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On the Origin of Species

On the Origin of Species

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  • Create Date：2021-11-06 05:51:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Charles Darwin
  • ISBN：0140439129
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Summary

Charles Darwin’s seminal formulation of the theory of Evolution， On the Origin of Species continues to be as controversial today as when it was first published。

Written for a general readership， On the Origin of Species sold out on the day of its publication and has remained in print ever since。 Instantly and persistently controversial， the concept of natural selection transformed scientific analysis about all life on Earth。 Before the Origin of Species， accepted thinking held that life was the static and perfect creation of God。 By a single， systematic argument Darwin called this view into question。 His ideas have affected public perception of everything from religion to economics。 William Bynum’s introduction discusses Darwin’s life， the publication and reception of the themes of On the Origin of Species， and the subsequent development of its major themes。 The new edition also includes brief biographies of some of the most important scientific thinkers leading up to and surrounding the Origin of Species， suggested further reading， notes and a chronology。

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Reviews

Michael ，

Darwin is one of those authors always referred to and seldom read。 I wanted to read his seminal work。 What I found is a refreshingly reasoned book， compellingly written and entirely without polemic， despite how disruptive its conclusions were to the creation myths that still hold so much sway around the world。 And yet， in the author’s words， "there is grandeur in this view": how much more ennobling are these revelations than the musty old tales in "holy" books: that the world existed long before Darwin is one of those authors always referred to and seldom read。 I wanted to read his seminal work。 What I found is a refreshingly reasoned book， compellingly written and entirely without polemic， despite how disruptive its conclusions were to the creation myths that still hold so much sway around the world。 And yet， in the author’s words， "there is grandeur in this view": how much more ennobling are these revelations than the musty old tales in "holy" books: that the world existed long before us and will outlive us， that we are PART of nature and not above it， that a simple and explainable beginning yielded so much breathtaking and beautiful diversity， and that we no longer need to try to explain why the gods of our primitive imagination would permit the random and barbarous aspects of our existence。 。。。more

Jared Pangilinan ，

This book was amazing， just from him writing about his findings it really showed me what type of person Charles Darwin was。 the way he wrote everything from his perspective made everything so much easier to understand。 But while I read it i felt a sort of sadness while reading， I'm not sure but I just did。 I really did enjoy reading this book and it was very informative about his findings and himself。 This book was amazing， just from him writing about his findings it really showed me what type of person Charles Darwin was。 the way he wrote everything from his perspective made everything so much easier to understand。 But while I read it i felt a sort of sadness while reading， I'm not sure but I just did。 I really did enjoy reading this book and it was very informative about his findings and himself。 。。。more

Carmen Chan ，

Did you really graduate with a degree in biology if you've never read Darwin's On the Origin of Species？Picked this one up because I felt obligated to。 Already familiar with Natural Selection， but it was interesting to see the conception of the theory and how he argued for it。First few chapters + last chapter was good。 The in-between got a little dry and I was kinda over it at that point （until i got to the last chapter）。Though written for the general audience at the time， I didn't find the writ Did you really graduate with a degree in biology if you've never read Darwin's On the Origin of Species？Picked this one up because I felt obligated to。 Already familiar with Natural Selection， but it was interesting to see the conception of the theory and how he argued for it。First few chapters + last chapter was good。 The in-between got a little dry and I was kinda over it at that point （until i got to the last chapter）。Though written for the general audience at the time， I didn't find the writing style particularly captivating， granted there were a lot of descriptions of animal morphology and experiments。。。Still a revolutionary piece of work， altering the course of science forever; a work that is absolutely fundamental in the study if biology。Would give it 3 stars for the writing， but plus 1 because of how important this book is。 。。。more

