Charles Darwin (Very Interesting People) [Paperback]

Adrian Desmond (Author), James Moore (Author), Janet Browne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0199213542 | ISBN-13: 978-0199213542

Very definitive, very concise, and very interesting...

From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures--people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time.

Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Adrian Desmond is Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Biology, University College, London. James Moore is a Professor of the History of Science, Open University. Janet Brown is a Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199213542
• ISBN-13: 978-0199213542
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,494,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A quick overview of Darwin, October 12, 2008

By 

Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Charles Darwin (Very Interesting People) (Paperback)

First, it's quite important to note this: neither the catalogue description attached to this item nor many of the readers' reviews actually speak to the Very Interesting People series volume on Darwin. Instead, they refer to Janet Browne's magisterial (two volume) biography of Darwin. Confusing.

Second, the actual short VIP biography of Darwin co-written by Adrian Desmond, James Moore, and Janet Browne, is a judiciously compact overview of his life and work--although it's SO compact that it tends to be a Sergeant Friday-like "just the facts, ma'am" exercise. The authors run through Darwin's early years, his Beagle adventures, his return to England, gradual invalidism, marriage, Downe House, the writing of the Origin, and his subsequent work. None of it is new or unexpected, but an especially nice feature is the way in which the authors demonstrate that Darwin's post-Origin writing, varied as it seems on the surface, all labors to continue the Origin thesis by documenting gradual change (earthworms working the earth), variability (his work on orchids), adaptability (plant fertilization), and commonalities across species (emotions). For the casual explorer of Darwin's accomplishments, this tying-together is very helpful.

Readers who find themselves wanting to know more about Darwin's life, times, and work can do no better than use this little book as a stepping stone to the Origin of Species itself (perhaps an abridged version) and Janet Browne's huge and fascinating biography.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good gateway to understanding the great naturalist, March 29, 2009

By 

Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Charles Darwin (Very Interesting People) (Paperback)

Few Englishmen have had a more profound - and controversial - impact on history than Charles Darwin. Born in 1809 to a prosperous family of doctors and manufacturers, he received training first as a doctor and then a clergymen before embracing a career as a naturalist. His five-year voyage on the "Beagle" became the defining experience of his life, inspiring him to reevaluate natural history and giving him a wealth of material to study. Establishing a career as a gentleman scientist, he gradually came to embrace the concept of "natural selection", yet shied from publishing his conclusions until prodded by a similar paper by Alfred Russell Wallace. Publication of "The Origin of Species" in 1859 triggered an onslaught on controversy, one that did not deter Darwin from continuing his biological studies until his death in 1882.

Darwin's life has received enormous attention - so much so, as Adrian Desmond, James Moore, and Janet Browne note in the preface to this book, that today "historians know more about his career than his family did, and in respects . . . they even know more about the man." Such a massive amount of information can prove difficult to summarize, but the three authors rove more than capable of the task. Taken from their entry on Darwin for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Plus Index of Contributors (60 Volumes), each draw upon their particular specialty - Desmond on the politics of evolution, evolution and Darwin's colleagues, Moore on the secular and religious contexts, and Browne on the history of botany - to present a comprehensive portrait of Darwin, one that captures the amazing range of his natural studies. Supplemented with a final chapter on his legacy, the book serves as a good introduction to the famous naturalist, as well as a guide to the mountain of further literature on his life and legacy.