The Descent of Man

By Charles Darwin and Charles River Editors

Book Overview

The most accessible edition ever published of Darwin's incendiary classic, edited by "as fine a science essayist as we have" (New York Times)

The Descent of Man, Darwin's second landmark work on evolutionary theory (following The Origin of the Species), marked a turning point in the history of science with its modern vision of human nature as the product of evolution. Darwin argued that the noblest features of humans, such as language and morality, were the result of the same natural processes that produced iris petals and scorpion tails.

To convey the revolutionary importance of this groundbreaking book, renowned evolutionary science writer Carl Zimmer edited this special abridged edition--made up of nine excerpts, each one representing one of Darwin's major themes--and wrote illuminating introductions to each section, as well as an overall introduction. Zimmer brilliantly places Darwin's basic ideas in the context of the current understanding of human nature and twenty-first-century DNA research. By accessibly presenting Darwin's thinking to a modern readership, Zimmer eloquently demonstrates Darwin's ever-increasing relevance and amazing scientific insight.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452288886
• ISBN13: 9780452288881
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

El origen del hombre (I)

Clean new copy. I do wish that books would be in hardback though. Then you would not have to always have your hands holding the book. And I reject the suggestion that I am old fashioned; no it is simply a more practical form of a book.

Excellent historical review

While I would never presume - as some reviewers might - to misstate what is said in this classic volume and then presume to suggest that "now you don't need to read the book," I will say that this is an excellent edition of a classic work. All who have any interest in the history of Darwinian evolution and particularly the historical views of the evolution of man will find this fascinating reading, particularly if the context can be juxtaposed with what has been discovered since Darwin's time. Of course, times have changed, our hopefully less euro-centric views have been altered and there has been considerable progress through the generations since the original publication by Darwin, and that makes the progress of human knowledge all the more fascinating, as well as the insight Darwin obviously possessed in his day. This one's a "must-read" for anyone interested in the history of science.

More than meets the highest standards.

How is it possible that anyone could be as ignorant as Rondeltap and give this great classic less than 5 stars? Given that it was written in the middle of the 19th Century, it more than meets the highest scientific standards of its time. Furthermore, except perhaps for Darwin's own Origin, it is arguably one of the most important works of its era. When we find that the writings of Marx, Kant and many other giants of that Century can no longer instruct us, we shall find this one still penetratingly relevant.

Interesting view into the views of the late 19th Century

Although there are many racist and sexist ideas, this was the climate in which Darwin wrote this book. Many of the details are grossly in error, but the book was written over 100 years ago. Many advances in knowledge have been made since then. The basic premise, and the fact that Darwin looked to the African apes as a point of origin for humans is the real beauty of the book. Darwin is many times falsely blamed for "Social Darwinism" which he never proposed nor advocated. Just because someone uses Darwin as a justification for negative ideas and or actions, does not mean that Darwin should be vilified for it. Descent was not a social commentary, but a scientific treatise, and should be treated as such.