Kota ，

Listened as an audio book， so there are quite a few sections I will likely reread when I get a physical copy， but more than anything， it's incredible to read the founding book of evolution and see how ahead of its time it was。 Darwin's theory was controversial back then too， and he knew it。 The book goes into extreme detail， arguing more strongly in favor of natural selection over independent creation （as he calls it） than I anticipated from just the introduction of the theory。 He shows where th Listened as an audio book， so there are quite a few sections I will likely reread when I get a physical copy， but more than anything， it's incredible to read the founding book of evolution and see how ahead of its time it was。 Darwin's theory was controversial back then too， and he knew it。 The book goes into extreme detail， arguing more strongly in favor of natural selection over independent creation （as he calls it） than I anticipated from just the introduction of the theory。 He shows where the theory of independent creation raises several issues that are solved with natural selection， and anticipated several counterarguments to his theory still used today in attempt to discredit evolution， but refutes them clearly， hundreds of years ago。 You can sense his genius， thorough analysis of evidence， and the intense scrutiny he put his own theory through before arriving at the idea。It is strangely inspiring to read this literally world changing book。 He himself seems hopeful to the future of his theory， and was correct。 We continued finding more evidence in support of Darwin， expanded his ideas right where we hoped we would， and more。 "There is grandeur in this view of life"。 。。。more

Ila ，

Charles Robert Darwin wrote The Origin of Species in 1859， with his groundbreaking theories of evolution。 He gives information on the process of natural selection， along with other principles such as inheritance， heredity， and the science behind traits。 This work of his is one of the most foundational in the advancement of biological studies。I personally enjoyed this read， I’m not one to focus on more biological studies but this one held my attention。 In Darwin's time， his audience was predomina Charles Robert Darwin wrote The Origin of Species in 1859， with his groundbreaking theories of evolution。 He gives information on the process of natural selection， along with other principles such as inheritance， heredity， and the science behind traits。 This work of his is one of the most foundational in the advancement of biological studies。I personally enjoyed this read， I’m not one to focus on more biological studies but this one held my attention。 In Darwin's time， his audience was predominantly religious and unaccepting of more scientific works。 He was able to shine a light on the science of evolution， creating an opportunity for people to turn their opinions and beliefs regarding their origin。 He provided more on the biological view of life in a theocentric society that focused on more religious beliefs。 He has had some scientific feedback as well with one of his theories being proven wrong by Howard Mandell but remains a huge contributor to the scientific understanding of evolution。 。。。more

Eddie ，

A bit too ambitious for me。 I put it down after about 25%。

Anna ，

How do you give stars to something as iconic as this？ I don't really know but I did it anyway。An interesting read with a lot of ideas that made me go "really， he figured this out over 150 years ago？！" while reading this。 The style is， not so surprisingly， rather old， as are some of the terms， but most of this is just as important today as it was then。Except maybe the part about Darwin being such a sceptic about dog breeds and where they came from。 That one made me chuckle a bit， even though I s How do you give stars to something as iconic as this？ I don't really know but I did it anyway。An interesting read with a lot of ideas that made me go "really， he figured this out over 150 years ago？！" while reading this。 The style is， not so surprisingly， rather old， as are some of the terms， but most of this is just as important today as it was then。Except maybe the part about Darwin being such a sceptic about dog breeds and where they came from。 That one made me chuckle a bit， even though I still fully understand why that was the case。 。。。more

