. All it means is that species are not being mucked around by man (artificial selection).

If you picked up Time magazine today you would find all the things that Charles said would be near impossible to find or do. Yet he predicted that it is doable in theory. With an imperfect geological record many things he was not able to find at the writing of this book have been found (according to the possibilities described in the book.)

The only draw back to the book was his constant apologizing. If he had more time and space he could prove this and that. Or it looks like this but who can say at this time. Or the same evidence can be interpreted 180 degrees different.

In the end it is worth reading and you will never look at life the same way again.

On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition (Harvard Paperbacks)

Average customer rating:

A good facsimile of a great book
Interesting, but the third edition is recommended
The Most Accessible Scientific Masterpiece Ever Written
Need to know for cultural literacy
Fascinating

On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition (Harvard Paperbacks)
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0674637526

Book Description

It is now fully recognized that the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 brought about a revolution in man's attitude toward life and his own place in the universe. This work is rightly regarded as one of the most important books ever published, and a knowledge of it should be part of the intellectual equipment of every educated person. The book remains surprisingly modern in its assertions and is also remarkably accessible to the layman, much more so than recent treatises necessarily encumbered with technical language and professional jargon.

This first edition had a freshness and uncompromising directness that were considerably weakened in later editions, and yet nearly all available reprints of the work are based on the greatly modified sixth edition of 1872. In the only other modern reprinting of the first edition, the pagination was changed, so that it is impossible to give page references to significant passages in the original. Clearly this facsimile reprint of the momentous first edition fills a need for scholars and general readers alike.

Customer Reviews:

A good facsimile of a great book.......2007-09-26

I rate this four stars for the binding, not the contents. For a much greater price one can get a finer binding, but if one wishes to read or review the 1859 edition that Darwin rushed into print in order to prevent another putting essentially the same theory forward ahead of him, this is the book. There were a number of additional editions printed during Darwin's lifetime, reflecting later thoughts, but to see his thinking as of 1859, this is a good, and relatively scarce book to own. The copy I received from Amazon does not contain an Introductory essay. The binding appears to be perfect bound, and is a hardback. Contents: 5 stars, Binding: 4 stars

Interesting, but the third edition is recommended.......2005-12-27

Charles Darwin rushed his Origin to press when he became aware that he would be pre-empted with the theory of natural selection by Alfred Russell Wallace. In the course of the following few years he reviewed the manuscript thorougly at least twice. The Third edition is generally the standard. This facsimilie may be interesting for historical reasons, but I recommend the edition with Jilian Huxeley's introduction.

Many people assume that Darwin's initial account of natural selection is so out of date that it is to be avoided in favour of more recent text books of evolutionary theory. While it is true that huge gains have been made in the one and a half centuries since the first publication of "The Origin", there is nothing in this work which is wrong. Darwin was too good a scientist and too cautious.

Some claim that Darwin admitted of the possibility of Lamarkian mechanisms. They have not read the original. Darwin knew nothing of the molecular basis of genetics, but knew that natural selection did not need a Lamarkian mechanism. He simply did not rule it out, although he found it improbable. Everything that is stated in this great classic is as true today as it was at the time of first publication.

It is also said that Charles Darwin was a lesser intellectual when compared to most other great names of science; that he was a plodder, a naturalist, a sort of gentleman stamp collector who pressed flowers into his books and barely a scientist in the contemporary sense. This is nonsense. Darwin was one of the giants of rigorous systematic thinking; the kind of rigorous thinking and critical attitude that asks the right questions and provides the capacity to answer them. Let me buttress this claim with one example.

At the end of chapter six Darwin noted that the theory of natural selection could not account for structures or behaviors found in one species that exist solely for the benefit of another unrelated species. In setting out the theoretical terms for the refutation of the theory in this way, he anticipated Karl Popper, that analytical non-nonsense philosopher of science, by more than a century.

I recommend you read this book with an attentive curious analytical mind. You will find yourself walking in the footsteps of an intellectual giant.

The Most Accessible Scientific Masterpiece Ever Written.......2005-12-21

Many love to read science whether it is the newest technological innovations for high definition TV's or we expose to learn more about the unified field theory or String Theory. Science leaves us with alot to explore. What is the scientific equivalent of Shakespeare's Folio's? Or perhaps Cervante's-Don Quioxte's? Many scientist may say Darwin's-Origin of Species. This fascimilie of the 1st edition which is full of elegent prose and vivid descriptions and analogies while later editions are less decisive and espouse more questions than answers is the edition to read. Which is a dated romantic language. So arguably the most important text written in English is also easy to read and understand with little thought primarily to Darwin clear use of prose. It is a book that has been most heavily criticised since its inception and publication in November 29, 1859 but it is now gaining the long overdue momentum accorded the works of Copernicus and Newton. Just bring your imagination along for the splendid ride.

Need to know for cultural literacy.......2005-10-29

This is a quick review of the book not a dissertation on Darwin or any other subject loosely related. At first I did not know what to expect. I already read " The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches". I figured the book would be similar. However I found "Origin" to be more complex and detailed.

Taking in account that recent pieces of knowledge were not available to Charles Darwin this book could have been written last week. Having to look from the outside without the knowledge of DNA or Plate Tectonics, he pretty much nailed how the environment and crossbreeding would have an effect on natural selection. Speaking of natural selection, I thought his was going to be some great insight to a new concept. All it means is that species are not being mucked around by man (artificial selection).

If you picked up Time magazine today you would find all the things that Charles said would be near impossible to find or do. Yet he predicted that it is doable in theory. With an imperfect geological record many things he was not able to find at the writing of this book have been found (according to the possibilities described in the book.)
The only draw back to the book was his constant apologizing. If he had more time and space he could prove this and that. Or it looks like this but who can say at this time. Or the same evidence can be interpreted 180 degrees different.

In the end it is worth reading and you will never look at life the same way again.

Fascinating.......2004-01-17

Tweaked my imagination and opened all kinds of doors. Our bookclub spent many hours hashing out ideas that this book explored. I put this on my recommend list.

Average customer rating:

Mixing fact with speculative fiction
Struggle with Darwin
The Fact of Evolution and the Theory of the Mechanisms of Evolution
Should be part of everyone's education
Tough to read

The Origin Of Species
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

Evolution | Science | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0451529065
Release Date: 2003-09-02

Book Description

The book that shook the world
First time from Signet Classic

This is the book that revolutionized the natural sciences and every literary, philosophical and religious thinker who followed. Darwin's theory of evolution and the descent of man remains as controversial and influential today as when it was published over a century ago.

Customer Reviews:

Mixing fact with speculative fiction.......2007-09-25

Darwin's The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection: The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life is so flawed its hard to know where to begin. Most evolutionists will agree that there is no real proof that macro-evolution has ever occurred. Yes, we see variations within species, or the adaptation to environments by natural selection, but the missing fossil evidence which should be present is a glaring deficiency, and that is only a one of the many lack of evidences for Darwin's theories. It is no wonder why the fastest growing minority of scientists are those who utterly reject evolution.

Struggle with Darwin.......2007-08-03

In this classic book, Darwin plods through endless piles of data and links it all with his theory of descent with modification through natural selection. It can be a tedious read to some, and surely is not for the lazy, if one can read 15-25 pages a day all will be fine.

Organisms are in a struggle for existence with other organisms and the environment. Any organism with a slight advantage, whether it is some physical advantage or greater reproduction rate will tend to survive. These variations accumulate over time and lead to divergence of species.

The classification of species and varieties is quite an ambiguous process and forms are not quite so solidly seperate from each other as one might assume at first glance. (One might say that all is in the flux of Heraclitus and any kind of form is our own abstraction, rather than being the true higher reality as a Platonist might believe.)

I noticed two obvious defects. On was Darwin's lack of knowledge of what causes variation. At his time he was not aware of genes. The theory of plate techtonics and more advanced geology was also not available to him. Nonetheless, it is a fine read for one who wants to see how Darwin's thought process led him to his idea of the genealogical descent of all forms of life traced to a common primordial ancestor, rather than independent creation of species.

