Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist

A few years ago, probably after watching Master and Commander, I read about Charles Darwin but only his trip on the Beagle. After 676 pages here, the trip on the boat is the most telling event of his life. If not, the close competition is the death of his daughter Anne. Both had the profound impacts on his views of science. Start before the trip to find authors Adrian Desmond and James Moore declaring, “The Established Churches of Scotland and England rule all aspects of life, monopolizing political offices, regulating hospital, university, and legal posts, prescribing the rites surrounding birth, marriage and death, restricting civil liberties, and suppressing other religious groups.” This was in 1826. What torments Darwin, among other things as his life progresses, is the power held by the church. It is why the book ends not with Darwin’s death but a chapter on the argument for his burial at Westminster Abbey, something unthinkable, considering the challenges he would present, early in his life. Also his father, Robert, would not have thought it possible, as he was not impressed with his son’s inattention to medicine and rote learning. But then there was Robert Edmond Grant, a sponge expert and the man who on page 35 is said to have walked the Alps seven times, and what school did not inspire in Edinburgh Grant, also a doctor but one who gave up his practice, did.Darwin’s craft began with barnacles. But it was the Beagle that posed a connection between them and man: “What was he to make of these wretched people? Had they lived here in their present state ‘since the creation’? … Why did they remain naked?” Although the Galapagos receives so much credit for showing Darwin classification, the Fuegians he saw with Captain Fitzroy at the bottom of South America made the lasting impression. Although it was a world of difference between the savages and Isaac Newton, “they must possess ‘a sufficient share of happiness … to render life worth having’.” All of it famously led Darwin to counter Fitzroy with views about Christianity and slavery. Beetles were next.Forgotten as a factor in Darwin’s secrecy after his return to England was the class warfare which is hard to imagine now. “The clergy was under siege; the barbarians were at the gate.” There was a constant rebellion against established political power, not so much against religious ties, that came to life through Charles Dickens and Karl Marx in London. Not committed to either, Darwin is tied to both. And so the 1858 date on Origin of the Species does not indicate his digestion of thought but a calm and patient nature, indeed a scientific mind. He was married. Emma was his cousin, a Wedgewood. And the first cousin pairing haunted him for the rest of his life, partly because of Anne and her death and because the siblings all had health problems, though not so much to hold them from productive adult lives. The last struggle alluded to in the title is the horrid sickness that cannot be expected even for 19th century standards. Darwin spent weeks, months, seasons retching, undergoing water treatment, and laid up for stomach problems. He did manage his home of Down, mentor Thomas Huxley, and go on to write almost non-stop, especially the Descent of Man, but his life became as dry as his work. Almost nowhere in the book is the scientist ever engaged in a wayward, even slightly humorous conversation.

For Rulers: Priming Political Leaders for Saving Humanity from ItselfAs succinctly stated by the authors “More than any modern thinker – even Freud or Marx – this affable old-world naturalist from the minor Shropshire gentry has transformed the way we see ourselves on the planet” (Kindle location 371-373).This book helps to observe and partly understand how this happened by providing an outstanding profile of Darwin, as a human and an outstanding empirical researcher leading to one of the most momentous scientific revolutions, in the context of the ongoing transformation of England moving into the Victorian period.The text presents the emergence of main ideas and problems of the science of evolution which are not only of historic interest, but in large part continue to modern research. preoccupy essential for understanding its present standing. In particular, in my reading it also makes clear that the emerging ability of humankind to deliberately shape its future evolution thanks to leaping biological, nano-technological and artificial intelligence knowledge and tools – what is called the “Singularity” – require an additional paradigmatic quantum-leap, otherwise our species is quite likely to eradicate itself.But there is a serious problem: timely elaboration of a novel paradigm fitting the evolutionary challenges of the Singularity may well require a genius of the caliber of Darwin, in addition to building stones provided by high-quality but “normal” scientists and philosophers. All the more do I regret that the book does not provide any clear insights into what makes a genius, leaving this a perplexing riddle..This is not a complaint: Despite all the advances in cognitive psychology and neurosciences, the nature of “geniuses” remains an enigma which the authors should not be expected to solve. Still, as they know more about Darwin than anyone else, I would have welcomed their impressions, or at least some guesstimates, on the “genius” features of Darwin and their genesis. Was his breakthrough triggered by empiric impressions starting with his long sea trip, or/and by some ideas beginning to emerge in his period, or/and some kind of dreamlike inspiration, or what?As it is, the book is required reading for all who want to understand modernity and the challenes facing it, as largely shaped by the science of evolution founded by Darwin.Professor Yehezkel DrorThe Hebrew University of Jerusalem

This is an excellent biography of Darwin. The writing is a bit choppy and the copious use of single sets of quotation marks can be distracting, but if you're reading for information rather than style, this book definitely fits the bill. There are nice glossy picture pages that give the reader an insight into what Darwin saw, and what motivated and excited him, and there is even a picture of Emma Darwin's daily diary which was a fun extra tidbit. All in all it's a marvelous book for those inclined to want a solid view of Darwin's path to his Big Theory. Of the Darwin biographies I've read, this one stands above the rest.

Good value for the money, great condition for a secondhand book, aways great to recycle where possible.

The author covers each aspect of Darwin's life, going into his life as a child, how he related to his older sister and female cousins. Darwin was a sportsman and loved to bag animals. As a collector of beetles, he was near the top. He filled the role of country gentleman to a T. The book makes clear that Darwin was not very interested in becoming a clergyman but it was an avenue open to him and would provide an adequate, if small, living. Darwin was always more interested in examinging and dissecting nature, read insects.The book covers the state of English society during Darwin's life and gives an excellent overview of the influences working upon Darwin. I would recommend this book highly to anyone interested in history per se. Darwin was not a complex man in this rendition, but a creature of his time and place.

Book looks new.