The Evolution of Charles Darwin: The Epic Voyage of the Beagle That Forever Changed Our View of Life on Earth
4/5
()
About this ebook
From the Los Angeles Times Book Prize–winning historian, the colorful, dramatic story of Charles Darwin’s journey on HMS Beagle that inspired the evolutionary theories in his path-breaking books On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man
When twenty-two-year-old aspiring geologist Charles Darwin boarded HMS Beagle in 1831 with his microscopes and specimen bottles—invited by ship’s captain Robert FitzRoy who wanted a travel companion at least as much as a ship’s naturalist—he hardly thought he was embarking on what would become perhaps the most important and epoch-changing voyage in scientific history. Nonetheless, over the course of the five-year journey around the globe in often hard and hazardous conditions, Darwin would make observations and gather samples that would form the basis of his revolutionary theories about the origin of species and natural selection.
Drawing on a rich range of revealing letters, diary entries, recollections of those who encountered him, and Darwin’s and FitzRoy’s own accounts of what transpired, Diana Preston chronicles the epic voyage as it unfolded, tracing Darwin’s growth from untested young man to accomplished adventurer and natural scientist in his own right. Darwin often left the ship to climb mountains, navigate rivers, or ride hundreds of miles, accompanied by local guides whose languages he barely understood, across pampas and through rainforests in search of further unique specimens. From the wilds of Patagonia to the Galápagos and other Atlantic and Pacific islands, as Preston vibrantly relates, Darwin collected and contrasted volcanic rocks and fossils large and small, witnessed an earthquake, and encountered the Argentinian rhea, Falklands fox, and Galápagos finch, through which he began to discern connections between deep past and present.
Darwin never left Britain again after his return in 1836, though his mind journeyed far and wide to develop the theories that were first revealed, after great delay and with trepidation about their reception, in 1859 with the publication of his epochal book On the Origin of Species. Offering a unique portrait of one of history’s most consequential figures, The Evolution of Charles Darwin is a vital contribution to our understanding of life on Earth.
Diana Preston
Diana Preston is an acclaimed historian and author of the definitive Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy, Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology), The Boxer Rebellion, and The Dark Defile: Britain's Catastrophic Invasion of Afghanistan, 1838–1842, among other works of narrative history. She and her husband, Michael, live in London.
Read more from Diana Preston
Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Higher Form of Killing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Voices of the Lusitania Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Evolution of Charles Darwin
Related ebooks
Galileo: And the Science Deniers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand: Fifty Wonders That Reveal an Extraordinary Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life on Earth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Big History: From the Big Bang to the Present Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brain Cuttings: Fifteen Journeys Through the Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The History of the World: The Story of Mankind from Prehistory to the Modern Day Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Human Instinct: How We Evolved to Have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At the Water's Edge: Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A History of Man: A Concise Study of the World Patterns That Brought Us to Here Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Bones: Unearthing the Astonishing New Story of How We Became Human Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Pursuit of the Essex: Heroism & Hubris on the High Seas in the War of 1812 Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Life: The Leading Edge of Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Anthropology, and Environmental Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Nature For You
SAS Survival Handbook, Third Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Dog Lessons: From Renowned Expert Dog Trainer and Host of Lucky Dog: Reunions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roxane Gay & Everand Originals: My Year of Psychedelics: Lessons on Better Living Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Scout's Guide to Wild Edibles: Learn How To Forage, Prepare & Eat 40 Wild Foods Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness, and Save the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Coffee: A Sustainable Guide to Nootropics, Adaptogens, and Mushrooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Honeybee Democracy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Kitchen Garden: An Inspired Collection of Garden Designs & 100 Seasonal Recipes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Foraging for Survival: Edible Wild Plants of North America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arthur: The Dog who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Solace of Open Spaces: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5H Is for Hawk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Evolution of Charles Darwin
1 rating0 reviews