- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Quercus (1 April 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1849161860
- ISBN-13: 978-1849161862
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 559,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Angels and Ages
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Adam Gopnik has taken a coincidence and turned it into a theory of everything, or at least of everything important … Outstanding' Andrew Marr.
Vivid and charming … Gopnik moves from the personal to the political with ease, and his writing hums with authenticity' Financial Times.
'Gopnik knows well enough that Darwin and Lincoln's shared birth date is a mere accident of history, but he comes as close as anyone can in convincing you otherwise' New Scientist.
Vivid and charming … Gopnik moves from the personal to the political with ease, and his writing hums with authenticity' Financial Times.
'Gopnik knows well enough that Darwin and Lincoln's shared birth date is a mere accident of history, but he comes as close as anyone can in convincing you otherwise' New Scientist.
Review
Adam Gopnik has taken a coincidence and turned it into a theory of everything, or at least of everything important Outstanding' Andrew Marr. Vivid and charming Gopnik moves from the personal to the political with ease, and his writing hums with authenticity' Financial Times. 'Gopnik knows well enough that Darwin and Lincoln's shared birth date is a mere accident of history, but he comes as close as anyone can in convincing you otherwise' New Scientist.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
When I started reading this I was dubious about the significance of the shared date of birth of Darwin and Lincoln, but the author soon convinced me that the coincidence was much deeper. Both men, in very different circumstances, carried out a revolution in thought that brought in the modern world. Both were respectable citizens, not wild eccentrics. They were family men to an extent that was rare at the time, and each lost a beloved child. They shared a belief in our common humanity and a loathing for slavery. Both believed in the power of evidence and argument to change minds. Each in his different way was a master of persuasive language.
Lincoln was a lawyer and saw that respect for the law and the Constitution must be the basis for a just society. He crafted his speeches in such a way that a complex logical argument led up to a memorable punch line in the plainest English. He was a reluctant warrior who suffered deeply from the death on both sides, and his own death prevented him from following through from the emancipation of the slaves to their enfranchisement.
Darwin was a biologist with both an extraordinary eye for detail and a clear vision of life as a whole. He also had the talents of a novelist, which enabled him to present the theory of natural selection in such a way as to make it almost irresistible, and he disarmed critics by anticipating their objections. It took him 21 years to go from conception to publication, partly because he did not want to upset the religious convictions of his wife, whom he loved dearly.
Gopnik is himself a fine narrator and stylist, and he says as much in this one short book as others have taken volumes to convey.
Lincoln was a lawyer and saw that respect for the law and the Constitution must be the basis for a just society. He crafted his speeches in such a way that a complex logical argument led up to a memorable punch line in the plainest English. He was a reluctant warrior who suffered deeply from the death on both sides, and his own death prevented him from following through from the emancipation of the slaves to their enfranchisement.
Darwin was a biologist with both an extraordinary eye for detail and a clear vision of life as a whole. He also had the talents of a novelist, which enabled him to present the theory of natural selection in such a way as to make it almost irresistible, and he disarmed critics by anticipating their objections. It took him 21 years to go from conception to publication, partly because he did not want to upset the religious convictions of his wife, whom he loved dearly.
Gopnik is himself a fine narrator and stylist, and he says as much in this one short book as others have taken volumes to convey.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Adam Gopnik is a writer for the 'New Yorker' and has written this small book which contains dual biography of Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln which he ties together because they were both born on 12 February 1809. In his two essays the author analyzes what he sees as their influence on modern society. He contends that these two men introduced what we know as the liberal modern age with Lincoln's speeches and Darwin's writings. That these were the men and vehicles used to spread the new ideas that formed modern society. As a dual historical biography he fails but as two separate essays they would be excellent for publication within the pages of the magazine he works for. Or if you are just looking for a casual introduction into these two men it would be worth acquiring and reading.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Interesting for much information that is new to the non-specialist, but a bit tedious for the constant stuff in brackets. I knew a lot more about Darwin, yet I found the Darwin chapters more convincing and 'sympathetic'. I would recommend the book, also because it is a pleasure to read something that is relatively brief, but with some reservations.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
