The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries)

A marvelous read. Quammen is a superb writer and he brings Darwin to life. The author clearly loves the subject of the book, and Mr. Darwin was a very likeable man indeed.

This is a superb overview of life of Charles Darwin after he returns from the voyage of The Beagle in October 1836. Mr. Quammen is an excellent non-fiction writer, with an easy style that flows and pulls you into the story and continues to make it interesting throughout. He chose to write only the years after the Beagle voyage in the interest of brevity and focus on the more important work done after 1836, especially of course, On the Origin of Species. This is not an in-depth biography and isn't intended to be.In about 250 pages, Quammen does a fine job of distilling Darwin's quietly productive life, both personal and scientific. Many things must be hastily skimmed of course. When this occurs, Quammen says it specifically, such as on pp. 228-230 where he gives a 30,000-foot view of developments in evolutionary theory since Darwin, including the "modern synthesis." He pointedly shows you the best places to look for the details by including the important titles by the principals for further reading.One thing I particulary like about this book is that it brings Darwin the man to life. It highlights his family life, friendships, scientific relationships and how they influence him. It also presents Darwin as the very humane man that he was; and shows his unflinching pursuit of facts, in spite of consequences (while still trying very hard not to offend anyone.)My only negatives would be where the occasional glib, too-conversational quip gets past the editor. These occasional lapses show something of the author's history of writing for magazines, including many years with Outside. That said, these were rare and only detracted momentarily.This is an excellent place to start with Darwin. Also highly recommended: Everyman's Library edition of On the Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle: The Origin of Species and the Voyage of the Beagle

Any book by David Quammen s worth reading and this is no exception. By focusing on Darwin’s life and work after he returned from the voyage of the Beagle, Quammen sheds serious light on Darwin’s deep curiosity and his truly scientific approach to his work. A fascinating and pleasant read

This is an entertaining and informative biography on the development and continual reworking and modifying of the Theory of Evolution as put down by Charles Darwin, and other tidbits of information regarding Darwin's personal life and habits and behaviors. The author, David Quammen, also touches on the work of Alfred Russel Wallace and his parallel development of his own Theory of Evolution. Other aquaintances of Darwin, many of them prominent men of science, are also mentioned and elaborated on. Quammen is a very capable and talented story teller who brings a wry sense of humor and keen insight to a subject that could very easily spiral into a morass of boredom in less capable hands. Charles Darwin is brought to life as not only an assiduous workaholic prober of the natural world, but as the very human, gentle, and compassionate husband and father that he was. My only complaint is that this wonderful little nugget is too short. I would have preferred a volume twice as long but no longer. And Quammen also comments on the book's brevity. I recommend this work. It is not as thorough as Quammen's "Song of the Dodo," but it is a good read and can be knocked off in an afternoon; plus you may learn things you may not have known about one of the great scientific theorists of the nineteenth century. One final note: there is a funny bit regarding the human genome vis a vis that of the mouse that made me laugh out loud for several minutes. Who knew that science could be so funny. This pithy remark alone is worth the price of this modest little book.

This is more than simply "another look at Darwin". The author attempts to transmit the Darwin's personal evolution on the subject of Evolution. In doing that he begins his tale after the Beagle. Few realize that Darwin was recognized as a great scientist in his own day. They do not know that he conducted exhaustive experiments and study of organisms as divergent as pigeons, barnacles, worms and finches. He published seven books on plants ranging from insectivorous to orchids.The author insists that true discovery is an incremental process - one thought leads to another and then to another, etc. Darwin (and others) had glimpses of the truth but it was decades before he felt the evidence was solid enough to publish - and even that was due to a race against a rival. The author points out that the term "Darwinist" is misleading. He did not start a religion, found a movement or train a bevy of disciples Perhaps the biggest surprise was that despite its "hit status", ORIGINS did not quickly change minds. Acceptance of the theory came years later after other sources had not only verified but built upon his work.I must add that the writing was beautiful, literary and almost poetic at times. The oft-stated complaints of religious prejudice is just only if one accepts that Creationism is valid. Darwin's own path toward unbelief was documented as was the long, loving marriage to his pious wife. The book succeeds because it balances science, history and biography. My Grade - A-

Livro sucinto mas rico em detalhes sobre o pensamento de Charles Darwin, com ênfase no período compreendido entre o retorno do naturalista à Inglaterra, em 1836, e a publicação do seu famoso "A Origem das Espécies". Não foi o objetivo do escritor (David Quammen) narrar muitos detalhes da vida pessoal do naturalista, como explicitado no prefácio do livro, mas mostrar a evolução do pensamento e os métodos científicos por ele utilizados que culminaram na tese científica perfeita contida em seu livro mais famoso. Ótima leitura.

An absolutely fabulous book. So brilliantly written it is a joy to read. I borrowed it from the library and had to buy my own copy. "Darwin's Fossils" is another lovely Darwin related book for those interested.

Great book, interesting but never boring. Quammen never lets you down

A very good and very readable portrait of Darwin and his contemporaries in the scientific world, and of the fast changing times in which they lived. If you want just one (not too long) book to explain it all - to understand the basics of Darwin's brilliant idea, of how he worked over years to prove it and coped with the inevitable resistance in the society in which he lived and worked - then I would recommend this one!

Livre très intéressant à méditer par les scientifiques trop pressés de publier leurs résultats, même si les temps ont bien changés