So Simple a Beginning, So Profound a Journey

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	• From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The ... Charles Darwin W. W. Norton & Company, 2005 - 1706 pages average customer review:based on 26 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Work of Immense Significance

Darwin's theory of evolution has become widely celebrated and supported, since his first publication of The Origin of Species in 1859. Few other books or scientific ideas have had such an impact in recent times. Wilson has collected Darwin's four major books, which document Darwin's support for the theory of evolution, under one volume. Critics will note that E.O. Wilson has for a long time rejected the capacity of religion and scientific views to coexist. I part ways with Wilson, thinking that some reconciliation of religious and scientific views is plausible, but that any religious view of modern times must be based not in superstition, but in hope and in reason. Suffice it to say, liberal (or rather non-literal) views of religion are compatible with Darwin's theory, while literal (fundamentalist) views generally are not. I heartily recommend reading this book, no matter what your background is. E.O. Wilson does not insert his opinions or views in the matter in the body of Darwin's text, save for a brief afterword at the end. Readers should get a fair and objective view of Darwin, having read these four books. Darwin's theory should be read, and understood, simply for its tremendous intrinsic reward and the immense impact it has had. For this - the obvious impact of the theory - I give Darwin's works 5 stars. Nonetheless, I must confess as a non-specialist in evolution, there are large tracts of the book that read like a tedious anatomical manual, and may seem to be of 2 stars interest. In spite of that drawback, I have to give Darwin's theory the credit I believe it has deserved for laying the foundations to modern biology and modern views of man's place in the world. Five stars.

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So Simple a Beginning, So Profound a Journey

I have had two worn-out paperback copies of Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle for many years and enjoyed them greatly. But, my eyes are not quite as good as they used to be at reading small print, and besides I wanted nicer copies after all this time. I had never gotten around to The Descent of Man and The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, which I wanted to read in order to expand my understanding of Darwin and evolution. This edition itself is very nicely finished. The original illustrations have been beautifully restored. The essays by E.O. Wilson are informative and insightful. As others have said, tho', I wish that Dr. Wilson had expanded his essays. Good as they were, I wanted more. Darwin himself was a very good writer with a skill at clear explanation and an obvious love for nature and its subjects. Darwin is still one of the best at explaining the theory which he and Wallace originated. As a basic source of the most essential writings by Charles Darwin, this edition could not be much better. This is one to keep on your bookshelf for years to come. You have in your hands one of the greatest insights in all of human history and science, equal to the visions of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein. For me, evolution and the theory of natural selection surpass in importance any other other discovery in science, dealing as it does with the history of life and our place in nature. It should be lastly noted that "theory" should be taken in its scientific sense when talking about evolution. A theory is a description of how something works -- not something unproven. Evolution is proven and real. Intelligent Design, on the other hand, is an unproven and illogical proposition which explains nothing.

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A Cumbersome Masterpiece

This single volume edition of Darwin's four most noted books masterfully brings together his pioneering analysis and conclusions. However, in a practical sense, the 4-lb volume is difficult to read. I would prefer four volumes, preferably paperbacks.

Darwin was a GENIUS

It all started after a friend told me about "Darwin and the Beagle" by Alan Moorehead. I purchased it and read it all through, found it very interesting, but I wanted to know more about it. So I purchased the four books by C. Darwin because I was very curious to know what he personally reported. I am still reading the first of the three books. It is most interesting and I frankly believe that Darwin was a genius and a wonderful person.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

A gorgeous gift and a landmark work that is an essential addition to everyone's personal library. Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin?Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)?been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slipcased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products. 101 illustrations.

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