Origin of Species

Rating:
Summary: Arm Yourself Against False Interpretations - Read the source
Review: The Theories of Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest have been misquoted and misused nearly as often as certain Biblical passages. Rather than take another person's word for what Darwin meant by Evolution through Natural Selection, I opted to go straight to the source. I was not disappointed. Darwin's rich array of facts and furthering evidence was almost overwhelming, and yet he yields a long list of resources by which one can attempt to disprove his conclusions. Darwin is a true "Truth" seeker and does not seem driven to merely further his own theory by any means necessary. Read "The Origin of Species". Read the Bible. Draw your own conclusions. You owe it to yourself.

Rating:
Summary: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection ...
Review: The true title that Darwin gave this thesis is: "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." Amazon.com makes no mention of this. Darwin believed that the peoples of Africa were inferior.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book to start the research of the origin of life,
Review: If you like to research about origin of mankind or origin of life this is a must to have book. I bought this book to start studies about Teology & Antropology and I got amused with the clarity of purpose of Mr. Darwin. I think that it might had been very difficult to publish this book in a society very conservative in terms of religion and social life. Moreover, he also was a religious man and, to launch this book, he might had had a consciousness crisis or problems because he knew that this would shake all the ocidental way of life of that time.

Rating:
Summary: Save your money and read it online
Review: Go to any literature website and read it for free

Rating:
Summary: The most influential scientific book ever written
Review: In 1859, Darwin unleashed "Origin of Species", a juggernaut which smashed down millenia-old ideas with its elegant explanation of the natural variation of species, and extensive documentation of examples to demonstrate the work's argument.

As a practising scientist myself, I was thoroughly impressed by Darwin's care in addressing his assumptions, considering alternative explanations, and providing a robust defense of his conclusions with his vast array of field data. "Origin of Species" is, as a purely scientific work, a beautiful example of how such a text should be written and defended.

Of course, Darwin's work is now dated. Modern theories of evolution and genetics have added a tremedous amount of detail to Darwin's work, which obviously are not included in this text. If you are interested in a more modern adaption of Darwin's theory, I suggest John Maynard-Smith's "Theory of Evolution". However, Darwin's work remains a lucid, powerful introduction to evolutionary theory, with a host of interesting examples of how his theory works in nature. For both its historical and scientific merits, "The Origin of Species" should be part of any literate person's library. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Important Book of the Last Two Hundred Years
Review: Whether or not you agree with my title, you must agree that this book is one of the most important volumes of Western science. That is the reason I resisted reading it for so long. In the end, this book should be read not because it is important or still controversial after a century and a half, but because it is interesting reading, giving insight into Darwin and his times. A great deal of his examples remain compelling and his analysis still engages the intellect. This book is not dull or stuffy, but rather, fun, interesting reading. A number of the concepts with which Darwin struggles still engage biologists today.

This book will surprise and delight you, if you are like me, force you to read the current writings on evolution, creationism and genetics. In a world where genetic developments rule medicine and where genetic advances challenge our ethical concepts, it is important for all of us to understand these concepts, and the best place to begin is with the man who started it, Charles Darwin.

Rating:
Summary: Clear, convincing, modest writing
Review: Everyone is aware of the importance of Darwin's 1959 classic science text. Yet, few of the many defenders and detractors of evolution have read it. While certainly out of date and lacking in the loads of modern evidence to back him up, Darwin nevertheless provides the best introduction to evolution by means of natural selection.

Darwin goes through nearly every point imaginable, providing the results of years of tests, observations, and study. Each chapter goes on an exhaustive analisys of different topics. I had already read much evolution literature, but I was even more convinced after reading Darwin's well-written thesis. He is unpretentious and modest. Even when the subject gets tedious (he goes into rather extensive details on raising pigions and floating various seeds over water), his good humor is always evident and you know you only have to wait until his next big find is revealed.

"The Origin of Species" should be read by anyone claiming to know the origin of mankind. Though often tedious and lacking in modern evidence, this is still science writing at its best. Any layman can understand the principle concepts of evolution through Charles Darwin.

Rating:
Summary: Darwin....
Review: Charles Darwin's The Origin of species was published in 1859 and he basically believes and tried to prove that different varieties of species will come about because of direct or indirect action of the species with the surrounding environment and/or conditions and also from the use and disuse of certain inherited functions. Which than leads to the Struggle for Life and thus you have Natural Selection, which means that species that are not the best equipped to survive become extinct.

This book is packed with examples of his theories. I was impressed with all the information he had gathered over his twenty years or so of research.

I also do not see how anyone after reading this book, could say that Charles Darwin's theory proved that a Creator or God does not exist. Darwin himself referenced many times to a Creator. He even said, "I see no good reason why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one." And he also said "Therefore I should infer from analogy that probably all the organic beings, which have ever lived on this earth, have descended from some primordial form, into which life was first breathed by the Creator."

Not only that but he himself understands that there are still many problems with his theory. I was impressed that he included and admitted problems with the theory. For example he said, "Why, if species have descended from other species by insensibly fine gradations, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms? And he also said, "Can we believe that natural selection could produce... organs of such wonderful structure, as the eye, of which we hardly as yet full understand the inimitable perfection?

In the end, even though I myself am still a skeptic towards the theory that simple organisms have evolved into many different complex species, I would recommend reading this book, if not for anything to see how the evolutionary theory got started and though Darwin's theory has changed since his time, it would be a good read still for historical purposes if nothing else. Enjoy...

Rating:
Summary: A technical disappointment
Review: The CD version of this book is very easy to use and the search function is wonderful. HOWEVER there is no way to copy text off the screen so you can paste it into other applications. I find this very frustrating and a big disappointment.

The CD version of "The Voyage of the Beagle" suffers from the same problem. Beware.

Rating:
Summary: Errors? Yes. But the general idea is sound.
Review: This book is an eloquent, easy to follow argument that has been lampooned, caricatured, and feebly argued against from all sides. But Darwin's basic argument makes good sense and can be seen to work in the wild. The argument is that if an animal, a biological system, can exist in an environment, it will do so, and it will multiply as a result of its fitness for that environment. If it cannot, it will die. That's pretty much it. Put a camel in Antarctica and it will die. Put a polar bear in the middle of the desert and it will die. Easy, huh? Over time, those undesirable traits (from a survival standpoint)in a given population will be bred out, either slowly or quickly. They have to be! Otherwise, the species dies! Voila! Evolution theory! They made us read this in Biology 4560, and I'm glad they did. A necessary read for anyone who strives for any modicum of scientific literacy.