The insights made here were to set in motion the intellectual currents that led to the theory of evolution, and the most controversial book of the Victorian age- The Origin of Species.This volume reprints Charles Darwin's journal in a shortened form.

Volcanoes in the Galapagos, the Gossamer spider of Patagonia and the Australasian coral reefs - all are to be found in these extraordinary writings. His journal, here reprinted in a shortened form, shows a naturalist making patient observations concerning geology, natural history, people, places and events. This Penguin Classics edition is edited with an introduction and notes by Janet Brown and Michael Neve.When HMS Beagle sailed out of Devonport on 27 December 1831, Charles Darwin was twenty-two and setting off on the voyage of a lifetime.

The Voyage of the Beagle is Charles Darwin's account of the momentous voyage which set in motion the current of intellectual events leading to The Origin of Species. While somewhat familiar, this is a rewarding look at the development of an earth-shattering idea. She also details the social, political, and religious contexts in which Darwin developed his theory, sheds light on his family life, and reveals how naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace’s development of a similar thesis helped push Darwin to finally publish On the Origin of Species in 1859. Though Preston relies on familiar sources, including Darwin’s diaries and letters, she expertly mines them to explain how he integrated insights from other thinkers and explorers (Alexander von Humboldt, William Dampier, Thomas Malthus) with his Beagle observations to create a theory of the gradual creation of species over geological time.

Though the bulk of the book is a blow-by-blow account of Darwin’s journey aboard the HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836, Preston shines in her assessment of how the young naturalist’s middle-class background, character (“sociable, usually good-natured, and eager to please”), and worldview (“chauvinistic, nationalistic, and sexist” but also “liberal for the time” and in firm opposition to slavery) contributed to his ideas about evolution. Historian Preston ( Eight Days at Yalta) offers a brisk and accessible account of how Charles Darwin developed his theory of natural selection.

Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin