Book Description
As a young boy, Charles Darwin hated school and was often scolded for conducting "useless" experiments. Yet his passion for the natural world was so strong that he suffered through terrible seasickness during his five-year voyage aboard The Beagle. Darwin collected new creatures from the coasts of Africa, South America, and the Galapagos Islands, and expanded his groundbreaking ideas that would change people's understanding of the natural world. About 100 illustrations and a clear, exciting text will make Darwin and his theory of evolution an exciting discovery for every young reader.
Book Description
Engaging and accessible, historically accurate and admirably lucid in its scientific exposition, Cyril Aydon’s life of the man who fathered the theory of evolution examines Darwin’s personal quests and illuminates his revolutionary achievements. It begins with one of the most overlooked factors in the great man’s success—he was rich, and could thus devote himself to the pursuits that established him as one of the undisputed giants in the field of natural history. He made major contributions to geology, he virtually invented ecology, and he changed forever our view of the place held in the natural order by Homo sapiens. Darwin was also a devoted father and husband, and Aydon’s biography never loses sight of the man and the family that stood behind him throughout his career, especially when it erupted in the epochal controversy accompanying publication of The Origin of Species. That career included Darwin’s expeditionary voyage aboard the Beagle, a viscerally thrilling and intellectually exciting adventure that is vividly recounted here. In addition, pages of photographs and an extended postscript consider the far-reaching influence of Darwin, following intellectual thought through two centuries of evolutionary speculation and scientific discovery.
Customer Reviews:
Clear, interesting prose; good overview of Darwin's life.......2007-04-26
Aydon's book provides a relatively short account of Darwin's life. I found the prose easy and accessible. The writing is direct and packed with the facts; this is a good place to get a "birds eye view" of Darwin's life. While the autobiography provides the first person view, it is difficult to see many of the outside influences which greatly affected Darwin's life. Aydon does a good job of bringing these to the forefront.
One of these outside factors which I didn't really pick up on so much while reading the autobiography was the wealth Darwin was born into and all the things this afforded him. Without this safety net, it is debatable whether Charles would have had many of the opportunities which influenced him on his scientific journey. One of these was the ability for him to try out medical school and studying theology before finding himself unhappy in both these endeavors. Another, and possibly the most important factor, which this wealth afforded was his Beagle trip. Not everyone had the wealth to take a 5 year journey sailing around the world, but luckily, Darwin did.
Another big factor which I didn't quite pick up on in the autobiography was the extent to which Darwin's illnesses affected him. His sicknesses were very pervasive throughout his life and always seemed to be hindering his work. Who knows how much more he could have accomplished had he not had to rest so frequently.
Aydon does a good job of bringing to the forefront large factors like these, which Darwin didn't put too much emphasis on in his autobiography. This book is a good for those who want an easy, interesting read and want to know the major factors surrounding Darwin's life.
a great snapshot of Darwin's world.......2007-04-25
Aydon's biography is a lively look at Darwin and the development of his theory of natural selection. Examining Darwin's character and work is timely as Darwin continues to be inseparable from the debate about evolution's implications.
Read as a companion to Darwin's autobiography, Aydon provides detail and context for the events that Darwin recounts. Just as Darwin comes alive in his autobiography, Darwin's world comes to life in Aydon's biography through descriptions of episodes in Darwin's life like his tedious documentation of barnacles, the personalities of his family and friends, or the debate between Huxley and Wilberforce.
Aydon's discussion of the people who influenced Darwin's life was especially helpful. These people include his father, Captain Fitzroy of the Beagle, his wife Emma and their children, and his loyal friends Hooker, Huxley, and Lyell. Seen in terms of his relationships with these influential people, Darwin is far more humble and far less singular than he might seem on his own.
According to Aydon, evolution was in the air during Darwin's lifetime; had Darwin not articulated his theory on the origin of the species, it seems likely that someone else would have. However, Aydon's Charles Darwin makes the argument that no other person had the resources, the experiences, and the force of personality to deliver the theory of evolution nearly as well as Darwin did. I think Aydon is right.
The perfect place to start.......2006-05-06
For those interested in the life and thought of Charles Darwin, this is the perfect place to start. There are several other biographies of Darwin in print, some of them quite lengthy and quite technical. But if you are interested in a relatively short (ca. 300 pages) but very substantial treatment that is elegantly and engagingly written, Aydon's contribution delivers. The hardcover edition is beatifully printed and bound, with very clear type and the most generous line-spacing I've ever seen, making Aydon's tightly focused and well paced narrative a pleasure to read. There are sixteen pages of black-and-white photographic plates that are sharp and clear, plus four maps and one table. Reading this book is a very satisfying experience and makes one eager to move on to Darwin's own writings and to more in-depth biographies. Bravo and many thanks to author Cyril Aydon!
Giant Scientist.......2003-05-09
To read the biographies of great men has always been a fascination. Great men of sciences, technology, philosophy, politics, Charles Darwin features prominently among them, both personally to me, and in the annals of history. The biography by Aydon is a very simple yet charming story of the man who "created a scientific revolution".
Aydon presents the story of Charles Darwin in a chronological way, a standard fare in biographies, but with chapters to add the thematic approaches for the book. The author uses personal letters sent by Darwin to his friends and mentors as `personal touches' to this biography. They add to the overall charm of the book and reveal a lot about the man and his thinking. Most helpful is a map of the Beagle's voyage, which I not infrequently referred to when reading the chapters on the round the world trip of the famous Beagle.
I personally analysed two points, which the author have emphasised throughout the book. Firstly, Darwin was helped in his success by the wealth and support of his father. There are many references in the book, to the pecuniary benefits accrued to Darwin by his father. This facilitated his rise as a devoted naturalist, who had no care and worries for material pursuits and with such wealth and support, he was able to network and make gains otherwise not possible for a poorer Darwin. Secondly, was his fortuitous inclusion in the Beagle's voyage. Had it not been for the 5-year voyage, Darwin would not have been able to realise his childhood dreams of collecting and observing specimens and most importantly, Darwin would have ended up as a clergyman.
The later part of the book, after detailing his voyage and subsequent settling down, revolves around his industry to complete his "big book" and his moral and intellectual dilemma. Not insignificant is the loving support given by Emma, Darwin's beloved wife.
Having read this book, I feel that Darwin's life was full of lucky breaks and that he was one of the sickliest scientists around. However, the industry and power he brought to his book, "The Origin of Species" made him a revolutionary scientist. This book is recommended for the neutral reader, who simply wants a good story about a giant scientist. I have a further feeling that to satisfy my curiosity about this man, a more detailed biography is essential.
An accurate and engagingly written biographical account.......2003-02-13
Biographer Cyril Aydon drew upon a lifetime's interest in Charles Darwin and his work to write Charles Darwin: The Naturalist Who Started A Scientific Revolution. The result is a fascinating and informative biography of the famed author of "The Origin of Species" and "The Descent of Man". It was Charles Darwin whose theories of evolution (and whose proposal that the descendants of primordial primates could, over thousands or millions of years, eventually become men through the process of natural selection) would change forever how human beings think of themselves and understand their own genesis. This accurate and engagingly written biographical account blends an overview of natural science with the events of Darwin's life before, during, and after the publication of his trailblazing scientific treatises. Charles Darwin is a very highly recommended study of a truly great man whose trailblazing contribution to biological science is still a substantial part of public debate and controversy today between religious creationists who deny, and the scientific community which supports, Darwin's concept of human evolutionary development.
Customer Reviews:
Why there is no need to be afraid.......2007-07-01
Griet Vandermassen makes a strong case for why femininsm and evolutionary psychology need each other and have the potential to become powerful allies. She begins with a brief overview of the different feminisms - liberal feminists are pro science but do not accept inherent sex differences, difference feminists accept the difference but are anti-science, evolutionary feminists are pro science and accept the inherent differences between the sexes as a result of sexual selection. Vandermassen does not deny the prevalence of male bias even within evolutionary science but this is an area where the entrance of large numbers of women has reduced male bias significantly.
The author gives a brief explanation of Darwinism, especially sexual selection, mate choice and the basic sexual asymmetry. She then moves on to sociobiology and evolutionary psychology and points out that the observations of male and female psychosexuality by feminists and evolutionary psychologists often converge. Evolution by selection is a scientific fact and has provided excellent understanding of the nature of species, including human nature. And sexual selection helps us understand the sexes, from differences in aggression to differences in erotophilia (positive emotions towards sex), from differences in time and energy spent on mating effort compared to parenting effort to differences in social relationships, social dominance and empathy.
The author tells us how evolutionary psychology would absolutely expect women to need to actively participate in socioeconomic life. It also explains why human females have been (and often remain) the most restricted female of any species. Nearly all other mammals are matrilocal and matrilineal and therefore related, allied females can thwart the frequent expression of male aggression. Our ape ancestry took the rare route of being patrilocal with females dispersing to breed meaning the separation of related females and a weakened status as a stranger in a new breeding group. The female then became more dependent on the male rather than the female as an ally in defense against male aggression.
Vandermassen shows how the observations by radical feminists regarding male sexual control of females being at the root of the oppression of women is basically correct but also why there is intrasexual competition in both sexes.
