This alphabetically arranged reference, an immensely entertaining browser's delight, offers a dazzling overview of the life and thought of Charles Darwin and his incredibly wide sphere of influence. Authoritative and abundantly illustrated, it illuminates the ways in which ideas of evolutionary biology have leapt the boundaries of science to influence philosophy, law, religion, literature, cinema, art, and popular culture. Darwin's Universe, a thoroughly revised and updated successor to Richard Milner's acclaimed Encyclopedia of Evolution, contains more than a hundred new essays, including entries on animal behavior (Alex the parrot, Kanzi the bonobo, Digit the gorilla), on women in science (Mary Anning, Rosalind Franklin), and on the latest finds of human fossils. A veritable museum of natural history, it also contains many original discoveries brought to light by Milner's historical sleuthing. Packed with hundreds of rare illustrations, including many new ones, this Darwin Bicentennial edition will appeal to a wide audience of readers.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"All things Darwin, authoritative, amusing, abundantly illustrated, including some rare finds."--Scientific American
"A browsers delight. . . . Offers an immensely entertaining overview of the history of natural science."--The Lady (Uk)
From the Inside Flap
"Darwin's Universe is the single best volume ever published that covers all matters Darwinian from A to Z. I have never so enjoyed a scientific book, plucking out gems of elegant narrative richly supported by photographs and paintings from the history of evolutionary thought. A magnificent product of scholarship that is also a work of art."--Michael Shermer, author of In Darwin's Shadow and Why Darwin Matters
"This is no staid, humorless encyclopedia of natural history and evolution; rather, it is a joyous romp through a world inhabited by as eccentric and absorbing a cast of characters as was ever brought together between endpapers."--From the preface by Ian Tattersall, author of The Monkey in the Mirror and The Fossil Trail
"This is no staid, humorless encyclopedia of natural history and evolution; rather, it is a joyous romp through a world inhabited by as eccentric and absorbing a cast of characters as was ever brought together between endpapers."--From the preface by Ian Tattersall, author of The Monkey in the Mirror and The Fossil Trail
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Darwin's Universe is that rare creature, both entertaining and sound, not unlike the author himself. Books like this go a long way in exposing the irrelevance of creationism and the centrality of evolution in the biological sciences. The biographical sketches bring the scientists to life with all their contradictions, triumphs, and tragedies intact. If you read only one book this year on science, make it this one.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
We keep "Darwin's Universe" sitting on our cocktail table so my wife and I can pick it up periodically and savor a few entries. Last night I read a number of the mini-essays out loud to her while she was knitting. I started with the introduction--a wonderful musing on evolution and the treasures in the book. Then I began reading through the A's and B's : ADAM AND EVE; AGASSIZ, LOUIS; AGNOSTICISM; ALEX (the parrot); ANNING, MARY; ARCHAEOPTERYX; BANKS, SIR JOSEPH; BARLOW, LADY NORA; BARNUM , PHINEAS T.; (HMS) BEAGLE; and BEECHER, HENRY WARD. Each was a little gem brimming with delectable morsels, to mix some metaphors. "Darwin's Universe" is great for reading-aloud, something I wouldn't dream of doing with any other "reference book." For both edification and entertainment it beats PBS and NPR.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Darin's Universe is a masterpiece! Milner brings his vast erudtion and charm to every aspect of evolutionary science, even where it overlaps with pop culture. The book makes every subject come to life, even subjects I thought I had no interest in and makes them shine. Replete with rare and unseen images from all over the world, Darwin's Universe literally leaves no stone unturned. A must-have!
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
ENTER MILNER'S DELIGHTFUL "UNIVERSE"
Richard Milner is a maestro in "Darwin's Universe," conducting the greatest symphony of evolutionary ideas, fascinating natural history, and bizarre and brilliant characters that has ever been gathered in one beautiful volume. He is the PT Barnum of the evolutionary circus, offering the fruits of his unparalleled research into the theories and people who created evolutionary biology and the history of humanity's quest for its origins. Even the expert will find here previously unknown stories about Charles Darwin, Thomas Henry Huxley, Alfred Russel Wallace, and many others.
"Darwin's Universe" may at first appear to be a coffee table book, with its large format and hundreds of varied, rare, and unusual illustrations, but it is so much more. It is an entertaining masterpiece mixing arcane and elementary knowledge, the profound and the hilarious. I find myself dipping into it every day and being delighted with the bite-size essays that hook the reader for a quickie, and then draw you in for hours of fun reading.
