A gorgeous gift and a landmark work that is an essential addition to everyone's personal library.

Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin--Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)--been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slipcased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products. Slipcased hardcover; 101 illustrations, map.

The four most influential books of Charles Darwin--Voyage of the Beagle (1845), On the Origin of Species (1871), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)--are presented here in unexpurgated, with illustrations that have been cleaned in order to more closely match their appearance in the original editions. The main bodies of the texts are presented in chronological order, with the original footnotes and indexes gathered together at the end of the volume, along with an additional general index by prominent evolutionary biologist Edward O. Wilson that contains modern terms and concepts of the field. Wilson also includes brief introductions for the volume as a whole and for each text.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The four most influential books of Charles Darwin--Voyage of the Beagle (1845), On the Origin of Species (1871), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)--are presented here in unexpurgated, with illustrations that have been cleaned in order to more closely match their appearance in the original editions. The main bodies of the texts are presented in chronological order, with the original footnotes and indexes gathered together at the end of the volume, along with an additional general index by prominent evolutionary biologist Edward O. Wilson that contains modern terms and concepts of the field. Wilson also includes brief introductions for the volume as a whole and for each text. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin--"Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle" (1845), "The Origin of Species" (1859), "The Descent of Man" (1871), and "The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals" (1872)--been collected under one cover.