From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-An excellent, straightforward account of the English naturalist's life and work. Evans develops a clear picture of the man, chronicling key events from his childhood through his often sickly and reclusive later years. Darwin's assignment as a naturalist on a voyage of the HMS Beagle and his interaction with the captain are vividly portrayed, reading like an adventure story. The book is generously illustrated with black-and-white archival photographs, reproductions, and drawings, all of which have informative captions. Darwin's development of his theory on natural selection and the origin of species and the controversy surrounding its presentation are particularly well described so that this biography serves equally as an introduction to the theories of this "revolutionary biologist." It provides more insight than Steve Parker's Charles Darwin and Evolution (HarperCollins, 1992), which is intended for younger readers.
Carolyn Angus, The Claremont Graduate School, CACopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. Evans presents a new entry in the Lerner Biographies series, a group of generally well-written and entertaining titles that introduce middle-grade and junior-high readers to the lives and careers of individuals as diverse as John F. Kennedy, John Muir, and J. R. R. Tolkien. In this account of Darwin, Evans includes intriguing anecdotes sure to hook readers: Darwin's father was convinced that his lazy son, who was pulled out of one grammar school and left medical school, "would never amount to anything." But Evans also documents the painstaking process Darwin followed to reach his controversial conclusions and discusses the publication of the theories, 20 years after their conception, which took place only because Alfred Wallace had come up with the same ideas. A worthwhile book that will prove useful to students learning about natural selection and be of interest to browsers, this is abundantly illustrated with black-and-white photographs and includes a bibliography.
Chris Sherman