The Fact of Evolution and the Theory of the Mechanisms of Evolution.......2007-03-13

Should be part of everyone's education.......2007-02-25

I read this book after discussing the devious "intelligent design" with someone. It never has occurred to me that the theory and facts of evolution wouldn't be more compelling to someone than Bible myth that wasn't intended to teach science at all.

Darwin's writing style can be awkward. He is working with a lot of facts to try to discern some laws. It isn't easy material to begin with. After a long delay of collecting evidence and formulating ideas, he was in a hurry to publish and may have skipped a useful rewrite to increase readibility. He is clearly not adverse to long sentences.

Nevertheless, he does present himself clearly and in an exemplary manner for a scientist. He packs his presentation with supportive facts. He presents tentative laws to explains what he observed and then sees how well this explain the data he had colllected. He points out his assumptions, raises doubts about them and responds sincerely to those doubts.

Charles Darwin was everything that the leaders of the "intelligent design" movement are not: scientific, inquiring, open, honest, and genuinely concerned about advancing human knowledge about the natural world.

It is surprising, as Darwin explains, how much can be accounted for given sufficient time (millions of years, not 5000, as scientific dating methods show), given small variations within any single generation and given conditions of scarcity. Darwin recognized that what may be hardest of us to accept is that we can not see the cumulative changes that took those millions of years to occur. He does make an effort to explain why the fossil record has gaps for which intermediate forms of life are missing. He also explains that grouping life into species is just a scientific convention and that the apparent fixed form of species can be explaned by consistent conditions on earth over long periods of time (such that new variations aren't selected).

Darwin does, both to identify a regularity and to make reading smoother , reify the process of "natural selection". "Natural selection" should be understood as the complement to "artifical selection" or variation under domestication, which Darwin considers first as such selection influenced by humans was well known. There is no one doing natural selection, but rather it is process that some variations are able to survive under certain conditions which they themselves cannot be aware of in advance. It is the considerable variation that occurs which enables life in some form at all to go on for so many million of years while other forms become existence.

That Darwin was able to formulate the laws he did prior to the science of genetics is a tribute to his skills and to the science involved.

Even if you don't read a single work on evolutinary science that appeared after this one, just this work alone will arm you against many of the mis leading arguments by advocates of "intelligent design".

It is a work that makes me proud to be a human being and grateful to Charles Darwin. Anyone who thinks evolution is incompatible with their religious beliefs should read this book and then realize that they have misundestood the spirit of the portions of the Bible the believe conflict with Darwin's and science's great contribution to us.

If there is a Christian God, you should feel certain He will have a special place close to Him in heaven for Charles Darwin.

Tough to read.......2006-11-15

No doubt Darwin had some important discoveries in his ground-shaking theory of evolution. Unfortunately this book was tedious to read. Bummers. Here's a sample (part of a chapter summary) of the writing style - it is not a bedtime book:

"If under changing conditions of life organic beings present individual differences in almost every part of their structure, and this cannot be disputed; if there be, owing to their geometrical rate of increase, a severe struggle for life at some age, season, or year, and this certainly cannot be disputed; then, considering the infinite complexity of the relations of all organic beings to each other and to their conditions of life, causing an infinite diversity in structure, constitution, and habits, to be advantageous to them, it would be a most extraordinary fact if no variations had ever occurred useful to each being's own welfare, in the same manner as so many variations have occurred useful to man. But if variations useful to any organic being ever do occur, assuredly individuals thus characterised will have the best chance of being preserved in the struggle for life; and from the strong principle of inheritance, these will tend to produce offspring-similarly characterised. This principle of preservation, or the survival of the fittest, I have called Natural Selection. It leads to the improvement of each creature in relation to its organic and inorganic conditions of life; and consequently, in most cases, to what must be regarded as an advance in organisation. Nevertheless, low and simple forms will long endure if well fitted for their simple conditions of life."

