Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries Series)
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"Quammen brilliantly and powerfully re-creates the 19th century naturalist's intellectual and spiritual journey."—Los Angeles Times Book Review Publishers Weekly It's easy to hear why PW named Grover Gardner Narrator of the Year in '05. He uses inflection, stress, rhythm and his rich vocal range to create an easy and often amusing conversational style. This is particularly appropriate for the modern idiom that makes Quammen's book so lively and readable. (He writes, for example, that Darwin did "a vast amount of scholarly nibbling and scribbling.") It took Darwin 21 years (and the threat that someone else might publish first) to publish his theory because almost all his contemporaries held theological views of nature, and his wife feared that she and Charles would not be united in heaven. Quammen explains that the synthesis of Darwin's theory of evolution and Gregor Mendel's genetic discoveries was essential to establish what now underpins all modern science. This short, highly readable book is as valuable as it is timely. Simultaneous release with the Norton hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 17). (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Home and Dry: an introduction 11The Fabric Falls: 1837-1839 20The Kiwi's Egg: 1842-1844 52Point of Attachment: 1846-1851 84A Duck for Mr. Darwin: 1848-1857 122His Abominable Volume: 1858-1859 153The Fittest Idea: 1860 to the future 205The Last Beetle: 1876-1882 235Source Notes 255Bibliography 271Acknowledgments 285Index 289