Finally, the author briefly discusses the problems we have with what we mean by equality - is it opportunity? outcome? the starting point? the end point? - and how we struggle to deal with equality plus difference. She mentions evolutionary psychologist Robert Wright's essential point that we need to acknowledge the difference between the sexes regarding, for example, sexual harassment and admit the ways in which women are uniquely vulnerable.
This is an excellent book with a well-made argument for the coming together of feminists and evolutionary psychologists, bringing together an acceptance of science and difference and a validation of women's struggle against a very real oppression resulting from our evolved mating system and reproductive biology. Highly recommended to feminists and other humans of all types.
The best new book on feminism and science.......2005-07-05
If you are teaching a course in cultural studies, women's studies, history of science, or social theory, do your students a favor and place this book on your syllabus. I cannot think of another recent study that engages in such an incisive, informative, and reader-friendly manner with the crucial questions of the relationship between cognitive evolutionary science and feminism. Vandermassen's scientific grounding is impeccable, and her position as a feminist scholar makes her particularly attuned to challenges involved in negotiating the issues of gender and science.
If your students have not had previous exposure to the history of feminism or the history of evolutionary biology, they will find both in the opening chapters of the book, which also feature a discussion of women's role in the shaping of scientific enterprise. The following chapters contain a clear, balanced, and invariably insightful discussion of the controversies surrounding the issue of feminist science. The concluding parts outline the perspectives opened by the informed application of cognitive evolutionary psychology to the study of social institutions that shape the contemporary gender relationship.
Accessible, analytical, witty, this book will inform and inspire your students.
Customer Reviews:
Very readable - but needs a decent map!!.......2006-10-02
The story of Robert FitzRoy who took Darwin around the world. FitzRoy's life is shown as tragedy, from his early attempt to "civilise" the natives of Tierra del Fuega to his realisation that having facilitated Darwin produced the massive attack by Science on his own fundamentalist beliefs. Written not by a historian with an understanding of the sea but by a yachtsman with a sound grasp of the history this is a very readable account - although the paperback is much in need of a good map of Patagonia (and a plan of the Beagle?)!
Book Description
Evolution's Captain is the story of a visionary but now forgotten English naval officer but for whom the "Darwinian Revolution" would never have occurred. When Captain Robert FitzRoy, the twenty-six-year-old captain of the H.M.S. Beagle, set out for Tierra del Fuego in the fall of 1831, he invited a young naturalist to accompany him. That twenty-two-year-old gentleman was Charles Darwin, and perhaps no single voyage in history had a greater impact on how we would come to understand the world -- in both religious and scientific terms.
When the Beagle's first captain committed suicide while at sea in 1828, he was replaced by a young naval officer of a new mold. Robert FitzRoy was the most brilliant and scientific sea captain of his age. He used the Beagle, a survey vessel, as a laboratory for the new field of the natural sciences. But his plan to bring four "savages" home to England to civilize them as Christian gentlefolk backfired when scandal loomed over their sexual misbehavior at the Walthamstow Infants School. FitzRoy needed to get them out of England fast, and thus was born the second and most famous voyage of the Beagle.
FitzRoy feared the loneliness of another long voyage -- with madness in his own family, he was haunted by the fate of the Beagle's previous captain -- so for company he took with him the young amateur naturalist Charles Darwin. Like FitzRoy, Darwin believed, at the beginning of the voyage, in the absolute word of the Bible and the story of man's creation. The two men spent five years circling the globe together, but by the end of their voyage they had reached startlingly different conclusions about the origins of the natural world.
In naval terms, the voyage was a stunning scientific success. But FitzRoy, a fanatical Christian, was horrified by the heretical theories Darwin began to develop. As these began to influence the profoundest levels of religious and scientific thinking in the nineteenth century, FitzRoy's knowledge that he had provided Darwin with the vehicle for his sacrilegious ideas propelled him down an irrevocable path to suicide.
This true story -- part biography, part sea drama, and a subtle study of one of the defining moments in the history of science -- reads like the finest historical fiction. It is a chronicle of the remarkable chain of events without which Darwin would most likely have lived and died an obscure English country parson with a fondness for collecting beetles.
Customer Reviews:
The lives of Robert FitzRoy.......2007-04-01
Robert FitzRoy was a brilliant, fascinating and complex man. While this book focusses primarily on his role as the Captain of 'HMS Beagle' during two voyages (the second included Charles Darwin), it includes other aspects of his career and life.
Mr Nichols presents the facts - especially those related to the voyages of HMS Beagle - well. While acknowledging the later differences between Darwin and FitzRoy, the facts are presented impartially. In summary, we owe a great deal to the collaboration between Darwin and FitzRoy. The fact that their complementary skills and intellects were only combined through a form of coincidental opportunities is the purest serendipity.
Highly recommended to those who would like to know more about the events and circumstances behind Darwin's voyage on HMS Beagle as well as the voyage itself.
I am currently reading as much as I can about Robert FitzRoy, and can recommend the following two books as well:
This is a novel about Robert Fitzroy:
This Thing of Darkness
This is a biography of the HMS Beagle herself:
HMS "Beagle" (Voyages S.)
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
A stormy life.......2007-03-04
Britain's Royal Navy has had many figures worthy of note. Some of these have inspired good works of history, while others prompted novelists to produce stirring tales of more or less believable adventures. Captain William Bligh almost immediately comes to mind, as does Patrick O'Brian's lengthy series on Jack Aubrey. One real figure, who should stand out for many accomplishments, has been quietly relegated to the shadows - if not scorned for holding rigid views. Robert FitzRoy, however, was a man of many parts who deserves better treatment. Peter Nichols provides that assessment in this fine biography. The title, however, gives the game away. FitzRoy's name was overshadowed by the passenger he carried for five years, Charles Robert Darwin.
FitzRoy's ascent to the captaincy of HMS Beagle seemed ill-omened. His predecessor, Stokes Pringle, overwhelmed by the enormity of his assignment, put a bullet in his head, taking a dozen days to expire. The task, mapping a channel through Tierra del Fuego in an effort to smooth the path of empire, was taxing enough to make the bravest quail. The 500 kilometre strait might require sailing five times that distance to traverse it - if you made it at all. FitzRoy, although unaccountably young for the mapping job, took it over and pursued it with determination. During the survey, a whaleboat stolen by the Fuegians proved a pivotal point in his life. In attempting to recover the boat, FitzRoy abducted four of the natives, returning them to England as a means of raising them to become civilised Christians. Nichols seems sympathetic to this concept, even while knowing it was doomed to failure.
The world knows the subsequent events: while preparing for the next voyage, FitzRoy brought on board a "companion", Charles Darwin. Not Navy, and not the official "naturalist", Darwin was a gentlemen who could converse with the isolated officer. As a "gentleman", Darwin had less regard for the Fuegians than did FitzRoy, yet condemned slavery while the captain viewed the practice as a civilising force. This discussion was set aside when the pair observed the obvious effects of running water far from the sea. A Noachean Flood, or an ancient Earth? There were clashes and apologies, FitzRoy driving Darwin from his cabin, only to lure him back. The captain's moods were an on-going topic of the ship's officers. The dismal end of his predecessor also may have preyed on FitzRoy's mind when the Beagle beat up the Chilean coast. He believed the mapping inadequate and wanted to return to the Strait for more surveys. Distraught, he actually resigned his command, but was talked out of it by his officers.
At the end of the survey voyage, FitzRoy went through several roles. Unable to gain a ship, he was a Member of Parliament briefly and was sent to New Zealand as its governor. Empire building is fraught with risks and Nichols is only mildly sympathetic with FitzRoy's disastrous role there. The new governor was shipped home after but two years. Back in England, FitzRoy's command skills brought him to a novel task - weather forecasting. The science was just beginning and FitzRoy initiated a reporting and prediction system across the British Isles. At the height of his success at this venture, the Admiralty shut it down, even in the face of the fishing fleet's demands to sustain it. A see-saw career if there ever was one.
The final chapter of the Captain's life [by which time he was a Rear Admiral] was one of fundamental challenges. Already a religious man, FitzRoy became steeped in the Bible's words, becoming convinced it would brook no challenges. Changes observed in the natural record were manifestations of the divine, FitzRoy believed. His notions were reinforced by various commentators like Philip Gosse, who viewed the growing sciences of geology and biology with fear and loathing. In 1859, however, all those declaring Nature could be unravelled by Biblical study were directly refuted by the publication of Darwin's opus, "On the Origin of Species". Reason and evidence triumphed over superstition and dogma. FitzRoy was outraged, and expressed it at the famous British Association meeting the following year.
It's not known how much this revelation led to FitzRoy's taking his own life, but it can hardly have been insignificant. Nichols concludes that Darwin's work was but one symbol of a rapidly changing time. The author examines British society at this point in FitzRoy's with a perceptive eye. Civilisation was moving forward and the author concludes FitzRoy felt left behind. The fear of social upheaval was already being overtaken by events - Darwin's natural selection had little, if anything, to do with it, notes Nichols. It's a worthy thesis, lacking only a more thorough analysis of its roots. We never learn of the early foundations of the captain's thinking. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Evolution's Captain.......2006-03-08
This was bought as a gift and I only leafed through it ... The recipient was delighted and I intend to borrow the book as soon as possible. Very interesting !!