John ，

As an artifact of history this work is invaluable。 If you want insight onto where Charles Darwin's mind was at the end of the 1850's and what the conversation amongst naturalists of the time was like， there is， needless to say， no better source。 It doesn't take much imagination to feel Darwin's sober trepidation as， with palpable conviction， he pushes forward with the disclosure of his monumental theory into a world that very much did not want it。Knowing of the works reputation， I feel fortunate As an artifact of history this work is invaluable。 If you want insight onto where Charles Darwin's mind was at the end of the 1850's and what the conversation amongst naturalists of the time was like， there is， needless to say， no better source。 It doesn't take much imagination to feel Darwin's sober trepidation as， with palpable conviction， he pushes forward with the disclosure of his monumental theory into a world that very much did not want it。Knowing of the works reputation， I feel fortunate in having chosen this quality abridgment as I can too easily imagine what a slog the full work would be。 Even in reduced form， after good start， the book eventually turns into something of a slog。 Given what was commonplace in his day， Darwin is actually quite direct and clear at the sentence level--compellingly so at times。 However， at the macro scale Darwin is circuitous and repetitious and never wants to leave another argument， analogy， example， or kitchen sink behind for fear that that nugget would be the one to let the scales fall from eyes of the impervious masses。 Indeed， Darwin was writing to what he expected to be a nearly universally hostile audience， ensconced in deeply held contrary options。 Respectfully beating them to death with example after example and recycling ideas over and over and over was warranted， if not necessary。 But it can induce tears in the eyes of the choir members not so interested in the documentation of historical polemics。 The editor sought to cut away such excesses， and I'm （very） grateful for this quality abridgment despite it's unavoidable limitations。 It was worth the read for the historical perspective it offers and is recommended on that basis。（The audio book is narrated by Richard Dawkins。 Dawkins is an insightful and very gifted writer capable of clarity and directness。 There can be no doubt of his intimate familiarity with this volume and this shows through as every passage is deliver with the emphasis and intonation that best suits its intended sense。 His verbal delivery is not be particularly vibrant， but it is accurate and fervent。 He is no Kevin Pariseau， but there is no doubting the authenticity of his narration。） 。。。more

Ethan Snyder ，

Definitely a dry read but a good one。

Avesta ，

Despite Darwin's irritating style of writing， I found his On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection， or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle For Life quite an interesting read。It's quite fascinating though - people （and so some textbooks） make some absurd claims that Darwin claims we come from monkeys， or that he wholly supported Evolution。 This book， as well as his background， proves that he never really makes such a statement， and also was regularly conflicted with h Despite Darwin's irritating style of writing， I found his On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection， or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle For Life quite an interesting read。It's quite fascinating though - people （and so some textbooks） make some absurd claims that Darwin claims we come from monkeys， or that he wholly supported Evolution。 This book， as well as his background， proves that he never really makes such a statement， and also was regularly conflicted with his work， as he was a deeply religious man himself， and I believe there was a situation whereby his wife discovered his letters after his demise， which demonstrate his conflicts further with his work and his beliefs in creationism and god。 Definitely recommend to anyone who biological science students， and also anyone who wishes to criticize Darwin - since I think you'd need to be quite an expert on his works to be able to make claims against his work。。。 #coughcreationists #coughantisciencetwits 。。。more

Graham ，

While I enjoyed reading his Beagle travel book， I found ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES much more of a slog， a dry textbook that led me to largely skimming it。 I approached this one for its significance in our understanding of the world about us， but as a humanities student at heart I found a lot of the text repetitive in the extreme， written for fellow scientists rather than the general reader。 Where Darwin does shine is in his summaries of each chapter， which are always well-written and helpful。 Whil While I enjoyed reading his Beagle travel book， I found ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES much more of a slog， a dry textbook that led me to largely skimming it。 I approached this one for its significance in our understanding of the world about us， but as a humanities student at heart I found a lot of the text repetitive in the extreme， written for fellow scientists rather than the general reader。 Where Darwin does shine is in his summaries of each chapter， which are always well-written and helpful。 While this book is hugely important historically， I think I'll be better off reading the Wikipedia summary of it。 。。。more

