The Origin Of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition,   ISBN:9780451529060

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The book arrived promptly and in great condition. It took a long time to receive it, though.

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When it comes to subjects like biology and medicine, I am an absolute moron. I only barely avoided failing the one and only biology class I ever took, thanks to an absurd amount of extra-credit outside reading assignments and a science fair project that I still don't understand. I can never remember if DNA is made out of chromosomes or the other way around. Same with proteins and amino acids. I'm not a generally stupid person, but I do recognize my limits: biological matters are opaque to me.

It was with the hope of redeeming myself that I read "The Origin of Species". I felt that, if I could read and somewhat comprehend probably the most influential and controversial book ever written on biology, then I might once again be able to present myself in modern society without wearing a veil.

"The Origin of Species" sold out its entire first printing on the day of publication in 1859, largely because of its expected controversial contents. Darwin had written and spoken on such subjects for years, so the public anticipated some pretty scandalous stuff. The book is still considered controversial for several reasons. First, the theory that it presents appears to contradict the Biblical account of creation. (I say "appears" because it doesn't really. Anyone who genuinely believes in a strictly literal interpretation of Genesis, as opposed to a metaphorical interpretation, must necessarily also believe that Jesus actually was a door, a shepherd, a vine, a light, and a loaf of bread, which rather diminishes his or her credibility.) Second, it seems to contradict common sense ideas of inheritance: how can the offspring of a horse be anything but another horse? Third, it's kind of icky: we're essentially the same kind of things as slugs and worms: ewww. Fourth, it brings up uncomfortable ethical issues: if we're essentially the same kind of thing as the contents of a Happy Meal, how do we justify being the eaters and not the eatees? Finally, it's hard to comprehend that it's all true, in much the same way that it's hard to comprehend that we are all really blizzards of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

The book is very different from any science book I've ever read. Darwin is not lecturing from the podium of an auditorium. He's your learned friend sitting in the easy chair next to yours, probably in front of a cheerful fire after a nice dinner, telling you about some really interesting things he's seen and ideas he's had. Much of it is written in first person, which is very refreshing and personal.

It's clear that Darwin is multiple kinds of a genius. He's a lucid writer, with concise and telling expressions: he never uses two words if there's a single better one. He's also a gifted experimenter. He refers in many places to decades of clever experiments he's done with pigeons, bees, ants, grass, flowers, and other organisms, and you get the definite impression that these are only the tip of the iceberg of his accomplishments. Besides his deliberate experiments, he's also an amazing observational naturalist. He alludes to many things that he himself has witnessed, not only on his famous voyage around South America, but also on trips around England and Europe. In addition, he's an exhaustive and thorough researcher. The first part of the book is a review of everything (and I mean everything) written to that point on the subject. It's obvious that he's read everything available on the topic. Finally, he is an active correspondent with everyone doing related work or research at the time. He quotes the research and observations of numerous others, from some of the most famous scientists of his time to ordinary farmers who raise crops and animals for a living.

He begins by discussing the variations possible among members of the same species that are easily observable and are obviously deliberate, namely among domesticated animals and plants. This makes it clear that significant differences within a species are possible during only a few generations. This is what he calls "selection": deliberately choosing animals and plants for definite features, and encouraging these features.

He then expands his view to look at variation within nature, outside domestication. This allows him to bring up "natural selection": the conditions of nature favoring certain features over others. Organisms with good features are more likely to survive and reproduce. Organisms with bad features are unlikely to reproduce, and may become extinct.

Darwin packs a lot into his writing. His sentences are fireworks. Practically every one explodes off the page as a condensation of vast amounts of detailed research, or the statement of an amazing observation or theory. He consistently refers to this book as a "sketch," because he feels that he is not presenting all the detail he could on each point. But this is a sketch in the sense that Michelangelo's David is a rock. There is a vast and astonishing amount of detail in this book. Indeed, for me to say that I have "read" this book is not accurate. To truly appreciate this book, you would have to read one of his blockbuster sentences, then go off and contemplate its significance for hours, days, or weeks. In that sense, I have really only skimmed this book.

This is not dry theory, by any means. The wealth of practical examples he offers is amazing. I have to repeat one bit of reasoning about how the population of cats in an area affects how many flowers there are. Ready? The more cats there are, the fewer mice there are. Since mice gnaw on beehives and bother the bees, the fewer the mice, the more active the bees can be in the area. The more active the bees, the more pollen they can spread. And the more pollen they spread, the more flowers bloom. So, the more cats, the more flowers. Is that great?

Moron that I am in biology, I was surprised to find that there were things I know that Darwin didn't. He didn't know about Mendel's laws of inheritance, for example. Truth be told, I don't remember what these are, but I know that there are such laws, and Darwin didn't. I often found myself wishing that I could tell him about Mendel, DNA, radioactive dating of geological strata, mass extinctions, continental drift, and other topics.