I don't know how to rate it. The important subject gets 5 stars, dense reading gets zero stars.

The Genesis Race: Our Extraterrestrial DNA and the True Origins of the Species

Average customer rating:

Changing Lives-One Book at a time
Really liked this book
Bogus evidence
Good Job!
Cheap

The Genesis Race: Our Extraterrestrial DNA and the True Origins of the Species
Will Hart
Manufacturer: Bear & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Early Civilization | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

UFOs | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Unexplained Mysteries | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

UFOs | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Technology | Technology | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1591430186
Release Date: 2003-10-24

Book Description

Shows that Earth was visited by an extraterrestrial race who bioengineered modern man in its image and taught man how to construct the pyramids

• Examines the flaws in Darwin’s theory of evolution and presents startling new evidence of intelligent intervention

• Reveals the messages coded in the pyramids left by the ancients concerning impending Earth changes at the end of the Mayan calendar

For millennia the development of humanity showed a consistent homogenous pattern. Then suddenly, around 3000 B.C.E., great civilizations sprang up around the globe. All the creation myths of these civilizations tell of gods who came down to Earth and fashioned man in their own image, teaching them the arts of agriculture and civilized life. In addition, the dominant architectural design in Egypt, Sumeria, Peru, Mexico, and China was the pyramid, though science has never been able to explain why or where these peoples obtained the advanced technological knowledge to construct such edifices. The abruptness and similarities of these evolutionary leaps calls into question the Darwinian theory of evolution, given that there are no traces of any intermediate evolutionary forms.

Now, using the most current research on DNA, Will Hart shows that these gods were actually visitors from other worlds who genetically engineered modern humanity from the beings that then inhabited the planet. He also suggests that the Bible and other creation stories have been interpreted falsely as myth when they should have been read as history. The structures left by our ancestors were designed in accordance with precise astronomical and geodetic alignments to make them visible from outer space and to survive for thousands of years with the intent of communicating information relating to physical and temporal events. Humanity’s current stage of development has finally reached the point where the secret messages of these structures can be decoded to reveal the fate of humanity in the coming Earth changes.

Customer Reviews:

Changing Lives-One Book at a time.......2005-12-16

This has been a great read! I wish I had the chance to read this book several years ago when I began my own research ..delving into areas where science and the Bible run parallel,it boggles the mind. I highly recommend this book.

Really liked this book.......2005-04-25

This book basically tells how we could not have possibly evolved and we must have had intervention. Alien intervention that is. The book makes a pretty convincing case too. I found this book to be a most interesting and enjoyable read. No boring parts, which I hate. There are also some very nice color photographs in the middle of the book. I also recommend Everything You Know is Wrong by Lloyd Pye in addition to this book.

Bogus evidence.......2004-11-22

This book is nothing original (Chariots of the Gods covered some of this before). The author really thinks he is going to be more impressive by quoting some actual scientific facts (like the number of genes we have as opposed to the number a fly has). He also picks on Darwin's theories and talks as if late 20thcentury conventional scientists completely turned against Darwin's theories. Realize this people. Darwin died over 120 yearsa ago. Of course some of the stuff he said about evolution wasn't going to be true. But a hell of a lot of it was. Many conventional scientists now realize Darwin was certainly partially right and furthermore disbelieving a couple of Darewin's many evolutionary theories doesn't mean a scientist is against evolution in general.

Good Job!.......2004-11-07

I am an avid reader of ancient history and ancient theology and found Will's book, The Genesis Race', to be an informative example of what many see in the world relative to ancient writings. For the beginner, and the seasoned alike, this book brings forth the ideas and theories many of us are in search of. It is a great book to have on the shelf when others ask, 'What is our past?' Thanks Will, keep up the good work!

Cheap.......2004-08-23

The reason for the word cheap is that this book contains a bunch of summaries from other books and little of the authors own thoughts.... I used to do this trick in 4th grade to get out of doing alot of work coming up with my own ideas... Im 17, my dad got me this book and I regret that he had to pay so much for it.... It contains a lot of information that is verry difficult to apprehend due to jumping from subject to subject... But basicaly this book contains the summary's of many books.... I would rather read a book focused on one subject, not a book that contains the opinions of many.... Overall it was Ok.

