Product Description

When HMS Beagle sailed out of Devonport on 27 December 1831, Charles Darwin was twenty-two and setting off on the voyage of a lifetime. His journal, here reprinted in a shortened form, shows a naturalist making patient observations concerning geology, natural history, people, places and events. Volcanoes in the Galapagos, the Gossamer spider of Patagonia and the Australasian coral reefs – all are to be found in these extraordinary writings. The insights made here were to set in motion the intellectual currents that led to the most controversial book of the Victorian age: The Origin of Species.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33835 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

About the Author
Charles Darwin (1809-82) was an evolutionary scientist, best-known for his controversial and ground-breaking work of non-fiction Origin of Species, and for his theories on the survival of the fittest. M.Neve is based at the Wellcome Trust, UCL. He teaches and researches the history of psychiatry and life sciences.

Customer Reviews

You can't tell me he wasn't having fun
Remember this says "Journal" and that is what it is. It is his first parson adventures on and off the Beagle. He even includes stories about the people on the ship, the ship's life, and maintenance. He is always going ashore and venturing beyond the ship charter to go where no Englishman has gone before. He makes friends with tyrants and the down trodden. Once, to get an animal to come to him, he lay on his back and waved his arms and legs in the air. Whatever you do, do not turn your back on him. He is always knocking something on the head and taking it back for study. It is fun trying to match the old names for places with the new.

surprisingly entertaining and vivid trip back in time
having read Origin of Species, I was expecting this to be rewarding but a little dusty - and was delighted at how hugely readable it is. Darwin's descriptions of not just the natural world but also the human cultures at the time really bring the era to life - though he is not afraid to express judgements, and Australians and New Zealanders in particular might not be too flattered by his comments! The book is also often hilariously 'non-PC'; whenever he finds some rare beast which has never met and so is unafraid of mankind, he doesn't hesitate to knock it on the head and have it stuffed.... Absolutely recommended.

Ultimate gap year blog has freshness and vitality
It's a familiar story. Med-school drop-out Charles Darwin is being pestered by his dad to settle down and get a proper job. Meanwhile, Darwin Jnr., having finally got a degree (of sorts), hangs around Cambridge showing every sign of becoming a perpetual student.

Then in 1831, he gets the opportunity to join HMS Beagle for the trip of a lifetime. So, having persuaded dad to bankroll him, he sets off on something between a scientific Grand Tour and an extended gap year. Blogging hasn't been invented, so he keeps a journal.

If you're nervous about finding yourself all at sea in stodgy early 19th century scientific prose; don't worry. The writing has a real freshness and vitality. Darwin is fascinated by everything; a keen observer with a real gift for describing everything he sees and everyone he meets. It took me a couple of chapters to get the hang of Darwin's style, but after that I was hooked.

The Penguin edition is based on the earliest published version and the text has been cut to two-thirds of its original length, reducing it to the length of a standard paperback. Short chapters and diary-style entries break the text up into chunks suitable for reading on the bus or train.

Extras include a copy of the Admiralty's official instructions for the voyage which include, amongst other things, invectives against over-artistic mapmakers and advice on avoiding trouble with native populations. There's also a good map, a who's who of explorers and an excellent introduction that puts the voyage into its historical context. A glossary would have been welcome as would English translations of Darwin's occasional excursions into French or Latin.

This edition is aimed at general readers who may be slightly wary about tackling Darwin and I would say that it pretty much achieves its objective. Other editions may have a fuller text, colour illustrations or other additional material.

Darwin 5 stars : Penguin 3+ stars : 4 stars overall