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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not What I Expected, June 22, 2010
This review is from: What about Darwin?: All Species of Opinion from Scientists, Sages, Friends, and Enemies Who Met, Read, and Discussed the Naturalist Who Changed the World (Paperback)
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What I hoped this book would be is a sort of "Bartlett's Darwin Quotations," containing both friendly and hostile quotes about the man and his theory. As such, the book would be a useful compendium for writers looking for a piquant quote to make their point. Unfortunately, my hope for this book is unrealized.
"What about Darwin?" is indeed a book of quotes about Darwin by friendly and hostile sources, but its usefulness lies elsewhere. If you are a historian looking into the reception-history of Darwin's ideas, as well as primary sources describing the man, this is the first book you need to read. Glick organizes the quotes by last name and puts an asterix next to the names of people quoted elsewhere in the text. This allows the reader to uncover the social networks in 19th-century England and North America that helped disseminate Darwin's ideas, and critiques of those ideas.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, many of the quotes have little usefulness beyond that limited purpose. Take, for example, the entry on P.T. Barnum. Barnum, described as an "American Circus Impressario," was eminently quotable. Glick doesn't quote Barnum on Darwin, however. He quotes George Templeton Strong and an advertisement about Barnum's "What is IT?" exhibit, as well as the April 18, 1873, issue of the "Brooklyn Eagle" on Barnum's contribution to natural history. As illustration of reception-history, these quotes work well to show how Darwin's ideas were transmitted to and perceived by popular culture. But what else is a writer to make of Strong's quote: "Stopped at Barnum's on my way downtown to see the much advertised non-descript, the 'What-is-it.' [...] The creature's [...] anatomical details are fearfully simian, and he's a great fact for Darwin"?
There are far better quote's in the book, of course. But there's also a lot of this stuff.
As I said, these quotes are useful for a very narrow purpose. But if you're a writer looking for something like "Bartlett's Darwin Quotations," this is not the book for you.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A collection of opinions about Darwinism, May 17, 2010
This review is from: What about Darwin?: All Species of Opinion from Scientists, Sages, Friends, and Enemies Who Met, Read, and Discussed the Naturalist Who Changed the World (Paperback)
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This is a collection of opinions expressed by key figures in the history about Darwin's theory of evolution, which reflects on how his theory touched their minds and hearts. Darwin influenced a very wide range of people from all fields. Examples include; Pope Pius IX, Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Mahatma Gandhi, President Abraham Lincoln, President Theodore Roosevelt, President Woodrow Wilson, Lenin, Stalin, John Maynard Keynes, Bertrand Russell, Charles Dickens, and many others. Many were Darwin's enemies, some ridiculed his theory, and many became evolutionists. The Wilberforce - Huxley debate at Oxford in July 1860 was a turning point in the acceptance of Darwinism in England. Most of the elite had been won over in first few months of his publication, "On the origin of species."
A summary of some of the comments of his admirers and his critics are as follows: I very much like physicist Ernst Mach's criticism of Darwin in which he observes that if preservation of species had been more important than adaptation, struggle for survival, and evolution; then species would move in a vicious circle like "perpetual motion" in physics. Albert Einstein provides a cautionary note in his opinion that human beings should not confuse the struggle for survival as a justification to dominate another human being for economic reasons. Einstein praises the depth of Darwin's investigation into the natural history of life. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche presents a notoriously anti-English, and highly critical of Darwin's theory, and uses the word "mediocre spirit" and "mediocre Englishman" few times in his criticism. Physicist Werner Heisenberg observes that evolution of a complex molecular structure from simple molecules needs not only the laws of physics and chemistry but also the key concepts of evolution enunciated by Darwin. Clergyman Henry Beecher was the first minister of a Christian church in United States to accept Darwin's theory as the truthful description of natural history, and he is known to have used his sermon on March 11, 1860 to express his support. But the opposition in church was also widespread. Evangelist Billy Sunday ridiculed Darwin's theory of evolution and called fellow scientists who support Darwin as "feeble minded." He called Christians who believe in evolution are essentially nonbelievers of the Word of God.
The Darwin's correspondence project ([...]) and the Darwin online (www.Darwin-online.org.uk) also provide useful info about numerous Darwin's letters. At the end of the book, having read 442 criticisms, the reader gets an idea of how much his theory stirred the minds of people. It also gives a picture of various aspects of his life, his work, and his personality. Recently there have been many reports suggesting that Darwin's family had ill effects of inbreeding, but in spite of his poor health conditions and personal tragedies, Darwin had lasting effect on the way we think about our origin and our natural history.
1. The Origin Of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Another book afloat on the Darwin wave..., May 16, 2010
This review is from: What about Darwin?: All Species of Opinion from Scientists, Sages, Friends, and Enemies Who Met, Read, and Discussed the Naturalist Who Changed the World (Paperback)
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As well-researched, carefully thought out, and jam packed as this book is, I thought I would like it a lot more, or at least, I thought I would read through the whole thing. (Disclaimer: I did not.) But, I feel that this book would really have been a lot more interesting, or at least readable, had it been organized in a different fashion. Unfortunately, Mr. Glick has gone to all the trouble of finding a bunch of funny, intriguing, thought-provoking, debate-inducing comments concerning Darwin and his theories, then simply put them in alphabetical order of the people who made the various pronouncements. This makes the book almost unreadable, despite the thorough cross-referencing intended for the reader who wishes to follow a specific path. (I tried it; it makes for tedious, cumbersome reading.) I would have preferred to see the comments arranged in chapters based around specific themes or types of comments. That would have made the book flow. Then, the author could just put an index at the back for the reader who wished to cover things by speaker/writer instead of subject. In fact, even a chronological arrangement would have been more interesting, as that would have allowed the reader to see how the perception and influence of Darwin and his theories changed over the years. As it is, it feels like the author is trying to capitalize on the ongoing debate between creationism and evolution by cobbling this book together and throwing it into the mix. I will say: the subject matter is interesting enough that I'm sure it will serve as a great reference manual or waiting room book in some biology professor's office, but I found it unreadable in any other context.
If you are more into the theory and the current controversy of evolution versus creationism, check out The Selfless Gene: Living with God and Darwin. It has a lot of new viewpoints to bring to the discussion of God and creationists versus evolution and scientists.
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