Lingling ，

一直想看看达尔文的原作，借的这本是1859年的第一版加上一些其他资料（航行日志，自传）里的配图和解说（南美洲自然环境，土著文化和风土人情，还描述了一次智利的地震，跟虎克，莱尔和赫胥黎的学术互动）感觉更丰富，更有意思。说起来大家都知道进化论，可谈到真能理解透彻了把它说清楚也不容易。突然想到一个问题，人类不知道未来会进化成啥样？进化的时间尺度是很长的，也许人类历史还是太短了。“Whatever the cause may be of each slight difference in the offspring from their parents- and a cause for each must exist - it is the steady accumulation， through natural selection， of such differences， when beneficial to the individual， that gives rise to all the more important modifications of structure， by wh 一直想看看达尔文的原作，借的这本是1859年的第一版加上一些其他资料（航行日志，自传）里的配图和解说（南美洲自然环境，土著文化和风土人情，还描述了一次智利的地震，跟虎克，莱尔和赫胥黎的学术互动）感觉更丰富，更有意思。说起来大家都知道进化论，可谈到真能理解透彻了把它说清楚也不容易。突然想到一个问题，人类不知道未来会进化成啥样？进化的时间尺度是很长的，也许人类历史还是太短了。“Whatever the cause may be of each slight difference in the offspring from their parents- and a cause for each must exist - it is the steady accumulation， through natural selection， of such differences， when beneficial to the individual， that gives rise to all the more important modifications of structure， by which the innumerable beings on the face of this earth are enabled to struggle with each other， and the best adapted to survive。 “第九章关于不完美的地质记录，读起来很亲切（算以来也学了多年的地质🤭）。读完一遍感觉并不能透彻的理解所有部分，尤其关于器官的进化（眼睛）。关于物种的地理分布两章，达尔文强调了自然环境要素中不仅要考虑气候因素更重要的是现有物种，因为这会极大的影响自然选择（物种间相互关系比气候更重要）。用语言的演化来类比物种演化，有助于理解。达尔文自传里提到年轻时喜欢诗歌，戏剧（尤其莎士比亚的历史剧）绘画和音乐，后来逐渐失去了对这些高雅艺术的兴趣/欣赏能力，连优美的风景都不能像以前一样让他心旷神怡。晚年他更喜欢小说，尤其是大团圆结局的通俗小说（有个美女主人公就更好了🤭）。附录（达尔文总结了前人关于物种改变modification的观点，看得出他很谦虚，是个真正的英国绅士）里看到原来中学教科书里长颈鹿长脖子的例子是拉马克（Lamarck）书里的，我还奇怪物种起源读完了也没看到详细讨论长颈鹿（只出现了一次）。 。。。more

Marcia ，

Was forced to read it for college

Tex-49 ，

Abbandonato， perché esula dai miei interessi: troppo approfondito nelle varie dimostrazioni; giusto che sia così per enunciare una teoria， ma a me basta conoscerne i principi。

Jim Sojourner ，

Perhaps the most important book ever written， Origin is an astonishing work of observation， analysis， and communication。

Randy Wilson ，

I'm not sure exactly what made me read this。 Perhaps I glanced at an article or read a digression about what an amazing book this is。 Good thing because this isn't just an eye opener about a subject I thought I knew 'survival of the fittest' （not really） but more because of the faith it restored in me that perhaps mankind is redeemable。 Maybe。First off this isn't the 'Descent of Man' where Darwin talks about us， human beings and all our foibles。 Here he talks quite a bit about birds， flowers， mi I'm not sure exactly what made me read this。 Perhaps I glanced at an article or read a digression about what an amazing book this is。 Good thing because this isn't just an eye opener about a subject I thought I knew 'survival of the fittest' （not really） but more because of the faith it restored in me that perhaps mankind is redeemable。 Maybe。First off this isn't the 'Descent of Man' where Darwin talks about us， human beings and all our foibles。 Here he talks quite a bit about birds， flowers， mistletoe and most memorably bees。 Here it isn't survival of the fittest but survival of those attributes that assist in a species' survival。 This isn't the Hunger Games where individuals all compete to outlast each other。 Rather this is about life on the constant search for bringing out those features that will best serve that species and interdependently other species as well。 Intelligence in the course of natural selection is an extremely long game and one far more intelligent than any single instance whether human or otherwise could ever comprehend。Darwin wrote like Houdini performed; lock him up in a safe underwater and dare him to get out。 Except Darwin does Houdini one better because Darwin patiently， logically， inspiringly explains away what he has identified as the most challenging threats to his theory。 One of the biggest objections to his theory is that the geologic record is too weak to support it。 Nothing in the record of the fossils left over the many millions of years for natural selection to play out directly supports him。 Darwin makes this argument explicit and then he make the argument that blows all that away。The time when geologic record could be of most use to natural selection was during the elevation of land， when life was expanding。 This would be when much of the record could be useful to show how species evolved but this is exactly when fossils aren't available。 It is only in periods of subsidence， when the land is ebbing away that fossils are found。 This is also the time when life is struggling most and won't be the best time to view life affirming changes in species。 This allows Darwin to pivot from a macro view across all of the globe and time and species and focus in on a barnacle he studied called the Sessile Cirripedes。 He points to evidence in the fossil record that could be the predecessor to the now existing barnacle。 This is important because his critics were saying that species didn't evolve which all Darwin had to do here was point to the fossil record and ask them how to account for this previous species。It is Darwin's argument about the deeply intelligent quality of instinctive behavior that made me happiest reading this book。 His critics' position was to deny natural selection because life's instincts were crude mindlessly， repetitive tasks so lowly and unworthy as to make the incredible long， patient but ever so intelligent process of adaption through natural selection seem inconceivable。 But then he says this about the honey bee。"He must be a dull man who can examine the exquisite structure of a comb， so beautifully adapted to its end， without enthusiastic admiration。 We hear from mathematicians that bees have practically solved a recondite problem and have made their cells of the proper shape to hold the greatest possible amount of honey， with the least possible consumption of precious wax in their construction。"Darwin was making a point that today we had better keep front of mind as we face our self-made climate disaster。 As humans we are in love with how smart and amazing we are but we are at best a tiny example of the incredible intelligence that life has shown before we even arrive on the scene。 Should we not want the parade to completely pass us by， we need the humility of Darwin in calling out the incredible intelligence of the honey bee， a single species and we better quickly appreciate what we most definitely don't know about life on earth。 It is awe-inspiring， wicked smart and might just guide us out of our mess if we stop our incessant self-congratulations and start listening to all the life that isn't us。 。。。more

