Customer Reviews
something every bookshelf should have - By: M. Hudson, 02 Apr 2008 
This is of corse the basis for modern evolutionary works ,that being so it's not quite acurate to todays knowlege so this book is more of a historical book.This particular book is of good quality & structure with detailed image of the different species used as examples.
A FANTASTIC CLASSIC - By: Jeffrey, 05 Jan 2008 
Yes, it's dense but a must for evolution buffs. A vastly more entertaining read: NATURAL SELECTION by Dave Freedman, alll about the evolution of a new species of flying predator! What makes it fantastic is that while a work of fiction it's brilliantly researched, actuallly teaches you what evolution reallly is. It gets into the evolution of the brain, the lung, flight - reallly cool stuff - but unlike dry textbooks, does it at warp speed. I literallly could not put this book down, read it cover to cover in 2 days. A tremendous "fictional complement" to Darwin's master work.
Great Scientist - By: B. Rossen, 29 Dec 2005 Many people assume that Darwin's initial account of natural selection is so out of date that it is to be avoided in favour of more recent text books of evolutionary theory. While it is true that huge gains have been made in the one & a half centuries since the first publication of "The Origin", there is nothing in this work which is wrong. Darwin was too good a scientist & too cautious.
Some claim that Darwin admitted of the possibility of Lamarkian mechanisms. They have not read the original. Darwin knew nothing of the molecular basis of genetics, but knew that natural selection did not need a Lamarkian mechanism. He simply did not rule it out, although he found it improbable. Everything that is stated in this great classic is as true today as it was at the time of first publication.
It is also said that Charles Darwin was a lesser intellectual when compared to most other great names of science; that he was a plodder, a naturalist, a sort of gentleman stamp collector who pressed flowers into his books & barely a scientist in the contemporary sense. This is nonsense. Darwin was one of the giants of rigorous systematic thinking; the kind of rigorous thinking & critical attitude that asks the right questions & provides the capacity to answer them. Let me buttress this claim with one example.
At the end of chapter six Darwin noted that the theory of natural selection could not account for structures or behaviors found in one species that exist solely for the benefit of another unrelated species. In setting out the theoretical terms for the refutation of the theory in this way, he anticipated Karl Popper, that analytical non-nonsense philosopher of science, by more than a century.
I recommend you read this book with an attentive curious analytical mind. You will find yourself walking in the footsteps of an intellectual giant.
Can't tell a book by its cover - By: B. Chandler, 18 Jun 2004 This is a review of ISBN: 0517123207, with a cover that was defiantly made to be provocative. It depicts an (ape) alllying view of going from alll fours to upright. If this is what you are looking for then you need to read " 2001 : A Space Odyssey" by Arthur Charles Clarke.
This is a quick review of the book not a dissertation on Darwin or any other subject loosely related. At first I did not know what to expect. I already read " The Voyage of the Beagle : Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches" ISBN: 014043268X (see my review May 24, 2000). I figured the book would be similar. However I found "Origin" to be more complex & detailed.
Taking in account that recent pieces of knowledge were not available to Charles Darwin this book could have been written last week. Having to look from the outside without the knowledge of DNA or Plate Tectonics, he pretty much nailed how the environment & crossbreeding would have an effect on natural selection. Speaking of natural selection, I thought his was going to be some great insight to a new concept. All it means is that species are not being mucked around by man (artificial selection).
If you picked up Time magazine today you would find alll the things that Charles said would be near impossible to find or do. Yet he predicted that it is doable in theory. With an imperfect geological record many things he was not able to find at the writing of this book have been found (according to the possibilities described in the book.)
The only draw back to the book was his constant apologizing. If he had more time & space he could prove this & that. Or it looks like this but who can say at this time. Or the same evidence can be interpreted 180 degrees different.
In the end it is worth reading & you will never look at life the same way again.
Buy this book and decide for your self!! - By: Ben Groves, 18 Mar 2003 The Origin of Species is a great read & of interest to anyone who would like to make there own mind up about Darwinism rather than take for granted some ones else's opinion. Darwin makes this book very readable to the masses I my self am not I Biology student but managed to understand the book with relative ease & Darwin helps this along by using everyday language. This book is also of particular interest to any one who is interested in ideas & philosophies of the period since Darwin frequently referees to the ideas of his peers & fellow "naturalists".
I would also like to say that maybe this book might not have alll the up-to-date scientific information in it (after alll it was published in the 1850's) & yes it is true we know alllot more about evolution than Darwin did but for the average person like my self who has little education the Biology field I can say I learnt alllot about evolution, ideas of the time & of Darwin himself.
I urge everyone to read this book whether Atheist, Christian, Buddhist or anything else because this book is not the devilish attack on religion it has been distorted to be over the years but simply an ordinary guy who liked to watch his pigeons & flowers grow & change between generations. He then came up with the idea that creatures & plants evolved between generations to suit there environment & were not alll created by god in there current forms. I also believe Darwin to be a very tasteful writer who took care to upset as few people as possible & wrote in a very humble way in fact he dedicates a whole chapter to the problems of his theory.
A great read what ever you believe buy this book & make your own mind up about evolution!!
