On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition [Paperback]

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"When on board [Her Majesty's Ship] 'Beagle,' as naturalist, I was struck with certain facts in the distribution of the inhabitants [that is, plants and animals] of South America, and the geologic relations of the present to past inhabitants of that continent. These facts seemed to me to throw some light on the origin of species--that mystery of mysteries, as it has been called by one of our greatest philosophers."

The above are the first two sentences that begin what many describe as a seminal work in scientific literature and a landmark work in evolutionary biology. This book (whose full title is "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life") was written by Charles Darwin (1809 to 1882) and this first edition was published in November 1859. This illustrated edition was edited by David Quammen, an author and recognized writer.

But you'll find more (much more!!) between the covers of this illustrated edition than just the original text of Darwin's great book. In it are written excerpts from the following books:

(1) "The Voyage of the Beagle"
(2) "The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin"
(3) "The Autobiography of Charles Darwin"

From these major sources (and other sources) are included, as well, images of some of the places Darwin visited, some of the creatures he saw, and the ship itself. Included is a gallery of reproductions of photographs, oil portraits, oil woodcuts, sketches, cartoons, coloured lithographs from the book "The Zoology of the Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle," etc. (Thus, when they say this is "The Illustrated Edition," they're not kidding!!)

There is also a chronology that tracks Darwin's life as well as images or pictures related to him as a man and to concepts of his great work. Those major persons for and against Darwin's ideas are also shown.

Editor Quammen describes the "On the Origin of Species" text (which I'll refer as the 1859 TEXT):

"[It] wasn't written for experts. It was written for everybody who reads, thinks, and wonders. The prose is sometimes laborious and often elegant; the details are fascinating, the logic is lucid and firm; and the voice...is the voice of an affable English gentleman."

This book can be read in one of two ways:

(1) You can read the book from start to finish. As you come to the written excerpts, sketches, photos, etc., you can divert your attention from reading the 1859 TEXT, read or look over these, and then continue reading the 1859 TEXT.

(2) You can read and look over all the written excerpts, sketches, photos, etc. first. Then go back to the beginning and read the 1859 TEXT.

Personally, I chose method (2). I found that when I did this that I learned much about Charles Darwin, the man and scientist. I found that after I had learned something about Darwin himself, that my interest in the 1859 TEXT was piqued and I wanted to read it since, for some reason, it didn't seem so intimidating.

When reading the 1859 TEXT, you may find the prose difficult to read at first. I found that as I kept reading, I got used to the prose style, and the reading actually got easier. Also, it seems to me that Darwin has bent over backwards to make his 1859 TEXT easy to read because he provides many summaries at the beginning of each chapter. The last chapter is actually a summary of the entire text.

The chapter titles of the 1859 TEXT (which are the same for this illustrated edition) are as follows:

(1) Variation under domestication
(2) Variation under nature
(3) Struggle for existence
(4) Natural selection
(5) Laws of variation
(6) Difficulties [with my] theory
(7) Instinct
(8) Hybridism
(9) On the imperfection of the geological record
(10) On the geological succession of organic beings
(11) Geographical distribution
(12) Geographical distribution [continued]
(13) Mutual affinities of organic beings: morphology: embryology: rudimentary organs
(14) Recapitulation and conclusion

There is a fascinating appendix to this book entitled "An historical sketch of the progress of opinion of On The Origin of Species." This appendix was added as a foreword to the third edition, published in 1861. (Note that there were six editions of "Origin" published in Darwin's lifetime.)

Finally, there is a glossary in this illustrated edition. It aids tremendously in the understanding the 1859 TEXT. (Note that the 1859 TEXT did not have a glossary.)

In conclusion, with all the extras included to compliment Charles Darwin's masterpiece of observation and deduction, this book is truly a pleasure to read. I leave you with Darwin's final words:

"There is grandeur in this view of life [that is, grandeur in the laws of nature], with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms [of life] or into one [form of life]; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

(illustrated edition first published 2008; introduction (to this book by David Quammen); introduction (to "On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin); 14 chapters; main narrative 515 pages; appendix; glossary; picture credits; index)

<<Stephen Pletko, London, Ontario, Canada>>

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People tend to look at me crazy when I tell them that I've read ORIGIN OF SPECIES. And really, I think we can all see where they are coming from. Nevertheless, being curious, I thought it might be interesting read the book that started all the fuss.

I was surprised to find how readable it really was. Think about this: what we are taught in high school biology is way more than Darwin knew when he wrote this book. Accordingly, the science described in this book is quite easy to understand for anyone who has previously taken a biology class.

Probably the most interesting thing about this book were the few times that Darwin threw in a little philosophical/theological side comment. I'll leave these juicy tidbits for you to find, but look for them as they add a little "kick" to an otherwise fairly "scientific" book. Though a bit lengthy, this accountant enjoyed ORIGIN OF SPECIES.

