In this beautifully produced, 150-year anniversary edition, Endersby (British history, U. of Sussex, the UK) contributes an introduction describing Darwin's scientific activities and the discoveries that led to his formulation of the theory of evolution. He devotes particular attention to the book's reception, describing social and religious norms of the time, the scientific ideas that were popularly believed, and how these fueled the controversy sparked by Darwin's ideas. The text of On the origin of the species follows, accompanied by occasional explanatory notes by Endersby. Endersby provides an appendix of the later changes Darwin made to the text, a full biographical register of the names appearing in the text, and a bibliography and annotated list of suggested reading. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
A new scholarly edition of the most famous scientific text in the world, with detailed information about its publishing history.
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection is both a key scientific work of research, still read by scientists, and a readable narrative that has had a cultural impact unmatched by any other scientific text. First published in 1859, it has continued to sell, to be reviewed and discussed, attacked and defended. The Origin is one of those books whose controversial reputation ensures that many who have never read it nevertheless have an opinion about it. Jim Endersby's major new scholarly edition debunks some of the myths that surround Darwin's book, while providing a detailed examination of the contexts within which it was originally written, published and read. Endersby provides a new, up-to-date and very readable introduction to this classic text and a level of scholarly apparatus (explanatory notes, bibliography and appendixes) that is unmatched by any other edition.
