The Young Charles Darwin by Keith Stewart Thomson
An investigation of Charles Darwin as a young naturalist and how he arrived at his revolutionary ideas What sort of person was the young naturalist who developed an evolutionary idea so logical, so dangerous, that it has dominated biological science for a century and a half? How did the quiet and shy Charles Darwin produce his theory of natural selection when many before him had started down the same path but failed? This book is the first to inquire into the range of influences and ideas, the mentors and rivals, and the formal and informal education that shaped Charles Darwin and prepared him for his remarkable career of scientific achievement. Keith Thomson concentrates on Darwin’s early life as a schoolboy, a medical student at Edinburgh, a theology student at Cambridge, and a naturalist aboard the Beagle on its famous five-year voyage. Closely analyzing Darwin’s Autobiography and scientific notebooks, the author draws a fully human portrait of Darwin for the first time: a vastly erudite and powerfully ambitious individual, self-absorbed but lacking self-confidence, hampered as much as helped by family, and sustained by a passion for philosophy and logic. Thomson’s account of the birth and maturing of Darwin’s brilliant theory is fascinating for the way it reveals both his genius as a scientist and the human foibles and weaknesses with which he mightily struggled.
"'It has always irked me that Darwin is known by the iconic image of him as a bearded ancient being, when his world-changing ideas came to him as a virile young manHappily, this book redresses the balance.' Rowan Hooper, New Scientist 'a readable and very detailed account of Darwin's early years and the influences that shaped him.' Jim Endersby, Sunday Telegraph 'a subtle and scrupulous account of what Darwin learned as a young man... and how this differed from what he was prepared, as an old sage, to admit to having been taught.' Andrew Brown, The New Statesman"
Keith Stewart Thomson (1938–2025), was a distinguished evolutionary biologist, historian, and writer. He was emeritus professor of natural history at the University of Oxford and had served as director of the Oxford Museum of Natural History, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the Peabody Museum at Yale University, where he was also a professor and dean. He wrote many books and essays on history, history of science, evolution, and paleontology, including The Common but Less Frequent Loon and Other Essays; Before Darwin: Reconciling God and Nature; The Legacy of the Mastodon: The Golden Age of Fossils in America; and Jefferson’s Shadow: The Story of His Science.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780300167894 |
| ISBN 10 | 030016789X |
| Title | The Young Charles Darwin |
| Author | Keith Stewart Thomson |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
| Year published | 2010-10-19 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |