Charles Darwin: The Concise Story of an Extraordinary Man
Derived from the author’s introductory university lecture on Darwin, this précis is a viable option for the short-biography requirement—not every collection, after all, stocks the magisterial two-volume Charles Darwin (1995), by Janet Browne. Berra meets the essential curiosities a reader new to Darwin will have about a scientist still controversial in some quarters: Berra describes Darwin’s wealthy family background; notes his search for a purpose in life, which led to his embarkation on the survey ship HMS Beagle; chronicles Darwin’s fabled voyage on that ship; steers Darwin into his happy marriage to an heiress to the Wedgwood pottery fortune; and recounts the éclat with which On the Origin of Species burst upon the world in 1859. So far, so good, but a finer asset of this volume is its abundance of portraits and illustrations, including a suite of photos taken by Berra of Darwin’s home. The ensemble of text and illustrations will render an indelible image of Darwin for those beginning to study him, and evolution, while a brief bibliography points the way to further exploration. --Gilbert Taylor