Darwin (Norton Critical Editions) (3rd Edition)

Average customer rating:

very editorial
Best Anthology of Darwin
Perhaps a classic among anthologies
A Must Read

Darwin (Norton Critical Editions) (3rd Edition)
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Ideas | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Literature & Fiction | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393958493

Book Description

"The best Darwin anthology on the market" (Stephen Jay Gould, Harvard) has just become better, in this newly revised version of the now classic Norton Critical Edition, first published in 1970. The impact of Charles Darwin's work on Western civilization has been broad and deep. As much as anyone in the modern era, he changed human thought, and his influence is still felt in virtually all aspects of our lives. This new edition, larger and more varied than the previous ones, includes more of Darwin's own work and also presents the most recent research and scholarship on all aspects of Darwin's legacy. The biological sciences, as well as social thought, philosophy, ethics, religion, and literature, have all been shaped and reshaped by evolutionary concepts. Excerpts from the most important books and articles of recent years confirm this Darwinian heritage. New work by Richard Dawkins, Edward O. Wilson, Kevin Padian, Eugene C. Scott, Steven Pinker, Daniel Dennett, Michael Ruse, Frans de Waal, Noretta Koertge, George C. Williams, George Levine, Stephen Jay Gould, Gillian Beer, Ernst Mayr, and many others illuminates this exciting intellectual history. A wide-ranging new introduction by the editor provides context and coherence to this rich body of engaging material, much of which will be shaping human thought well into the new century. This edition will be useful to scientists and historians alike: "The Norton Darwin explains Darwinian evolution and illustrates the social and intellectual conflicts of the past two centuries better than any other book that I am aware of." (Charles Taylor, Professor of Biology, Ecology, and Evolution, University of California, Los Angeles) And it will be of great value to the humanities and social sciences as well: "The edition provides the sharpest and most exciting access to Darwin we have ever had. It shows all of us interested in the heart of our intellectual heritage how that heritage is sustained, manipulated, and honored." (James R. Kincaid, Aerol Arnold Professor of English, University of Southern California) A Selected Bibliography and an Index are included.

About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehenive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

very editorial.......2004-07-24

To the point of writing (somewhat interesting) poems to introduce various sections, Appleman's selection of Darwin's texts (minimal) and convseration surrounding them, shows a heavy editorial hand, but it's a pretty knowledgable one. Somewhat too much in awe for my tastes. The poems were okay, but what an old fashioned thing to do, include your odes to an author as you anthologize his work. I guess I like it. This is not the book to get if you want to read alot of Darwin. Probably 80% commentary and much of it lame (everyone from the pope to the hare-krishnas weighing in), all the selections are too short to really get more than a soundbite.

I found it interesting to see that many of the Christians and Jews including the pope accept Darwinism. Living in America you wouldn't realize how small the faction of fundamentalists are (because they take up the whole middle of the country). I think his selection of Muslim and Hindu views is minimal and unrepresentative. In general, Hindu scholars have always been receptive to biological and physical scientific discoveries and he takes the krishna consciousness sect as representative of the vedic tradition's outlook on evolution, which is weak.

Best Anthology of Darwin.......2003-12-22

I have not read the 2nd or 3rd editions of this book. But based on the table of contents that I have seen they are even better. Appleman does a great job of organizing the material. I've often thought that the amount of religious material was a little bit overwhelming. I will probably try to pick up the 3rd edition when I can because of the addtional material. One thing that I thought was a weak point of the first edition that came out in 1970 was that there was a serious lack of current scientific thought. That seems to have been shored up in the later editions and, with some New Humanists thrown in, I definitely think this would be a very good pick.

