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Charles Darwin on the Origin of Species: The illustrated edition Hardcover – Illustrated, 25 Feb 2009

by David Quammen (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 28 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 560 pages
  • Publisher: STERLING PUBLISHING CO US; 01 edition (25 Feb. 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1402756399
  • ISBN-13: 978-1402756399
  • Product Dimensions: 3.8 x 24.1 x 26 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 197,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Praise for the hardcover edition "The most influential book in science gets a face-lift with some amazing graphics and Quammen's erudite editing."--"Library Journal" (The Best Sci-Tech books of 2008) "The perfect way to become acquainted with the authentic voice of the greatest biologist of all time, in a context provided by one of the finest scientific writers of today."--Gregory A. Petsko, "European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Journal" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

David Quammen is an award-winning science, nature and travel writer whose work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, Harper's, Rolling Stone and the New York Times Book Review. He is a Rhodes Scholar and has also garnered a Guggenheim Fellowship, as well as winning the John Burroughs Medal for nature writing. He has also written several other books. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA glorious edition of a masterful book
By Jason Mills VINE VOICE on 24 April 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This large (and attractively cheap!) book is instantly appealing, crying out to be flipped through. There are hundreds of photographs and drawings of animals, plants, people and places, and portraits of Darwin and his peers. There are also many text panels livening up the main read with extracts from Darwin's "Voyage Of The Beagle", and his autobiography, and the volume of his life and letters produced by his son Francis. These panels tend to form an unrelated 'sub-plot' in each chapter, adding colour, context and interest.

Darwin's text is still one of the world's most important books and I was delighted to find his prose so graceful, his tone so calmly intelligent, and his intellect so sprawlingly compendious. His book went through six editions in his lifetime, during which he tinkered with the text to answer his critics; this version wisely presents the original and uncluttered first edition text. Although I understood evolution by natural selection well enough before (Dawkins fan), I had not realised the degree of detail and care that Darwin brought to his exposition, and the amount of evidence he marshals from so many directions (embryology, geology, geography, taxonomy...). He also anticipates his critics by laying out what he regards as the problems for the theory, as well as its strength. The work will be a tad dry for some readers' tastes (I took a month over it), but it is a quiet joy.

Quammen's introduction explores Darwin's life and puts his achievement in the context of the time. Included as an appendix is Darwin's introduction to the third edition, in which he diligently credits all those writers who had approached the same theory before him (including Wallace of course). There's also a biological glossary and a substantial index.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsGreat value. Occassionally odd choice of layout and illustrations
By Computer-Engineer-UK on 17 July 2009
Format: Hardcover
I was expecting an original copy of the text but with colour illustrations. However, many of the illustrations appear to be unrelated to the text. Also, if you want the background 'DVD Extras' type book, with additional text and letters, then this is for you. A hefty tome - more coffee table than bedtime reading.

Personally I want more original, less 'value add' - but then again, I never watch the DVD extras.

Also the paper was slightly undulating as if it had become damp then dried out. Can't complain for the price though.

Lots to love about this book for the price.
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4.0 out of 5 starsGreat value
By A. R. Jones on 16 Jan. 2009
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This is a "coffee table" sized book i.e. on the large side which is a bit of a shock if you are expecting something you can carry easily. However the plus side is the fantastic colour plates and the addition of supporting material from the Beagle voyage, Darwin's autobiography and journals. A book to enjoy whilst sitting comfortably at home rather than on public transport.
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5.0 out of 5 starsBeautiful!
By Ms. Grainne Berrill on 7 Feb. 2009
Format: Hardcover
This is the most beautiful edition of Darwin's Origin of the Species I have come across. With lots of facsimiles of the original book, Darwin's letters and other memorabilia from the original it really adds to the book's content. Highly Recommended
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4.0 out of 5 starsTwo beautiful things...
By Martyn Murray on 9 Jun. 2011
Format: Hardcover
This book has been produced on the premise that two beautiful things, when put together, make something even more beautiful, just like wine and cheese, a sail on the sea, the singer and a song, a dove on its leafy branch, a man and a woman. Right? Wrong! Our lives are just not that simple as a few seconds further thought will confirm. How about olives and custard, a modern highway beside a country cottage, an opera singer bugling a rock song, a bickering pair of ex-partners?

More than others, I would expect those in the world of art and literature to understand that a beautiful object becomes more beautiful through its harmonious relation to others. In a partnership, each must speak to the other--strikingly, wittily, subtly, shockingly, artistically--in one way or another but the conversation must take place and it must engage. Sadly in this edition, the powerful words of Darwin's Origin of Species and the illustrations--a series of stunning images and quotations taken from his other books, notably The Voyage of the Beagle and The Autobiography of Charles Darwin--do not speak to one-another at all. They lie in stark isolation on the same page, a conglomeration of words and images, as scrambled as a dog's breakfast.

To take just one example, Chapter 1 on "domestication" is full of Darwin's observations and explanations about breeding of domestic animals--pigeons, dogs, cattle, domestic hens. It could so easily have been illustrated by contemporary drawings and paintings, many by Darwin himself, of domestic breeds. What do we get? Tropical forests, HMS Beagle, Captain Fitzroy, flamingos, a photo of ants and extracts from the Voyage of the Beagle. It is the same throughout the book.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsA jewel of a book
By Mark Montebello on 9 Mar. 2010
Format: Hardcover
A wonderful book, both in its presentation and in its content. Basically, the book is a reprint of The Origin of Species. I found this particularly refreshing, in the sense that, originally, I thought that bits and parts of it will be displayed, or even a commentary. But here we have the real thing presented in a way that makes this publication a jewel of a book.
However, it is also much more than that. An interesting feature is that it also includes many extracts from Darwin's other writings, including the Beagle notes, which provide a valuable background to the main text. Then there are the illustrations, which indeed give the whole publication a breath of its own. The artwork is beautiful, and the interest it attracts is riveting.
This is not simply a reprint of Darwin's famous book. It is a collector's item; a special way to celebrate and commemorate that ground-breaking and revolutionary work which changed the lives of all of us.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA well constructed and illustrated volume.

Bought this for my partner who sadly never got to read it.

Published 2 months ago by lindilou
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What we wonder about explained.

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Yippeeee, I've stuck with it and finally finished this stunning tome and having read it with an open mind I'm still left with the feeling that in this great scheme of things we are... Read more

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Published 13 months ago by Karen Lamming
5.0 out of 5 starsVery good book

I bought this book a few back and only just got round to providing comments, I bought this for £10 with free postage and I can honestly say that was great value for money! Read more

Published on 18 Feb. 2014 by Miss Morgan
5.0 out of 5 starsBeautifully Illustrated!

Although this is 'the real thing' and therefore not designed for children, I bought this book for my grandson for his sixth birthday, and he loves it. Read more

Published on 2 Feb. 2013 by Chris M
5.0 out of 5 starsa great book

I got it for my science loving boyfriend who does not like reading, however he is already started to read it. Its a very nice gift.

Published on 21 Feb. 2012 by Marika
5.0 out of 5 starsfor the biologist

This book will definitely get you in bed with a biologist. She will love the illustrations and she will love you. The perfect gift for a loved one who eats, sleeps, lives biology.

Published on 31 Jan. 2012 by Georgios Karakatsanis
5.0 out of 5 starsLovely book

What can i say that already has not been said about this man.I suppose some may agree or disagree but all i can say is the quality of the book is amazing. Read more

Published on 26 Jan. 2012 by sam wright

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