As a sidenote: I find the funniest thing about those "Jesus fish" eating the "Darwin fish" car decals is that the base idea is that the stronger fish wins- a.k.a. surival of the fittest. The ensuing contradiction of unwittingly using one of Darwin's base tenets to attack Darwinian evolution is priceless.

I've now gone through six of the new editions of Origin of Species that have been released in honor of the 150th anniversary of publication. My recommendations,

1) Harvard "The Annotated Origin", with annotations by James Costa.
This is *the* one to get for the Darwin scholar, and for working biologists. A facsimile of the first edition is printed on facing pages across the center divide, with marginal notes by James Costa keyed on the outside margins. So, you can read the original text without distraction if you wish, and refer to the notes as necessary. The notes are largely historical, and go a long way towards making critical changes in Morse Peckham's variorum edition accessible. As a check, I really enjoyed the annotations to Chapter 4, where CD recaps the argument for and introduces the term Natural Selection. Costa's notes show CD backing away from his forthright statement in the 3rd edition, and the unfortunate introduction of 'survival of the fittest' in the 6th.

I'm compelled to added that this edition reminds me very much of the Harper Collins Study Bible of the New Revised Standard Version, an excellent fully-annotated edition largely free from doctrinal bias. [In YHWH's 2nd edition of the Descent of Man, 'humankind' (adam) is formed from the 'ground' (adamah), and not in the image of YHWH. So there.] However, the notes in HCSB take up the bottom half of the page and the eye must skip up and down, which is a distraction from the left-to-right flow of the text. As so often in the past, Bible scholars could learn a thing or two from Darwin scholars.

2) Harvard facsimile of the first edition.
This is the same facsimile text as above, without the the marginal notations, and in paperback (Harvard publishes both). The price is half that of the annotated version, and it can be recommend for those who want the direct exposition of Darwin at his clearest. The introduction by Ernst Mayr adds great interest: his 1963 'Animal Species and Evolution' was reviewed as the best book on evolution since the Origin, and his insights are crystalline. This alone makes it the best edition to buy for students in introductory evolution classes.

3) Illustrated Quammen edition.
This edition is an extremely attractive and affordable illustrated edition, again including the text of the first edition. It is useful as a lively introduction for non-specialists, who may be a bit put off by Darwin's sometimes ponderous Victorian prose. This one lends itself to casual flipping, and it can be hoped that such exploration may strike a spark in the open mind. The illustrations are gleaned from a variety of historical and contemporary sources, and link Darwin's ideas to his own lines of evidence in 'Voyage of the Beagle.' The presentation more resembles a modern evolution textbook, and draws the reader (to mix metaphors) onto the slippery slope of Descent with Modification. As a coffee table book, it's a natural selection. The companion Voyage of the Beagle is also a visually appealing tome.

4) Penguin new 150th edition.
A very attractive hardback edition of the first edition (not a facsimile), finely bound in black cloth with an interesting (though not IMO particularly apropos) cover illustration. The Introduction is useful through not especially authoritative. An attractive gift edition, it feels nice in the hand and will look nice on the shelf. A paperback edition is due out in October, which will lack the aesthetic appeal of the cloth edition.

Caveat emptor: Not to be confused with the Cambridge U edition, as Amazon has done on its webpage. No intro by Janet Browne here as advertised in the Amazon blurb. A review by someone has has read the (very pricey) Cambridge edition would be welcome.

5) Everyman Origin / Voyage of the Beagle, in one volume
Attractive, inexpensive pairing of the Origin with its highly readable antecedent. Useful for those who would like to see where CD got his first-hand experience that led to the Origin, and for its value as an adventure story by a young man just out of university, seeing the world for the first time. A slightly more recommendable combination than #6.

6) Modern Library Origin / Descent of Man, in one volume.
Nice paperback combination of the two key / 'notorious' Darwin works. Another nice combo for the general reader. Non-biologists should be warned that Darwin doesn't really have a great deal to say about the actual evolutionary history of humans, as little beyond Neanderthals was known at the time he wrote. There are plenty of more recent books that show our direct common ancestry with the Great Apes, and our trace our affinities with Monkeys: Richard Dawkins' 'The Ancestors Tale' comes to mind. As a consequence, this is marginally less useful combination than the Everyman edition.

***) On Natural Selection (Penguin Books Great Ideas)
Though it came out in 2004, I can't resist recommending Volume 16 in Penguin's Great Ideas series. This inexpensive, slim volume (117 pp) includes four chapters that cut to the heart of the matter: Chap 3 - Struggle for Existence, Chap 4 - Natural Selection, Chap 6 - Difficulties on Theory, and Chap 16 - Conclusions. I have used this edition in a seminar course on evolutionary thought for non-science majors, who otherwise balk at the bulk of the complete text before getting to the critical Chapter 4. If you just want to know what Natural Selection is (and what it is not), here is the book for you.