Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist [Paperback]

Adrian Desmond (Author), James Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 1994

"Unquestionably the finest [biography] ever written about Darwin. . . . Darwin has now become, and properly, the quintessentially socially embedded scientist. Desmond and Moore are brilliant in their pursuit of this truly unifying theme."—Stephen Jay Gould

Hailed as the definitive biography, this monumental work explains the character and paradoxes of Charles Darwin and opens up the full panorama of Victorian science, theology, and mores. The authors bring to life Darwin's reckless student days in Cambridge, his epic five-year voyage on the Beagle, and his grueling struggle to develop his theory of evolution.

Adrian Desmond and James Moore's gripping narrative reveals the great personal cost to Darwin of pursuing inflammatory truths—telling the whole story of how he came to his epoch-making conclusions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Invaluable for its day-to-day account of Charles Darwin's activities, this monumental biography keenly conveys the English naturalist's struggle to make evolution and natural selection acceptable by presenting them as the bedrock of Victorian middle-class values. Using a trove of previously untapped material, the authors illuminate Darwin as a freethinking agnostic fearful of being labeled an anarchist, a scientific titan trapped on a literary treadmill, a voyager on the Beagle appalled at "low" races of savages, and a paterfamilias who subordinated women but was completely dependent on his wife. Above all, British authors Desmond ( The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs ) and Moore, the editorial consultant to Cambridge University's Darwin Letters Project, plunge readers into the controversies of the era as parson-hating biologist Thomas Henry Huxley, socialist Alfred Russell Wallace, free-market capitalists and radical atheists bent Darwinism to their own purposes. Photos. BOMC, History Book Club and QPB alternates.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In 44 chapters with copious notes and massive details, Darwin scholars Desmond and Moore give a rich portrait of the gentleman naturalist and scientific theorist from a sociocultural framework emphasizing Whig-Tory conflicts and Lyellian-Malthusian speculations. The authors reveal that Darwin was particularly influenced by the evolutionary ideas of zoologist Robert Grant; the implications of fossil Argentine megatheriums, speciated Galapagos mockingbirds, and the incredible varieties of barnacles; as well as experimentation with cultivated plants and animals. Despite a doting wife, loyal friends, and belated honors (though he was never knighted), Darwin's life was filled with illness, disappointment, and tragedy (especially the death of daughter Annie at age ten). This impressive volume makes clear that Darwin suffered from a lifelong schizoid struggle between his own materialist science and a late-Victorian theology. For a deeper examination of Darwin's sickness, read John Bowlby's Charles Darwin ( LJ 3/1/91) and Ralph Colp's To Be an Invalid ( LJ 6/1/77). Darwin's final written thoughts on religion are found in Nora Barlow's indispensable The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (1959). Essential reading for evolutionists, Desmond and Moore's monumental work is highly recommended for all academic libraries. BOMC, History Book Club, and Quality Paperback Book Club alternate selections.
- H. James Birx, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 896 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (June 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393311503
• ISBN-13: 978-0393311501
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE BETTER DARWIN BIOGRAPHIES February 8, 2005

By D. Blankenship HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I just completed my second reading of this work. I do feel it is one of the better Darwin biographies. It certainly is not in the same league with Janet Browne's two volume work, but if you cannot get Browne, then this one will certainly do. This work is well researched and certainly presents us with a good look at not only Darwin the man, but of his science. I had to agree with another reviewer who made the observation that reading Charles Darwin's work is much easier after reading this work on his life and times. I also enjoyed the insightful look into the Victorian mind...it was an added bonus. Unfortunately, I have noticed that the anti-evolution folks go through these reviews bashing anything said positive about any of the Darwin Biographies. The study of the man, Darwin, is not necessarily an endorsement of his theory. On the other hand, Darwin and his contemporaries did change the way we look at our world and we do owe them a debt for that, and anyone that can produce such a profound work, indeed, needs to be studied. Any one who denies this simply has their head in the sand. Highly recommend this one. Good biography and good history. Well written!

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Biography October 15, 2000

By Bradley P. Rich

Format:Paperback

Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution that he advanced have become a major boon to the publishing trade. The sheer bulk of material in print related to Darwin and evolution is astonishing. With the thousands of books related to this subject out there, it is a daunting task for the interested reader to know where to start. I would suggest that this book is the ideal introduction to learning about Darwin and "Darwinism." The book is first and foremost a superb biography. It gives the reader a real sense of who Darwin was and what his time was like. Further, it explains the science of Darwin's era and puts the theory of natural selection into that context. It does a good job of explaining how the political, social, religious, economic and scientific context of nineteenth century Britain contributed to the development of Darwin's theory. In addition, Desmond and Moore show how Darwin's personal suffering contributed both to the development of his thinking as well as to two decades of delay in its publication.

The style is readable and compelling. In short, I recommend it wholeheartedly both to the casual reader with no background in the area and to those with a serious interest in the subject matter.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Bio September 15, 2005

By Robert Carlberg

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a really first class biography, bringing the full weight of Charles Darwin's "torment" to light. As a devoutly religious man during the oppressively Christian Victorian era, it took uncommon fortitude and intellectual honesty for him to follow the paths down which his researches led him, all the way to the ultimate conclusions which today bear his name.

Much like H.W. Brands's biography of Benjamin Franklin, the authors here do an excellent job of bringing Darwin back to life, both the highs and the lows (including lots of personal tragedy) that shaped his monumental career. Heartbreak played as great a role in his life as discovery.

Compulsively readable without sacrificing detail, all of the major milestones of his life are covered in a personal perspective which gives exactly as much emphasis as events must have had at the time -- even ones which have since reached mythic proportions. This is, as Steven Jay Gould touts on the cover, "Unquestionably, the finest [biography] ever written about Darwin..."