The Voyage of the Beagle - Softcover

Darwin, Charles

4.03

7,789 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0792265599 ISBN 13: 9780792265597

Publisher: Natl Geographic Society, 2004

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Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection has been debated and disparaged over time, but there is no dispute that he is responsible for some of the most remarkable and groundbreaking scientific findings in history. His five-year trip as a naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle took him on a journey to such exotic locales as Chile, Argentina, and the Galapagos Islands. Darwin wrote the details of this expedition, including his thoughts about the people on the ship and of course, his observations of the flora and fauna, in his journal, published as Voyage of the Beagle. It is here that his original interpretations of the Galapagos ecosystem and the impact of nature and selection are first revealed. This edition of the classic travel memoir is enhanced with an introduction by bestselling nature writer David Quammen, and is part of National Geographic's major cross-platform event in spring 2009 to celebrate the anniversary.

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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in view of additional material available in the last 35 years, much of it Darwin's own writings, but hitherto unpublished in book form.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.

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