The Origin of Species (Oxford World's Classics) ebook

by Gillian Beer,Charles Darwin

Gillian Beer Charles Darwin Biological Sciences English

The reality is that too few people have actually read "On the Origin of Species. Even the majority of practicing professional biologists have not read the whole thing.

However, he also diluted some of his arguments in an attempt to deflect criticism. The reality is that too few people have actually read "On the Origin of Species.

The Origin of Species Oxford world's classics World's classics.

A quirk of fate kept him from the career his father had deemed appro- priate-that of a country parson-when a botanist recommended Darwin for an appointment as a naturalist aboard . Beagle from 1831 to 1836. She is author of Darwin's Plots (1983). Библиографические данные. The Origin of Species Oxford world's classics World's classics.

In the Origin of Species (1859) Darwin challenged many of the most deeply held beliefs of the Western world. His insistence on the immense length of the past and on the abundance of life-forms, present and extinct, dislodged man from his central position in creation and called into question the role of the Creator. He showed that new species are achieved by natural selection, and that absence of plan is an inherent part of the evolutionary process.

Oxford World's Classics. Charles Darwin revolutionized our ideas about the natural world and our place in it by introducing the concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest, and his ideas still provoke controversy today. Her wide-ranging introduction considers the development of Darwin's ideas, the scientific context, the nature of his theories and the impact of his work on his contemporaries.

Oxford World's Classics publication of Charles Darwin's 'The Origin. See a Problem? We’d love your help. Informazioni bibliografiche.

On the Origin of Species (or, more completely, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life), published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Darwin's book introduced the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection

In the Origin of Species (1859) Darwin challenged many of the most deeply held . Dame Gillian Beer is Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Society of Literature.

On the Origin of Species. much diffused, and common species vary most - Species of the larger genera

On the Origin of Species. But with regard to the material world, we can at least go so far as this-. we can perceive that events are brought about not by insulated. much diffused, and common species vary most - Species of the larger genera. in any country vary more than the species of the smaller genera - Many of. the species of the larger genera resemble varieties in being very closely, but unequally, related to each other, and in having restricted ranges.

The world was becoming safer for Darwin and his theory: mid-Victorian England was stabler than the hungry .

The world was becoming safer for Darwin and his theory: mid-Victorian England was stabler than the hungry Thirties or turbulent 1840s. In 1854 he solved his last major problem, the forking of genera to produce new evolutionary branches. Suffering from a terrible bout of nausea, Darwin, now 50, was secreted away at a spa on the desolate Yorkshire moors when the book was sold to the trade on November 22, 1859.

In The Origin of Species (1859) Darwin challenged many of the most deeply-held beliefs of the Western world. Arguing for a material, not divine, origin of species, he showed that new species are achieved by "natural selection." The Origin communicates the enthusiasm of original thinking in an open, descriptive style, and Darwin's emphasis on the value of diversity speaks more strongly now than ever. As well as a stimulating introduction and detailed notes, this edition offers a register of the many writers referred to by Darwin in the text.

Shakanos

Do not buy the "Gold Edition!" This is NOT the complete book. It is missing the last half of the book. There are 14 chapters in On The Origin Of Species. This book abruptly ends mid-sentence on the first page of chapter 9.

Goodman

This "150th Anniversary Edition" seems to be simply a reprint of the 100th Anniversary Edition. In particular, the forward by Julian Huxley was written in 1958 and while it is still mostly relevant, it has dated badly in a few places.

The main text is Darwin's 6th Edition.

Darwin considerably amended Origin of Species through the course of its six editions. For example he first used the expression "survival of the fittest" (coined by Herbert Spencer) in the 5th edition and he first used the term "evolution" in the 6th edition. However, he also diluted some of his arguments in an attempt to deflect criticism. Most notably he made more allowance for now discredited Lamarckian ideas of hereditable affects of use and disuse, versus pure natural selection.

It is an open argument whether the 1st edition or the 6th edition best represents his real thinking. My 2 cents would be that the differences are relatively minor in the context of the overall work. The key driving ideas are well expressed in both and either is a fine start. Just be aware that other readers of Origin of Species may have seen a slightly different text!

Gravelblade

This is pretty difficult to read, not because of the language or sentence structure which is surprisingly easy, but because of the content. So I am glad I purchased the $0.99 version. While the contents are the works of a genius of his time, it was difficult for me to force myself through the pages and pages observations of the ants and plants, and bugs, and doves to get to his famous theories and summaries. I do understand that this wasn't intended to be read casually, but given it's importance in history I wanted to give it a go. Just realize it can be difficult to get through.

Lesesshe

Darwin wrote a great book. It deserves to be treated properly and that does not happen in this Kindle edition. It s full of mistakes to the point of often being confusing and unintelligible. it is clear that no human being ever looked at the output that became the Kindle.

At $0.99 it is wildly overpriced.

Mikarr

And, surprisingly, it's not hard to read at all. Darwin was not a scientist: he was a naturalist, an observer of nature, and that's what makes his work not only commendable but also very approachable.

For me, everything he explains about descent through modification and rudimentary organs and common ancestors not only makes sense but is corroborated by the principles of Biology concerning classification and evolution.

Darwin, contrary to how creationists reacted and are still reacting towards him, does not confront the idea of "God created everything out of nothing" and dismisses it as nonsense (except maybe a little towards the end, when he writes "Do they really believe that atoms have been commanded suddenly to flash into living tissues?"). He takes more of a perplexed approach and doesn't seem to understand why they can't look at the facts.

*** A note on the free Kindle edition: it does seem abridged and does not include the chart that the author refers to on several occasions but the gist of natural selection is in here***

Flarik

"On the Origin of Species" is as groundbreaking today as it was when it was first published, and it's so eminently readable that will become a favorite (if you're willing to give it a chance). I love and admire the book - but I'm not so thrilled about the "Illustrated Classics" version.

Several book publishers have approached this book with fresh eyes (most recently, David Quammen). The approach makes perfect sense: take Darwin's text, and add illustrations that demonstrate Darwin's ideas in a visual format hat the author could only imagine. The disadvantage with this, of course, is that you may come closer to a coffee table book than anything else. But the "Illustrated Classics" version contains some period pictures, biological illustrations, and the like in something that comes closer to a mixed salad than a meal. For such a great price, it's a pretty good bargain; but this gathers together a variety of inexpensive and public access images that's more appealing than raw text - but some readers may want more.

I love "On the Origin of Species," but I only wish the "Illustrated Classics" version could be more compelling.

Lestony

People tend to hold Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by means of natural selection in either high regard or extremely low esteem depending on their own perspectives and opinions. The reality is that too few people have actually read "On the Origin of Species." Even the majority of practicing professional biologists have not read the whole thing.

I have read this book at least four times. It is insightful, loaded with an overwhelming amount of empirical observation, and astute interpretation of those data. Darwin crafted a well thought out theory. His book sold out on the first day in 1859, and it has been in print pretty much ever since. His theory has been under attack from the non-science community and under intense scrutiny by the scientific community for the past 150 years. The result is that the theory is more complete and robust than ever.

If you really want to know what's up with Darwin and his theory, read his book. Amazon and Kindle have made it available for free. Dive in and find out for yourself what is going on.

If you do, be prepared for lots of examples of pigeons. :-)

This is a 5-star book, and every educated person in the world owes it to herself or himself to read it.

Be informed, be educated, be amazed.