Darwin’s Origin of Species: A Biography: Books That Changed the World

No book has changed our understanding of ourselves more than Darwin’s Origin of Species. It caused a sensation on its first day of publication in 1859 and went on to become an international bestseller. The idea that living things gradually evolve through natural selection profoundly shocked its Victorian readers, calling into question what had been for many the unshakeable belief that there was a Creator. In this book, Janet Browne, Charles Darwin’s foremost biographer, shows why Darwin’s Origin of Species can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published. She describes the genesis of Darwin’s theories, explains how they were initially received and examines why they remain so contentious today. Her book is a marvellously readable account of the work that altered forever our knowledge of what it is to be human.

No book has changed our understanding of ourselves more than Darwin's Origin of Species. It caused a sensation on its first day of publication in 1859 and went on to become an international bestseller. The idea that living things gradually evolve through natural selection profoundly shocked its Victorian readers, calling into question what had been for many the unshakeable belief that there was a Creator.

In this book, Janet Browne, Charles Darwin's foremost biographer, shows why Darwin's Origin of Species can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published. She describes the genesis of Darwin's theories, explains how they were initially received and examines why they remain so contentious today. Her book is a marvellously readable account of the work that altered forever our knowledge of what it is to be human.

Charles Darwin's foremost biographer, Janet Browne, delivers a vivid and accessible introduction to the book that permanently altered our understanding of what it is to be human.

Charles Darwin's foremost biographer, Janet Browne, delivers a vivid and accessible introduction to the book that permanently altered our understanding of what it is to be human.

On first publication in 1859, "Origin of Species" became a bestseller. Darwin's idea that organisms gradually evolve through natural selection overturned the belief that all animals were born out of nothing. This guide examines the theory that changed the way we see the world and our place in it. Janet Browne's book is a great introduction to a work that altered for ever our understanding of what it is to be human: 'Superb: easy to read but none the less intellectually exciting... the perfect introduction to Darwin's thought... Brilliant.' Adam Sisman, Sunday Telegraph