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Darwin's Origin of Species

A Biography: Books That Changed the World

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Darwin's Origin of Species

By: Janet Browne
Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
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About this listen

 Charles Darwin's foremost biographer, Janet Browne, delivers a vivid and accessible introduction to the book that permanently altered our understanding of what it is to be human. A sensation on its publication in 1859, The Origin of the Species profoundly shocked Victorian readers by calling into question the belief in a Creator with its description of evolution through natural selection. And Darwin's seminal work is nearly as controversial today.

In her illuminating study, Browne delves into the long genesis of Darwin's theories, from his readings as a university student and his five-year voyage on the Beagle, to his debates with contemporaries and experiments in his garden.

She explores the shock to Darwin when he read of competing scientist's similar discoveries and the wide and immediate impact of Darwin's theories on the world. As one of the launch titles in Atlantic Monthly Press' Books That Changed the World series, Browne's history takes readers inside The Origin of the Species and shows why it can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published.

©2007 Janet Browne; (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc. Biological Sciences Evolution Evolution & Genetics History History & Philosophy Professionals & Academics Science Science & Technology Natural History Biography

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Critic reviews

"It may seem peculiar to write a biography of a book, but Darwin's Origin of Species is certainly a worthy subject....This excellent introduction is highly recommended for all...who want to better understand the heated debates that this book still causes today." (Publishers Weekly)
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This sounded interesting and possibly could be if abridged and read better. It works its way slowly and without much passion through one of the most exciting discoveries in history, in a way which suggests it's aimed either at the very young or the very dimwitted. The narrative fails to catch the imagination and is constantly interrupted by superfluous detail such as dates of birth and death of all the characters. Worst of all, the narrator has a flat, staccato voice which sounds like a clockwork Dalek about to run out of power. A huge disappointment and there must be better books out there to introduce Darwin and his work.

Worthy but dull

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