Perhaps a classic among anthologies.......2002-09-18

Natural selection is the idea that shaped a science and altered our understanding of life. It is also, unfortunately and too often, misunderstood and/or used to justify moral beliefs. This book, edited admirably by Philip Appleman serves two purposes. First, the reader is given Darwin's idea of evolution and the context in which it developed, from the scientific environment before the publication of "The Origin of Species" to selections from Darwin's various works. Second, there are a number of excerpts that show how natural selection influenced later thought. This includes not just the fields of science and theology, but also sociology, philosophy, and literature.

It can be difficult to just sit and read Darwin if you are not a biologist because it seems a little dated and obvious (at least if you are familiar with natural selection, as you should be). Additional material provides perspective and helps to see in what ways Darwin's work was revolutionary. Such material can also show how evolutionary ideas have been modified over time by different people. Appleman has obviously read widely on Darwin and evolution, and the readings he provides represents an array of influential and important works. With this book, a person can develop a much deeper appreciation of Darwin's ideas than from simply reading Darwin alone.

I am reviewing the second edition. The third edition is 100 pages longer and includes more recent material, especially concerning the dispute between creationism and evolution. I would not hesitate to recommend even the dated second edition to anyone interested in Darwin and Darwin's influence on scientists and other thinkers; this third edition should be a must-have.

A Must Read.......2001-07-22

I agree with Gould that this is the best Darwin anthology on the market. It contains a significant amount of new material and details the profound change in scientific and intellectual thought in the past few decades. Darwin is constantly misquoted by creationists, but this book sets the record straight. For example, the chapter on "mainstream Religious Support for Evolution" includes leading religious opinions on evolution, illustrating that many mainline Christians and Jews do NOT subscribe to the antiscientific propaganda of the fundamentalists and creationists. New threats to Darwinism and science are also covered. This is an enthralling read and I highly recommend it.

Average customer rating:

Does not waste time with controversy; just read the book.
How to Worship Charles Darwin

On the Origin of Species
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: Broadview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

19th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1551113376

Book Description

Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, in which he writes of his theories of evolution by natural selection, is one of the most important works of scientific study ever published.

Broadview's unabridged edition of On the Origin of Species (which corrects the first edition against the second) also includes an introduction, a bibliography, explanatory notes, a chronology of Darwin's life, and a register of names cited. The appendices contain substantial selections from Darwin's other works (Autobiography, Notebooks, letters, Voyage of the Beagle, and Descent of Man) and selections from Darwin's sources and contemporaries (excerpts from Genesis, Paley, Lamarck, Spencer, Lyell, Malthus, Huxley, and Wallace).

Customer Reviews:

Does not waste time with controversy; just read the book........2006-09-04

How to Worship Charles Darwin.......2006-01-29

This edition of the Origin is a rare item: a book for the classroom that actually does the job. It contains a bibliography, explanatory notes, a chronology of Darwin's life, and a register of names. The appendices contain selections from Darwin's other works and selections from Darwin's sources and contemporaries. All for $9.95!

In addition to these nuts and bolts, the editor has composed an Introduction to initiate students into the sublimity of Darwin's World. Here's how it begins: `(The Origin) is one of the two or three most significant scientific works of all time-one of those works that fundamentally and permanently alter our vision of the world.' Interested? Here's more: this surpassing achievement `requires no specialized scientific training'-great news for students mortified by maths. And more: Origin is `also a great literary classic' that is `eloquent, imaginatively evocative, and rhetorically compelling'. Holy Darwin! How good can it get? Even English lit students might go for that.

Surprise: editor Joseph Carroll is an English lit prof. His speciality is the evolutionary analysis of literature, an innovation that he pioneered. Lit departments aren't science-friendly territory. Often they run an anti-science line, linking it to exploitation, global warming, racism, misogyny and the like. Come to think of it, isn't Darwinism among the worst offenders?! Survival of the fittest, let the weak perish and the rich get richer, eugenic breeding to clean out the bungled and botched, that kind of thing. To block such negative thoughts, Carroll preaches an oration of superlatives about the Great Man that exceeds anything I've encountered. In scientific achievement, personal character, wisdom, and influence, Lord Darwin in his shining eminence leaves all others in the shadows. Here is Carroll on Darwin's most important contribution to culture: `The vision of nature Darwin offers is not that of some broad, abstract, intellective pattern, but that of living impulse, eager, frantic, animating every single organism, vast and minute, in inconceivable numbers, everywhere on earth, persisting throughout all time of organic life'. It is a vision of `competitive struggle', of the `great battle of life', and the `war of nature'. Interestingly, in this context Carroll notes that Darwin specifies an empirical finding that would `annihilate my theory'--a species that developed `an adaptation solely for the benefit of some other species'. That's because, Darwin believed, as Victorians typically believed, that every organism looks out for Number 1. It's called `individualism'.