Fundamentalism cuts deep for FitzRoy.......2006-02-14
Nichols focus our attention on the question if Captain FitzRoy was destroyed by the thought he took Darwin on his voyage of discovery. The issue that highlights Nichols excellent book is apparently still alive today. When one touches the third rail of Fundamentalism it cuts deep for some true believers. For example, just yesterday the L A times published an article about a minister teaching elementary age children how to argue against science and the theory of evolution. He instructed them that if in a class room a teacher mentions the word "evolution, or big bang" the children were to raise their hands and ask, how do you know, where you there? And then to tell their teacher only one was there, GOD. And GOD wrote the truth of it in the bible. Imagine this still being up for debate, happening in a country that realizes it has a shortage of scientists. Some polls say 50% of Americans still believe in Creationism. You might ask, how does this relate to Mr. Nichols excellent biography of Captain Robert FitzRoy, the Captain of the H.M.S. Beagle which took Charles Darwin on his voyage to question the common notion that we are being asked today to swallow as "intelligent design"? Well FitzRoy and most of Victorian England's thinking in the mid 1800s was unquestioning in its support of Creationism, even Darwin started from this premise. So as a backdrop to an excellent story of exploration you have a book that provides an entry level introduction to the very beginnings of a new understanding. As Nichols puts it , " How wide was the gulf between Darwin and FitzRoy. Darwin stood at the threshold of an expansion of thought and science that would not be equaled for a hundred years.... Fitzroy in his way was no less a scientist... was stuck, deeply by prejudice and the cleaving to an old order, to a mindset a thousand and more years old, when science was subservient to religion. That order was about to be toppled, and the constructs of the Bible smashed like an old wooden bridge, weakened by rot, before the torrent of a spring flood." You get the idea, and this quote does show Nichols gets carried away with enthusiastic language which I found part of the enjoyment of reading the book. This book would be interesting if only for the story of how FitzRoy kidnapped three natives from Tierra del Fuego, brought them to England, educated them to be Christians and then returned them to their "savage" cousins. Their story is part of FitzRoy's story too. I recommend the book strongly for its ideas and wonderful adventure story.
Near miss.......2005-08-08
This generally sympathetic account of Robert FitzRoy and his role as the captain of the HMS Beagle during Darwin's famous voyage is a good summer read. But anyone familiar with manic-depressive illness can't avoid the conclusion that Nichols misses a key aspect of FitzRoy's persona: he had bipolar disorder! It is remarkable how Nichols could so carefully document the elements of this illness in his biography of FitzRoy and yet not get it. As Nichols reports, FitzRoy had a family history of suicide, episodes of ill-considered spending (e.g., he purchased 2 ships with a crew on the vague hope that the Admirality would reimburse him), followed by severe depression (during the voyage of the Beagle, when FitzRoy gave up his command during an attack of depression, Darwin himself wondered whether there was something wrong with FitzRoy's brain). Add to this the episodic, lifelong course, ending -- in this sad case as in about 15% people with the illness even today -- in suicide. Nichols would have us believe that FitzRoy slit his throat with his wife and children nearby because of his disagreements with Darwin, capped by an unfavorable notice in The Times. It is clear instead that FitzRoy had a mental illness that had barely been described in the year he died of it, but which even now continues to go undiagnosed and untreated. Nichols would have served his readers -- and FitzRoy's memory -- better if he had recognized what should have been plain and considered this in his account of FitzRoy's often erratic behavior. Nevertheless, the book should be read by anyone interested in the early days of the Theory of Natural Selection.
Average customer rating:
- Very well done and informative
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Charles Darwin (People Who Made History)
Manufacturer: Greenhaven Press
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ASIN: 0737700815 |
Customer Reviews:
Very well done and informative.......2001-02-28
This book is very well done and informative in that it tells all the main points about Darwin and his famous theory of evolution, how it came about, as well as the opinions of some of the people who have voiced disagreement about it. The format is a series of essays written by well-known scientists, historians and others. The editor has done a nice job of picking readings that are easy to understand but not so easy as to be on a child's level. There are some serious quotes in there by Darwin and his colleagues and other scientists, as well as some stuff by the creationists, who of course think evolution never happened. This book would be good for students, but adults will get plenty out of it too.
Average customer rating:
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Charles Darwin (Scientists Who Made History)
Cath Senker
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ASIN: 0739848437 |
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