The Voyage of the 'Beagle' - Hardcover

Darwin, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0460011049 ISBN 13: 9780460011044

Publisher: Everyman / J. M. Dent & Sons, 1976

Synopsis

This Darwin memoir was described, on its first appearance, by a writer in the "Quarterly Review" as "One of the most interesting narratives of voyaging that it has fallen to our lot to take up, and one which must always occupy a distinguished place in the history of scientific navigation." This prophecy has been amply verified by experience; the extraordinary minuteness and accuracy of Mr. Darwin's observations, combined with the charm and simplicity of his descriptions, have ensured the popularity of this book with all classes of readers--and that popularity has even increased in recent years.

About this title

Review:

Many people who have planned to read The Voyage of the Beagle and been deterred by its length and scientific aspects will find the answer here in a carefully and skillfully abridged edition, cut to half the length, which gives the continuity of text, Darwin's own words, and the observations and episodes that make it memorable as a human document. Here is a classic, the record of an enquiring mind seeking scientific truth. Here is evident the growth of the man. An introductory biography places the importance of this trip in Darwin's life; introductory bits for each chapter provide an analysis of the voyage and its scientific meaning along with the actual text. This work is significant in view of additional material available in the last 35 years, much of it Darwin's own writings, but hitherto unpublished in book form. A bibliography provides not only original sources but additional material for study. --Kirkus Reviews

From the Back Cover:

English scientist, naturalist, and geologist CHARLES DARWIN (1809-1882) transformed our understanding of the planet and our place on it with his theory of evolution through natural selection. Much of the basis for his conceptual breakthrough was his research during the five-year journey he undertook on the HMS Beagle, an English exploratory vessel, which sailed South America and the South Pacific from 1831 to 1836. First published in 1839 under the title Journal and Remarks, this replica volume reproduces the 1845 second edition, originally called Journal of Researches. Enthralling both as a tale of travel adventure and as a naturalist's diary, The Voyage of the Beagle is even more fascinating for the hints it offers, from decades prior to Darwin's publication of 1859's On the Origin of Species, of the observations of the natural world and the thought processes that followed that would combine to revolutionize the field of biology.

About this edition

• Publisher: Everyman / J. M. Dent & Sons
• Publication date: 1976
• ISBN 10: 0460011049
• ISBN 13: 9780460011044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 512