You can ponder the existence of Group Selection, find surprising essays on Science itself and Peer Review, learn about the most recent discoveries of fossil man (Flores, Dmanisi, Atapuerca, Toumai), or explore some of the ways that evolutionary theory has influenced pop culture (Disney's epic of battling dinosaurs; Gertie the brontosaur, the first animal cartoon star; King Kong,; and Jurassic Park--with the backstories of how they were created).... Read more ›
Richard Milner is a maestro in "Darwin's Universe," conducting the greatest symphony of evolutionary ideas, fascinating natural history, and bizarre and brilliant characters that has ever been gathered in one beautiful volume. He is the PT Barnum of the evolutionary circus, offering the fruits of his unparalleled research into the theories and people who created evolutionary biology and the history of humanity's quest for its origins. Even the expert will find here previously unknown stories about Charles Darwin, Thomas Henry Huxley, Alfred Russel Wallace, and many others.
"Darwin's Universe" may at first appear to be a coffee table book, with its large format and hundreds of varied, rare, and unusual illustrations, but it is so much more. It is an entertaining masterpiece mixing arcane and elementary knowledge, the profound and the hilarious. I find myself dipping into it every day and being delighted with the bite-size essays that hook the reader for a quickie, and then draw you in for hours of fun reading.
You can ponder the existence of Group Selection, find surprising essays on Science itself and Peer Review, learn about the most recent discoveries of fossil man (Flores, Dmanisi, Atapuerca, Toumai), or explore some of the ways that evolutionary theory has influenced pop culture (Disney's epic of battling dinosaurs; Gertie the brontosaur, the first animal cartoon star; King Kong,; and Jurassic Park--with the backstories of how they were created).... Read more ›
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In this year of the Darwin bicentennial, I can't think of a better introduction to what it all means - and why his deceptively simple theory of evolution by natural selection is so central to modern biology and why it still triggers such great emotion. Crammed with a wealth of information about evolution's key players and central ideas, Richard Milner's "Darwin's Universe" is the work of a master of science popularization, without even a trace of jargon, and illustrated with rare photographs and engravings on almost every page. Though encyclopedic in scope, it is also a rattling good read, a feast to savor over many days. It includes essays on every conceivable topic touching on the evolutionary story - from the introduction of dinosaurs into Hollywood cartoons and the making of the 1933 movie "King Kong" to an extended profile of the great evolutionist himself (Did you know, for example, that Charles Darwin served as a part-time justice of the peace? He was usually soft-hearted but tough on poachers and those cruel to animals.) Like the works of Milner's childhood buddy Stephen Jay Gould, "Darwin's Universe" is an essential addition to the bookshelves of anyone with even a passing interest in contemporary science. Dip into it, and you'll evolve too.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Judy J.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Richard Milner masterfully takes what could be a very dry subject and brings it to life in a most exciting manner. As I read various entries, the people became real - alive - I felt that they were sitting in my living room. I love the way he intertwines the people and the politics and the history and the discoveries - a complicated web that becomes so clear and easy to understand because of Milner's genius. This book is for scholars, but it is most definitely for the everyday guy, like me. The book should be on the shelf of every home, every library, and should be required reading at every college and university. - Judy J., Albuquerque, New Mexico
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
REVISION EVEN BETTER!
I HAVE WAITED EAGERLY FOR MILNER TO UPDATE THIS WONDROUSLY ENTERTAINING & PAINLESSLY DIDACTIC TOUR DE FORCE,AND I AM DELIGHTED TO SAY HE HAS AGAIN MADE ALL OF THE IMPORTANT... Read more
Published 9 months ago by BUSAMAN
3.0 out of 5 stars
tainted by political correctness and hate quotes
This book is a valuable reference. Unfortunately, those who assembled it allowed their own prejudices and ethics and morality to infect the work so that biographies of... Read more
Published on May 10, 2011 by Nom de plume
5.0 out of 5 stars
Something for everyone interested in Darwin
Darwin's Universe is the perfect coffee table encyclopedia for anthropologists, biologists, and historians of science. Read more
Published on December 13, 2009 by Gale Girl
5.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining read that draws many connections...
Richard Milner's entry in the flood of books written for the Darwin bicentennial - Darwin's Universe: Evolution from A to Z - is an uncommonly entertaining and literate... Read more
Published on November 20, 2009 by J. T. Benoit
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful update of what turns out to be an old friend of a book
Recently I won the New York Times Science Songwriting Contest for my song "Mister Darwin," (see
[... Read more
[... Read more
Published on August 18, 2009 by David Haines
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Delightful Romp Through the Garden of Evolution
I've done little more than leaf through "Darwin's Universe," but already I can say it looks wonderful! Read more
Published on July 29, 2009 by Robert L. Carneiro
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