From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals) [Hardcover]

Charles Darwin (Author), Edward O. Wilson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2005

Hailed as "superior" by Nature, this landmark volume is  available in a collectible, boxed edition.

Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin—Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)—been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slipcased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products. 101 illustrations

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...will bring the wonders of Darwin to a wide audience. [Darwin] was not only great in his time, but if anything he is even greater today." John Tyler Bonner, The Times Literary Supplement "Anyone who wishes to start the new year with a real intellectual feast will buy the four 'great books' of Darwin, published in one volume by W.W. Norton." A.N. Wilson, The Daily Telegraph

About the Author

Naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) is the father of evolution. His groundbreaking The Origin of Species argued that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. As much as anyone in the modern era, Darwin has changed the course of human thought.

Edward O. Wilson is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Social Conquest of Earth and Anthill: A Novel, as well as the Pulitzer Prize–winning On Human Nature and (with Bert Hölldobler) The Ants. For his contributions in science and conservation, he has received more than one hundred awards from around the world. A professor emeritus at Harvard University, he lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1706 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Slipcased Edition edition (November 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393061345
• ISBN-13: 978-0393061345
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 136 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Darwin's fine writing is not entirely well served here June 12, 2006

By 55anonymous55

Format:Hardcover

Darwin was not just a top-notch scientist but also a gifted author. He had a very lively mind, and he read everything, which means he had a gift for finding just the right example to illustrate his point. And he always tries to make his case with modesty and thoughtfulness, the best way to convince a skeptic.

This edition of Darwin's four most famous works is beautifully printed and physically attractive. It's also sturdily bound, a good idea given the huge page count. However, there are two aspects of this edition that I regret:

--The footnotes are all printed as endnotes, so you have to flip back and forth. (This seems so strange to me: any word processing program can handle footnotes without difficulty, so why can't publishers cope with them?)

--I also regret that the distinguished editor, E. O. Wilson, did not add his own footnotes. When I read Darwin's more speculative remarks, I'd like to know: "Did this pan out; was Darwin in fact right on this point?". The books would benefit greatly from follow-up remarks, in light of the huge progress made in evolutionary theory since Darwin's day. Wilson's own vast knowledge would have made him an ideal candidate to provide such commentary.

But don't let my quibbles deter you. These books are deeply inspiring and very much worth your time.

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best One-Volume Collection of Darwin's Primary Works February 27, 2006

By Jamyang Norbu

Format:Hardcover

I know of at least three publishers, Norton, Running Press and Barnes & Noble, who have recently come out with single volume collections of Darwin's four major works. This particular collection published by Norton is by far the most complete and useful. First of all the book has been edited by the eminent Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson. Wilson provides an introductory essay for the collection and separate introductions for the four books. The essays are clear and informative, though I would have liked them to be longer. Still we are provided with separate indexes for all four books including a general index. The Running Press collection, by comparison, lacks an index and has, furthermore, had most illustrations removed.

The only complaint I have about the Norton book is that Darwin's footnotes have been converted to endnotes. A bit of an annoyance.

75 of 81 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The most important idea ever presented... December 20, 2005

By Dennis R. Mitton

Format:Hardcover

I think it was Gould who lamented the fact that so few people have actually read Darwin. I'll admit that he's not always easy reading but it's almost always rewarding and this small collection puts his four primary works right on your desk.

Darwin's writings are far from the last word on evolution and natural selection and enormous strides have been made since he first presented his ideas. That doesn't diminish the importance of these works though. Feynman always went back to the original authors in his study of physics and found that it gave him a tremendous edge in understanding new ideas: once you have a firm foundation and basis of understanding it's easier to see how new ideas fit in or change the central dogma. In the same way these volumes are necessary for an understanding of the historical questions concerning evolution and for the still current debates.

I found the introduction and notes by Wilson to be a real help that added to the text. Darwin's ideas are seminal and still so controversial to out culture at large that we still fight over them. Reading through this collection can help gain a deeper perspective into Darwin, his ideas, and the entire study of evolution.