Kurtuluş Atıcı ，

Kitabı， Alfa Yayıncılık'ın basımı ve Bahar Kılıç'ın çevirisiyle okudum。 Öncelikle şunu söylemem gerekir ki; kuramına katılıp katılmamak dışında， tıp eğitimini yarıda bırakıp araştırmalarına başlayan ve tüm hayatını buna adayan bir insanı takdir etmek gerekiyor。 Kitabı okuduktan sonra， Darwin'in kuramında savunduğu varyetelerin çeşitlenmesi， çaprazlanması gibi konulara çoğunlukla katıldığımı düşünüyorum。 Tabiki bu kadar bilimsel tanım ve bilgiye sahip olmamakla birlikte， kitapta belirtilen neden- Kitabı， Alfa Yayıncılık'ın basımı ve Bahar Kılıç'ın çevirisiyle okudum。 Öncelikle şunu söylemem gerekir ki; kuramına katılıp katılmamak dışında， tıp eğitimini yarıda bırakıp araştırmalarına başlayan ve tüm hayatını buna adayan bir insanı takdir etmek gerekiyor。 Kitabı okuduktan sonra， Darwin'in kuramında savunduğu varyetelerin çeşitlenmesi， çaprazlanması gibi konulara çoğunlukla katıldığımı düşünüyorum。 Tabiki bu kadar bilimsel tanım ve bilgiye sahip olmamakla birlikte， kitapta belirtilen neden-sonuç ilişkilerini değerlendirdiğimde bu kanıya varıyorum。Ek olarak Darwin， kendi kuramıyla ilgili yetersizliklere de yer veriyor。（jeolojik bilgi yetersizlikleri， kuramla ilgili şüpheler vs。） Kendinden sonraki araştırmacılara da aslında bir yol çizmiş oluyor。Kitabın okunmasıyla ilişkili birkaç şeye de değinmek istiyorum; özellikle metinlerde çok fazla bilimsel tanım ve bilgi yer alıyor。 Bu okumayı hem sıkıyor hem de anlamayı zorlaştırıyor。 Kaldı ki Darwin'in cümlelerini anlamak için bazen 3-4 defa okumak gerekiyor。 Kitabı yaklaşık 1 ayda bitirdim。 Zamanı olmayan， kitabı okurken sıkılacak insanlara ise naçizane şu önerim mevcut: Her bölümün sonunda， bölümle ilgili 1-2 sayfalık kısa özetler mevcut。 Kaldı ki， kitabın son bölümü de genel bir özetten oluşuyor。 Çok merak eden; ancak zamanı olmayan kişiler sadece bu özetleri okuyarak bile kitap hakkında genel bir fikir sahibi olabilir。 Keyifli okumalar diliyorum。 。。。more

