James A. Secord Boeken

On topics ranging from intelligent design and climate change to the politics of gender and race, the evolutionary writings of Charles Darwin occupy a pivotal position in contemporary public debate. This volume brings together the key chapters of his most important and accessible books,including the Journal of Researches on the Beagle voyage (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), and The Descent of Man (1871), along with the full text of his delightful autobiography. They are accompanied by generous selections of responses from Darwin's nineteenth-century readers from across theworld. More than anything, they give a keen sense of the controversial nature of Darwin's ideas, and his position within Victorian debates about man's place in nature.The wide-ranging Introduction by James A. Secord, Director of the Darwin Correspondence Project, explores the global impact and origins of Darwin's work and the reasons for its unparalleled significance today. To increase its usefulness for readers coming to Darwin for the first time, the selectionalso includes a map of the Beagle voyage, a detailed chronology of Darwin's life, and a biographical appendix identifying every individual mentioned in the text.

This is where our own public controversies about evolution began.".

Whilst political and social events shook continental Europe, scientific developments were changing the way we understood the world. At the height of this change a series of remarkable books about science were published. In 'Visions of Science', Jim Secord explores a selection of these titles and how they were received, disseminated, and admired

The book presents a comprehensive exploration of the scientific battles in geology during Darwin's time, highlighting the efforts to classify and organize natural history. It delves into the social implications of these taxonomic endeavors, particularly how they supported a hierarchical worldview that appealed to the elite. Secord examines the intersection of science and imperialism, revealing how geological findings were intertwined with moral and social narratives aimed at reinforcing societal structures.