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Darwin and the Mysterious Mr. X

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If you thought you knew all there was to know about Charles Darwin and his evolutionary hypothesis, but you haven't read this book, then think again. Eiseley's research is impeccable, but his findings strike to the very heart of the Darwin legend, revealing a deeply flawed and basically dishonest seeker after self-aggrandisement. No wonder it's out of print! Despite his findings Eiseley remained a Darwinist and an evolutionist to his dying day. This book is no slice of creationist propoganda, it is a carefully written, highly readable review of the facts. If you have any interest in the history of evolutionism - pro or con - this book should be very near the top of your reading list.

I read this about the time it came out, as I read everything Eisley wrote. Unfortunately, his thesis is based on a misunderstanding of early 19th century natural history and the role of natural selection. Natural selection was widely recognized as occurring, but was nearly universally perceived as a force which prevented change of a species by eliminating individuals that varied too far from the median type. This is how Edward Blyth viewed natural selection.

Darwin's genius is that he recognized that natural selection was also a force for "creativity" in that if an heritable variation was better adapted natural selection would direct the species' population in that direction. There is a good explanation of 19th century views on the role of natural selection and Darwin's contribution in Stephen Jay Gould's book 'The Structure of Evolutionary Theory", a relevant portion of which is available on-line at [...]