Celia ，

Good

Caiden ，

If you are interested in Biology， Darwin， or History， I would encourage reading this book。 However， I would also encourage putting quite a bit of time away for it。 After all， it can be tedious to read what is basically a 500-page thesis argument。 Darwin incorporates several different principles， all of which add to his general argument。

Vaibhav Bhandari ，

Checking off the bucket list

Alvaro de Menard ，

Unlike Voyage of the Beagle this is not a particularly pleasurable read。 Its value today mainly lies in its documentation of the discovery of evolution， and in showing how Darwin could reason his way forward despite rather limited means （not even an inkling of DNA！）。 It's therefore difficult to recommend: if you just want to learn about evolution， pick up a modern textbook; if you're interested in the history of science you should probably read a historian; and if you just want to read something Unlike Voyage of the Beagle this is not a particularly pleasurable read。 Its value today mainly lies in its documentation of the discovery of evolution， and in showing how Darwin could reason his way forward despite rather limited means （not even an inkling of DNA！）。 It's therefore difficult to recommend: if you just want to learn about evolution， pick up a modern textbook; if you're interested in the history of science you should probably read a historian; and if you just want to read something cool by Charles Darwin， pick up his Beagle adventure。 。。。more

Collin ，

Difficult read unsound logic and hypotheses that have been disproven by his own words。 Important read， but certainly not an easy one。

Jamie Dacyczyn ，

Not really sure what to say about this book。 I own a sentimental copy， so I decided I needed to read it at last。 Obviously， this book is among the most scientifically important works ever published， so there's not much that I can say that hasn't already been said before and by someone far more articulate than I。Although most of the book is （expectedly） a bit on the dry side for this reader who typically aims for fantasy and time travel books， I was generally amused by how Darwin went about some Not really sure what to say about this book。 I own a sentimental copy， so I decided I needed to read it at last。 Obviously， this book is among the most scientifically important works ever published， so there's not much that I can say that hasn't already been said before and by someone far more articulate than I。Although most of the book is （expectedly） a bit on the dry side for this reader who typically aims for fantasy and time travel books， I was generally amused by how Darwin went about some of his studies。 There was a chapter where he discussed the possible ways that plants could have spread across the continents。 He'd say something like （paraphrasing）: "I have placed a variety of seeds into the stomach of a herring， and subsequently fed the herring to a pelican。 Some days later， I retrieved the final result， and discovered that many seeds have remained intact through the digestive tract of the bird， and upon planting these seeds 26 of the 87 seeds have been successfully germinated。" No matter how academically worded this statement experiment might be worded， I just can't shake the image of some Victorian gentleman naturalist stuffing some seeds into a fish， lobbing the fish at a local sea bird， and then following the bird around diligently for days in order to scrape up a blob of bird shit to sift through。 Like。。。。。early naturalists must have seemed absolutely dotty to the neighbors back in the day。 。。。more

Katok ，

An important， interesting and very beautifully written book， in which almost nothing is outdated， and a lot of things have become known better and in more detail。

Matthew Field ，

An undeniably important work but it's still just a biology textbook， so it can be very dry and dense An undeniably important work but it's still just a biology textbook， so it can be very dry and dense 。。。more

Basil B ，

it's really dry， of course。 but one of the single best ideas in human history deserves five stars。 it's really dry， of course。 but one of the single best ideas in human history deserves five stars。 。。。more