What about that? Is there any species with adaptations that benefit only another species? Sorry to say this, but yes, there are. The pattern is called `inquilinism', which lies at the extreme end of the spectrum of parasitism. See E. O. Wilson, Sociobiology, p 371. Note: Darwin says unequivocally that his theory is `annihilated', yet for some reason the ardent Darwinian Wilson doesn't draw that conclusion.

An English prof isn't expected to know about inquilinism, but literary visions of nature are another matter. Poets and novelists homed in on the implications of godlessness of the mechanistic universe well before the Origin was published. Among those usually mentioned is Alfred Tennyson's In Memorium (1850), whose famous lines `Who trusted God was love indeed / And love Creation's final law -- / Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw / With ravine, shriek'd against his creed' convey the temper of his sombre, lengthy meditation on nature. `Nature red in tooth and claw' became a byword among Victorians for the world they had come to inhabit. We might expect Carroll to seize on this fact, to stress how Darwin's vision fitted into the new cognitive-symbolic structures created by poets. But not a word of that! Carroll disregards not only Tennyson, but all imaginative writing that formed the context of Darwin's publications. Why this silent denigration of the importance of his own field?

Probably because even summary recognition of the literary dimension of Victorian culture would expose the historical inaccuracy of Carroll's extravagant claims for Darwin's originality. For example, he attributes massive innovative force to Darwin's replacement of creationism by purely naturalistic explanation in natural history. In fact, this was no innovation at all; the physical and hard biological sciences had long since oriented on exclusively natural causes. The only `scientists' still clinging to creative intervention in nature were naturalists-those amateur bird watchers and rock collectors who often enough were clergymen. Since Darwin identified himself with naturalists, it was `natural' for him to challenge creationism. But this challenge had been forcefully launched in 1844 in the anonymously published best-seller Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. The author, Robert Chambers, wrote a defence of no-exception naturalism far more frontal, eloquent, and incisive than anything from Darwin's pen (Darwin was loath to give offence, especially to his pious wife Emma).

Not only had the sciences eliminated divine causality, so had theology! In 1846 the entirely secularist The Life of Jesus Critically Examined was translated from German into English by the novelist George Eliot (aka Marian Evans). Eliot enjoyed a close friendship with Herbert Spencer; together they edited the Westminster Review. They were part of an intellectual circle that included Thomas Huxley, George Lewes, J.S. Mill, H.G. Atkinson, and Harriet Martineau. Martineau, who translated August Comte's Positive Philosophy, published in 1851 Letters on the Laws of Man's Nature and Development, which projected humanist unbelief as the end point of millennia of cultural improvement. Carroll, whose speciality is the literature of this period, particularly the writings of George Eliot, presumably knows all of this. Yet he utters not a word about it! Why not? Perhaps because these facts reverse the relation between Darwin and his public that Carroll extols: far from being the mighty innovator who transforms English thought (`revolution'), he reiterates and magnifies the then aspiring progressive culture. That culture seized on the Origin and magnified it because the weight of Darwin's high social status brought with it the promise of the triumph of progressivism (the real meaning of the `Darwinian revolution'). Indeed, one of the first reviews of Origin hailed it as `the Whitworth gun of liberalism', a clear salute to the political dimension of the evolution belief. The author of the review was Thomas Huxley.

Carroll apparently doesn't see that a Darwinian analysis of literature needs to be complemented by a literary analysis of Darwinism.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books