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Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History Of Evolution (2012)

by Rebecca Stott(Favorite Author)

3.62 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1400069378 (ISBN13: 9781400069378)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Spiegel & Grau

review 1: Maybe I'm being unfair with three stars; it is quite a fascinating book. However, I had trouble paying attention sometimes. I think it's because the format became tedious for me. The book is essentially a series of chronological mini-biographies of men who paved the way for Darwin to be able to publish his famous book and subsequently become the most famous of them all, but he probably could not have done it without them. I enjoyed learning about all these rather radical groundbreakers, who all pushed against traditional ways of understanding the origins of life (which for the most part are grounded in religion). Each of these men were engaging in very dangerous and threatening thoughts. Most suffered a lot for it. And Darwin being aware of the dangerousness of his ideas, ... moresat on his theory for twenty years before having his hand forced by a younger man. Anyway, I always took the whole concept of natural selection/evolution for granted. It is fun to finally read into the history behind the theory, especially since the tension between creationism and evolution continues to be fraught to this day.
review 2: One might call this the evolution of the idea of evolution. Colorful and historical portraits of the scientists and thinkers who dared to lay the foundation for Darwin's theory of natural selection. I had read snippets about these predecessors; reading detailed accounts gave it all context. Hadn't realized the extent of contribution of French scientists ("philosophers" in those days) and learned quite a bit of history along the way. Also hadn't realized the extent to which the Churches in France and England harassed and persecuted free thought. Now I can appreciate Darwin's hesitancy to publish Origin. less

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