The Quotable Darwin

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A treasure trove of illuminating and entertaining quotations from the legendary naturalist Here is Charles Darwin in his own words--the naturalist, traveler, scientific thinker, and controversial author of On the Origin of Species, the book that shook the Victorian world. Featuring hundreds of quotations carefully selected by world-renowned Darwin biographer Janet Browne, The Quotable Darwin draws from Darwin's writings, letters to friends and family, autobiographical reminiscences, and private scientific notebooks. It offers a multifaceted portrait that takes readers through his youth, the famous voyage of the Beagle, the development of his thoughts about evolution, his gradual loss of religious faith, and the time spent turning his ideas into a well-articulated theory about the natural origin of all living beings--a theory that dangerously included the origin of humans. The Quotable Darwin also includes many of the key responses to Darwin's ideas from figures across the social spectrum, scientists and nonscientists alike--and criticism too.We see Darwin as an innovative botanist and geologist, an affectionate husband and father, and a lively correspondent who once told his cousin that he liked to play billiards because "it drives the horrid species out of my head." This book gives us an intimate look at Darwin at work, at home, as a public figure, and on his travels. Complete with a chronology of Darwin's life by Browne, The Quotable Darwin provides an engagingly fresh perspective on a remarkable man who was always thinking deeply about the natural world.

Reviews

"At last gleams of light have come. . . .I think I have found out (heres presumption!) the simple way by which species become exquisitely adapted to various ends. Thus, Charles Darwin to botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker in an 1844 letterjust one gem from Janet Brownes selected excerpts. Darwin vividly emerges as a crack shot with a tin ear for music, a loving father, a would-be anthropologist struggling to understand indigenous peoples and the consummate scientist, working from a sort of instinct to try to make out truth.'"---Barbara Kiser, Nature
"The Quotable Darwin is fascinating, funny, and humanizing. It brings an icon to life."---Glenn Dallas, San Fransisco Book Review
"Fans of Janet Browne's epic two-volume biography of Charles Darwin will not want to miss her new book, The Quotable Darwin, which features a broad selection of Darwin's personal and professional observations on life, liberty, and of course science."---John Farrell, Forbes.com
"This book works because [Darwins] own words paint an unexpectedly complete and truthful picture of the man (brilliance, wit, sickness), his timesand limitations."---Liz Else, New Scientist
"The selection of quotes from Darwins books and his letters are grouped into chapters with headings that are expected, such as Species or Survival of the Fittest, and less expected, such as one of my favourites, Barnacles." * The Australian *
"[Browne's] book delves into the mind of Darwin, revealing his insights, humor, and understanding of the world as he knew it. Darwins words never get old, and Brownes treatment of his wisdom does not disappoint. Her book is a must for any dedicated student of Charles Darwin, and the novice reader alike."---Howard O. Clark, Jr., Sonoran Herpetologist

Author Bio

Janet Browne is the Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University. Her books include the acclaimed two-volume biography of Darwin, Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place (both Princeton). She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.