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This is not a biography of Darwin, although it does contain many biographical details. It is, rather, a close examination of Darwin's notebooks, manuscripts, and published work to reveal traces of the evolution of his ideas on evolution. Although Darwin did not go public with his theory of evolution by natural selection until 1859 with "On the Origin of Species," it is clear through his unpublished work (since transcribed, analyzed, and published by Darwin scholars) that the ideas for his theory had been percolating in his mind ever since his famous voyage on the HMS Beagle (1831--1836). In the years following this life-changing trip, Darwin read, studied, and experimented tirelessly in an attempt to understand what he had seen in South America, the Galapagos Islands, and other places. He was deeply puzzled by the patterns of life over time and place and sought a solution to that "mystery of mysteries": the origin of new species. During the years of experimentation and study, he kept copious notes, intended for his eyes only, of all his observations and conclusions. In this book, Eldredge looks into those notes to trace the path of Darwin's creative imagination at work.
It should be noted that Niles Eldredge was a colleague of the late Stephen Jay Gould. Together, they developed their theory of "punctuated equilibria," which claims that evolution was not the steady, gradual process that Darwin claimed it was. Rather, Gould and Eldredge believed that, if you follow the fossil evidence, you will see that evolution was a process of fits and starts: long periods of stasis with little change in species followed by sudden (geologically speaking) changes and many new species arising in a relatively short time, which was followed by more stasis. Their theory was met with much criticism, and it appears that, at least in part, this book is an attempt to defend their theory. Or at least the subject comes up again and again in the book.
I found the book a struggle to get through, but not because the subject is too technically difficult for a lay person. I think it is because of the author's writing style. He favors long, sometimes paragraph-long, sentences that leave you wondering, by the time you get to the verb, what the daggone subject was. So you have to reread the sentence. This may work well for Victorian novels, but not in a book studying the thinking of a great scientist.
The book contains numerous photos, illustrations, and charts. Some of these illustrations are scans of Darwin's handwritten notebooks. These are nice to see, but they do not add much to the book. More interesting and helpful are the cladograms and charts showing the relationships of major groups of organisms. There are also wonderful photographs and photos of portraits of many of the characters in Darwin's life: his wife Emma and daughter Annie (the other nine children are not shown) and many of his professional colleagues and authors who influenced him.
I especially appreciated the last chapter in the book (also, the shortest!): "Darwin as Anti-Christ: Creationism in the Twenty-first Century." The rise of religious fundamentalism in these years is a frightening thing, especially as it attempts to influence public education in America. The future of our country as a leader in the sciences is indeed at stake. Eldredge provides a brief overview of some of the legal battles and provides some ammunition for rebuttal. But I doubt that a religious fundamentalist would ever listen to a reasoned argument that he/she feared might undermine one's faith in the Bible or other holy book. But still, you have to put the arguments out there for those whose minds are not totally shut to new ideas---even those ideas that might threaten their view of the world.
- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 17, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0393059669
- ISBN-13: 978-0393059663
- Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 1 x 9.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 12 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#897,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1962 in Scientist Biographies
- #859 in Environmentalist & Naturalist Biographies
- #1980 in Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions
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