The Autobiography of Charles Darwin [Hardcover]

Charles Darwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1999

This gentle self-portrait provides a unique insight into the beliefs and principles of the moral man whose theories on evolution shook the foundations of traditional religion and whose legacy courts both controversy and the accolade of being part of scientific orthodoxy in equal measure to this day.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Those who read this reissue of Charles Darwin's AUTOBIOGRAPHY (1876), first published in 1887, will surely benefit from this great naturalist's own recollections of the development of his scientific theory of organic evolution. Furthermore, the included letters, edited by his son Francis Darwin, offer salient insights into the personal life and scientific research of this famous Victorian geobiologist. Within these pages, one reads about Darwin's fortuitous global voyage on the HMS Beagle and subsequent productive life at Down House (despite chronic illness). Five chapters focus on the preparation, publication, and critical reviews of ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES (1859), the naturalist's major contribution to evolutionary thought.

Unfortunately, his wife, Emma Wedgwood Darwin, had deleted the references to God and Christianity from the posthumously published AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Not until 1958 did an unexpurgated version of this work appear in print!

Fortunately, Chapter 3 does include some of Darwin's final ideas on religion and theology. It is clear that this evolutionist was always an agnostic reticent to express or publish his thoughts on religion and theology. Even so, his personal beliefs neither verify nor falsify the evolved claims of religionists and theologians. It suffices that Darwin's theory of evolution is atheistic, both in principle and intent. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Charles Darwin, a revolutionary British geologist and naturalist, laid the foundation for both the modern theory of evolution and the principle of common descent by the mechanism of natural selection. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Totem Books (October 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840465034
• ISBN-13: 978-1840465037
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,911,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview of Darwin's Life, April 11, 2007

By 

Joy Jean (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (Hardcover)

Darwin's Autobiography serves as a good overview of his life and the major events that happened to him. While the actual autobiography itself is very short and lacks details, its a good starting point for someone wanting to learn more about Darwin. In this edition edited by his son Francis Darwin leaves out some passages about Darwin's family and married life, something one could argue as particularly telling or interesting information; if this bugs you, buy the later edition.

One of the most interesting sections to me was Darwin's description of his boyhood and young adult years. It's comical to hear this scientist describe his obsession with the pastime of shooting things and his mediocre performance in school. A few things signal Darwin's observational powers or scientific inclination, such as his collection of beetles, but for the most part, he seems an ordinary young person.

Also, the book continually references scientists and intellectuals of the time which Darwin comments on. Some of these people were close to Darwin, others he just mentions. Now knowing these people can be somewhat frustrating to the reading, as I can attest to. The book is very much written and directed at his children, who would be familiar with this social context.

Even with these minor faults, Darwin does give insight into his own mind, something I'm sure anyone who's reading a book about Darwin is looking for. The introspection comes at the end of the book. Darwin speaks of his own reasoning capacities and ability to notice things which easily escape the observations of other men.

This book is short and a I recommend it as a good place to start for getting a handle on the major events of Darwin's life and hearing Darwin's own perspective.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Darwin's Autobiography edited and supplemented by his son Francis, August 23, 2008

By 

CK (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (Great Minds Series) (Paperback)

This reprint of Francis Darwin's edition of the Autobiography is not the full version, but is fascinating nonetheless. Francis omitted some passages in deference to his mother, Darwin's widow Emma, who marked passages that she did not want published. (Interested readers can go to Nora Barlow's 20th century edition of the Autobiography for the full text). Francis Darwin's reminiscences of his father's working habits and "everyday life" (chapter 4) are wonderful. Chapters 5-18 are largely chronologically arranged extracts from Darwin's letters with Francis's commentary.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fun read, April 10, 2007

By 

firebird12637 "Alex Song" (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Autobiography Of Charles Darwin (Paperback)

This book is definitely a really fun read for someone with some leisure time and an interest in Darwin. It's important to not take this book too seriously (perhaps) because Darwin doesn't really take it that seriously himself. The autobiography tells us a lot about Charles Darwin the man and the way that he felt about certain issues but it barely scratches the surface: he has a great sense of humor (like when he talks about his original plans for being in the clergy) and sometimes he talks about his own life seriously (like his regret for not reading more poetry), but when you come down to it, the book is sort of written in a really mechanical manner. He doesn't really share with us any of his deepest desires or secrets (nor do we really expect him to).

Overall this autobiography is pretty fun to read and it's probably a good springboard from which we can then go and read his Origin of Species or Voyage of the Beagle.