Tri ，

Read for the Read Harder 2021 prompt: Read a book you’ve been intimidated to readOn the Origin of Species has been on my “read someday” list since sixth grade， when I did my capstone project on Darwin but thought his work would be too hard for me to read。 And that view has followed me since。 Sure， this wasn’t an easy read。 I listened to the audiobook version （which was from my library， and was very much an mp3 converted from a cassette， with the “switch to side B now” and all） and there were som Read for the Read Harder 2021 prompt: Read a book you’ve been intimidated to readOn the Origin of Species has been on my “read someday” list since sixth grade， when I did my capstone project on Darwin but thought his work would be too hard for me to read。 And that view has followed me since。 Sure， this wasn’t an easy read。 I listened to the audiobook version （which was from my library， and was very much an mp3 converted from a cassette， with the “switch to side B now” and all） and there were some things， diagrams and paragraphs of French accompanied with no translation in the introduction， that were frustrating to hear。 And I don’t think I absorbed all the information。 This is a big book full of lots and lots！ But I did definitely enjoy it。 I have learned more about pigeons and barnacles than I ever wanted to know， and was surprised at how little Darwin’s famous finches were talked about。 But I think， moreover， I was surprised at not just how much Darwin got right， but how much he got wrong！ We don’t ever talk about that！ It was fascinating to read this book， and have to think about biology in a way that eliminates genetics。 Gosh， it was difficult。 At times I wanted to shout “recessive genes！ Recessive genes！” At Darwin’s long ramblings about ancestral traits。 The discoveries of genetics and DNA sure would have shortened the book！ But it was fascinating to read about science without it， not something I’d taken much time to consider。 Also， I found Darwin’s dismissal of plate tectonics a tad funny。 Sorry dude， Pangea was a thing。 But again， it’s so fascinating to think that when this book was written， erosion via water and landforms changing over time due to sea level and volcanic activity was accepted as fact， but not plate tectonics。 Wild。 And with any old book， racism and imperialism popped in every now and then， and was jarring as hell。 The usage of the term “monstrosity” throughout the book also made me kinda uncomfortable， not going to lie。 But again， this book is so uniquely a product of its time in science and history， and racism is a large part of that time。 I learned a lot， and I’m very glad I read it。 It made me think in ways I hadn’t， and honestly was enjoyable。 4 stars。 。。。more

Drake McCrary ，

It was interesting to see the original theory evolution and surprising how much of it was as it was presented in high school science。 Like all books from this period it is written in a style that unfamiliar to modern readers。 This problem is compounded by the fact that general public was not the original intended audience。 Therefore， it is easy to get bore and have your mind wonder if you aren't paying close attention。 It was interesting to see the original theory evolution and surprising how much of it was as it was presented in high school science。 Like all books from this period it is written in a style that unfamiliar to modern readers。 This problem is compounded by the fact that general public was not the original intended audience。 Therefore， it is easy to get bore and have your mind wonder if you aren't paying close attention。 。。。more

Yannick Richard ，

A piece of science history

Matthew Balshaw ，

I wish I'd rather gone for a summary。I can completely understand why the book was written the way it was， but it doesn't make for an exciting read。 It is full of rebuttals to nonsense arguments and extensive， multiple page elaborations on a multitude of examples of different animals and how their specific case proves a point to be true。This is more like a laid back scientific paper that never ends than a novel， and I'm giving it 3 stars just because it's not easy to digest。 Obviously it was a gr I wish I'd rather gone for a summary。I can completely understand why the book was written the way it was， but it doesn't make for an exciting read。 It is full of rebuttals to nonsense arguments and extensive， multiple page elaborations on a multitude of examples of different animals and how their specific case proves a point to be true。This is more like a laid back scientific paper that never ends than a novel， and I'm giving it 3 stars just because it's not easy to digest。 Obviously it was a ground breaking piece of work and arguably had to be written the way it was so that it could get the point across。With natural selection being taught in high school today， so much of the book comes across as very obvious。 The best moments of the book for me was when I could imagine being a reader at the time it was published and having my mind blown by the idea of natural selection。Overall I don't recommend reading even if you're fairly interested in the subject。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=On the Origin of Species

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=On the Origin of Species&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,On the Origin of Species&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0