The Origin of Species (Collins Classics)

Description

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. 'How fleeting are the wishes and efforts of man! how short his time! and consequently how poor will his products be, compared with those accumulated by nature during whole geological periods.' Still considered one of the most important and groundbreaking works of science ever written, Darwin's eminently readable exploration of the evolutionary process challenged most of the strong beliefs of the Western world. Forced to question the idea of the Creator, mid-nineteenth century readers were faced with Darwin's theories on the laws of natural selection and the randomness of evolution, causing massive controversy at the time. However, Darwin's theories remain instrumental in providing the backbone to modern biology today.

Charles Darwin (1809-19 April 1882) is considered the most important English naturalist of all time. He established the theories of natural selection and evolution. His theory of evolution was published as On the Origin of Species in 1859, and by the 1870s is was widely accepted as fact.

Praise for the hardcover edition "The most influential book in science gets a face-lift with some amazing graphics and Quammen's erudite editing."--"Library Journal" (The Best Sci-Tech books of 2008) "The perfect way to become acquainted with the authentic voice of the greatest biologist of all time, in a context provided by one of the finest scientific writers of today."--Gregory A. Petsko, "European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Journal "