Synopses & Reviews
While there are weighty biographies of Charles Darwin for the specialist and brief introductions for beginners, Cyril Aydons work presents Darwin for the general reader, in a winning combination of historical accuracy and exemplary, lucid science. Aydon begins with one of the overlooked factors in the great mans successhe was rich. Thanks to his familys wealth and position, Darwin could turn down careers in medicine and the clergy to devote his life to science, an undoubted factor in his becoming one of the undisputed giants of the field. Pursuing his studies on his own terms, he made major contributions to geology and virtually invented ecology. And he wrote two books, The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man, that changed forever our view of life on earth and mans place in the natural order. Charles Darwin places Darwin the devoted father and husband in the context of his scientific career, as well as elucidating his intellectual principles. It not only explains what The Origin of Species was about, but also portrays how the epochal controversy of its publication affected him and his family personally. And it immerses the reader in both the physical and the intellectual excitement of the Beagle voyage. To round out this captivating biography, Aydon supplies an extended postscript analyzing the secret of Darwins success, following the changing fortunes of his theories according to fashions in intellectual thought, and explaining his significance to two centuries of evolutionary speculation and discovery. 16 pages of full-color and black-and-white photographs are included in this portrait of the father of evolutionary theory.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-313) and index.
Synopsis
Engaging and accessible, historically accurate and admirably lucid in its scientific exposition, Cyril Aydon's life of the man who fathered the theory of evolution examines Darwin's personal quests and illuminates his revolutionary achievements. It begins with one of the most overlooked factors in the great man's success—he was rich, and could thus devote himself to the pursuits that established him as one of the undisputed giants in the field of natural history. He made major contributions to geology, he virtually invented ecology, and he changed forever our view of the place held in the natural order by Homo sapiens. Darwin was also a devoted father and husband, and Aydon's biography never loses sight of the man and the family that stood behind him throughout his career, especially when it erupted in the epochal controversy accompanying publication of The Origin of Species. That career included Darwin's expeditionary voyage aboard the Beagle, a viscerally thrilling and intellectually exciting adventure that is vividly recounted here. In addition, pages of photographs and an extended postscript consider the far-reaching influence of Darwin, following intellectual thought through two centuries of evolutionary speculation and scientific discovery.