On the Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

by Charles Darwin, Charles Robert Darwin, Charles William Eliot

Book Overview

Published amid a firestorm of controversy in 1859, this is a book that changed the world. Reasoned and well-documented in its arguments, it offers coherent views of natural selection, adaptation, the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest, and other concepts that form the foundation of evolutionary theory.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486450066
• ISBN13: 9780486450063
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Dover Publications, Incorporated
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Don’t read it.

I just received this book. I am not going to read it. Before you read this book, you may want to read about Ray Comfort. He wrote the fifty page introduction.

Love Love Love

Its biology in the viewpoint of the man who found the revolutionary standpoints that society still holds today

The font size used in this book was so small!

Of course it's a classic book and I wanted to read it but the font was so small the book is practically unreadable. The first half of the book is a background on the book and that font was fine but when it got to the actual part written by Darwin it switched to minuscule size. Guess I'll have to buy a different copy or maybe this one needs to be in Kindle where I can resize the font. Just warning everyone.

The forming of a great idea

I mostly read this book because this year was Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of this great book and idea. I also wanted to read it as a curious historical document because most people with an interest in science know much more about this idea than Darwin ever did. But to understand how Darwin came up with this amazing theory, would be fascinating enough to justify the read. Having said that, one of the fascinating things is how many of the difficult details Darwin got right. It is fascinating to read the work of a true scientist and great naturalist. A man who presented a controversial idea backed by evidence and then who proceeds to refute the arguments of inevitable but imaginary objectors. This is the work of a sharp mind.

No better way to experience this

Okay I am a bit embarrassed; how have I gotten to this age without having read this vital book? Well, I am a bit behind on my reading (the stack of books waiting to be read looks almost big enough to ski down), so when I saw this audiobook version of Darwin's classic, I could not resist. The original text (with original title, by the way: the word "On" later being dropped by Darwin), abridged and read by Professor Richard Dawkins: what could be better? Dawkins presents this material, about which he is quite passionate, and reads it in his always-pleasant, somewhat musical voice. This book--and I know this is cliche--should truly be read by everyone, and this is a very agreeable way to expose oneself to this brilliant material.

Does not waste time with controversy; just read the book.

This is a quick review of the book not a dissertation on Darwin or any other subject loosely related. At first I did not know what to expect. I already read " The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches" (see my review). I figured the book would be similar. However I found "Origin" to be more complex and detailed. Taking in account that recent pieces of knowledge were not available to Charles Darwin this book could have been written last week. Having to look from the outside without the knowledge of DNA or Plate Tectonics, he pretty much nailed how the environment and crossbreeding would have an effect on natural selection. Speaking of natural selection, I thought his was going to be some great insight to a new concept. All it means is that species are not being mucked around by man (artificial selection). If you picked up Time magazine today you would find all the things that Charles said would be near impossible to find or do. Yet he predicted that it is doable in theory. With an imperfect geological record many things he was not able to find at the writing of this book have been found (according to the possibilities described in the book.) The only draw back to the book was his constant apologizing. If he had more time and space he could prove this and that. Or it looks like this but who can say at this time. Or the same evidence can be interpreted 180 degrees different. In the end it is worth reading and you will never look at life the same way again.

Need to know for cultural literacy

Because these reviews are cross-posted, this is a review of ISBN: 0517123207, with a cover that was defiantly made to be provocative. It depicts an (ape) allying view of going from all fours to upright. If this is what you are looking for then you need to read " 2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur Charles Clarke. This is a quick review of the book not a dissertation on Darwin or any other subject loosely related. At first, I did not know what to expect. I already read " The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches" (see my review). I figured the book would be similar. However, I found "Origin" to be more complex and detailed. Taking in account that recent pieces of knowledge were not available to Charles Darwin this book could have been written last week. Having to look from the outside without the knowledge of DNA or Plate Tectonics, he pretty much nailed how the environment and crossbreeding would have an effect on natural selection. Speaking of natural selection, I thought his was going to be some great insight to a new concept. All it means is that species are not being mucked around by man (artificial selection). If you picked up Time magazine today you would find all the things that Charles said would be near impossible to find or do. Yet he predicted that it is doable in theory. With an imperfect geological record, many things he was not able to find at the writing of this book have been found (according to the possibilities described in the book.) The only draw back to the book was his constant apologizing. If he had more time and space he could prove this and that. Or it looks like this but who can say at this time. On the other hand, the same evidence can be interpreted 180 degrees different. In the end, it is worth reading and you will never look at life the same way again. The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski

A true classic in the field of biology

A group of my students and I read this book this semester. During the discussion period for the final chapter, one of the students said, "I cried. This was the best book I have ever read." On the other hand, another student expressed great disappointment with the book. Another student quipped, "There weren't enough examples about pigeons." All in all, this book provides excellent food for thought today, just as it did 140 years ago when it was first published. I found Darwin's insights and synthesis of ideas, based on the accumulation of carefully collected observations combined with intellectual leaps to be inspiring. There are flaws in portions of the book to be sure, but this is a book that all biologists and biology students should have a chance to read and discuss. When you read it, make sure you read the entire book, discuss it with a friend or two as you read, and you can look forward to a perfect conclusion to this paradigm shifting book that continues to influence modern biological thought.