One consequence of this for me, the biology moron, is that this book is pitched at just the right level to not lose me. He talks about animals and plants, things that even I can relate to. He doesn't - because he can't - delve into the biochemical stuff that always loses me. His writing is always concrete.

Having established his theory, and the usefulness of this theory in explaining the variety we observe in nature, Darwin brings up the difficulties of his own theory. This is the mark of the true scientist, as opposed to the partisan promoter. He recognizes that there are difficulties, and doesn't sweep them under the rug. Among the problems he discusses are the lack of fossils of in-between forms, how sterile insects can pass on their features, how complex organs (like eyes) come about, where complicated instinctive behaviors come from, and how similar species get distributed globally. In what I've read elsewhere, I've never seen a criticism of his theory that Darwin himself did not anticipate and address here.

Here's something interesting. I didn't notice the word "evolution" anywhere, for which I am grateful. I think that "evolution" is a terrible label for his theory of descent by natural selection. "Evolution" implies that something - some thing - is changing, which is not true. No animal changes into another animal. No dinosaur changes into a bird, no wolf changes into a Pekingese, no monkey changes into a human. The word "evolution" gives the wrong connotation entirely.

In the end, the book is absolutely convincing. The wealth of examples that Darwin presents, and the clarity and thoroughness of his discussion of his ideas, is compelling and persuasive. It's hard to imagine someone reading this book and saying, "Yeah, but." I am tempted to sum up by saying that a person either accepts the theory of natural selection or they have not read this book. And I now have that nifty cat story to tell at cocktail parties.

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This little gem answers all my questions except one...
The origin of the species! : (

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This historic book has been shown to be the key to the evolution of all living things. Thanks to the explanations given in this book, scientists are able to make vaccines and prevent major outbreaks of decease. Darwin, initially a man studying for the priesthood, was torn in presenting his evidence because he knew many people, including his wife, would not be happy that his explanations of nature contradicted creationist stories. This book is a must in everyone's library.

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Darwin wrote that , "When the views entertained in this volume on the origin of species, or when analogous views are generally admitted, we can dimly foresee that there will be a considerable revolution in natural history".

With the advantages of hindsight we can see that this was an understatement. The book has had an enormous impact , probably appearing in the indexes of more recent academic publications than any other 19th century text.

To answer the question of why, the reason is no doubt the same as when it was first published in 1859. His discovery combines simplicity with great explanatory power in an area of critical interest, namely the natural world and our place in it.

In contrast to the texts of today there are no formulas and only one diagram. The chapters have quick summaries and the whole thing has an easy flowing discursive style that is very accessible despite being a distillate of a large amount of widely differing knowledge.

He starts by looking at selection under domestication (i.e. not in nature) of animals, with special reference to the pigeon, showing how desired characteristics can be chosen by the breeder. In this respect after a discussion about pigeons and pigeon breeding in general, he can quote the skilled breeder Sir John Sebright as saying that, "he would produce any given feather in three years, but it would take him six years to obtain a head or a beak".

He goes on to extend the idea of selection to the natural state where nature takes the place of the breeder in selecting which variants breed successfully and which do not. The controller is not now the breeder with the feather or beak that he wants but rather the environment itself. Nature allows certain birds to reproduce that have the optimum colouring to avoid predators or attract mates or a beak type that best fits the most common functions. The idea is developed in the chapters entitled Struggle for Existence and Natural Selection . As he puts it: "In the case of every species, many different checks, acting at different periods of life, and during different seasons or years, probably come into play; some one check or some few being generally the most potent, but all concurring in determining the average number or even the existence of the species".

There are many examples with studies of special cases such as isolation, intercrossing, convergence and divergence of characteristics, and the competition between individuals and varieties of the same species. He clearly states that the environment is the guide : "...the structure of every organic being is related, in the most essential yet often hidden manner, to that of all other organic beings, with which it comes into competition for food or residence, or from which it has to escape, or on which it preys".

He speculates on the characteristics of variation without knowing of Mendels identification of particles (genes from each parent that could be dominant or recessive). Mendel only published in 1866 with his work not being rediscovered until 1900 so Darwin leaves this as somewhat of a grey area. He observes variation and catalogues it stating that it changes in small increments over time and is subject to selection pressure.

He is the first critic of his own work, highlighting for example the patchiness of the geological record :"Why does not every collection of fossil remains afford plain evidence of the gradation and mutation of forms of life?" In the event these problems are being tackled a century later reinforcing his insight of any organ or instinct arriving at it's present state through many graduated steps.

The high scientific reputation and social position of Darwin (needed to launch his ideas successfully) is covered in an excellent new biography by Janet Browne entitled "Voyaging".