The Origin of Species

To a certain extent it suffers from the Hamlet problem--it's full of cliches! Or what are now cliches, but which Darwin was the first to pen. Natural selection, variation, the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest: it's all in here.

Darwin's friend and "bulldog" T.H. Huxley said upon reading the Origin, "How extremely stupid of me not to have thought of that." Alfred Russel Wallace had thought of the same theory of evolution Darwin did, but it was Darwin who gathered the mass of supporting evidence--on domestic animals and plants, on variability, on sexual selection, on dispersal--that swept most scientists before it. It's hardly necessary to mention that the book is still controversial: Darwin's remark in his conclusion that "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history" is surely the pinnacle of British understatement. --Mary Ellen Curtin

Taking in account that recent pieces of knowledge were not available to Charles Darwin this book could have been written last week. Having to look from the outside without the knowledge of DNA or Plate Tectonics, he pretty much nailed how the environment and crossbreeding would have an effect on natural selection. Speaking of natural selection, I thought his was going to be some great insight to a new concept. All it means is that species are not being mucked around by man (artificial selection).

If you picked up Time magazine today you would find all the things that Charles said would be near impossible to find or do. Yet he predicted that it is doable in theory. With an imperfect geological record many things he was not able to find at the writing of this book have been found (according to the possibilities described in the book.)

The only draw back to the book was his constant apologizing. If he had more time and space he could prove this and that. Or it looks like this but who can say at this time. Or the same evidence can be interpreted 180 degrees different.

In the end it is worth reading and you will never look at life the same way again.


Un livre majeur de l'histoire des sciences   Août 21, 2002
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Rares sont les livres qui ont autant marque leur epoque, et ouvert un debat aussi feroce. Outre la satisfaction de posseder dans sa bibliotheque un ouvrage aussi capital et elegamment relie, sa lecture s'avere facile et passionnante. Darwin ne fut peut-etre pas le tout premier a emettre l'idee de selection naturelle (voir son introduction historique), mais la rigueur et la clarte de sa demonstration scientifique en font un modele du genre, et l'on comprend pourquoi cet ouvrage fut (et est toujours) si efficace a combattre les idees creationnistes. Ce que la genetique a rendu evident y est pressenti avec une intuition sure ; par ailleurs Darwin n'hesite pas (marque d'un grand esprit) a avouer son ignorance face a des problemes que la science ne resoudra qu'un siecle plus tard. Pour tous les curieux et amoureux de la raison.