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kevin_shepherd's review against another edition
4.0
Darwin For People In A Hurry
2013 - This is what a graphic biography should be - clear, concise, unbiased and exquisitely illustrated. 100 pages of coherent relevance with just a touch of humor here and there (I literally laughed out loud more than once). If you want an introduction to the life and legacy of Charles Darwin without the time commitment of his 224 page autobiography, this is your book.
2013 - This is what a graphic biography should be - clear, concise, unbiased and exquisitely illustrated. 100 pages of coherent relevance with just a touch of humor here and there (I literally laughed out loud more than once). If you want an introduction to the life and legacy of Charles Darwin without the time commitment of his 224 page autobiography, this is your book.
yetilibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, this is a good, brief biography of Charles Darwin, and a good, brief introduction to his theory of evolution.
Quibbles: It could have used some additional editing--there's at least one egregious typo, and a single page about three natives from Tierra del Fuego interrupts the flow of the narrative: it either needed to be cut, or the story needed to be expanded upon & worked into the larger story. The biography also suffers from largely-unacknowledged Eurocentrism (it makes claims about "the world believed X" when in reality those beliefs applied primarily to Europe & the US) and speaks as if everyone in the world at the time was either a Christian or (rarely) an atheist. Perhaps the authors found this necessary, due to the constraints of making a graphic-novel biography directed at young adults?
These issues aside, this book is a nice introduction to Darwin and to evolution, and is best for young adults (I'd say middle school and above).
Quibbles: It could have used some additional editing--there's at least one egregious typo, and a single page about three natives from Tierra del Fuego interrupts the flow of the narrative: it either needed to be cut, or the story needed to be expanded upon & worked into the larger story. The biography also suffers from largely-unacknowledged Eurocentrism (it makes claims about "the world believed X" when in reality those beliefs applied primarily to Europe & the US) and speaks as if everyone in the world at the time was either a Christian or (rarely) an atheist. Perhaps the authors found this necessary, due to the constraints of making a graphic-novel biography directed at young adults?
These issues aside, this book is a nice introduction to Darwin and to evolution, and is best for young adults (I'd say middle school and above).
blurrybug's review against another edition
5.0
I read this for borrowathon for "a book from your favourite genre" I really love non fiction graphic novels.
This was easily understandable, I have read a lot about Darwin, from Darwin and about evolution theory, so that may have affected my view. However, they made this book very approachable.
Made up to be a documentary in graphic novel form with some funny hosts. What else can one ask for?
5 stars all the way.
This was easily understandable, I have read a lot about Darwin, from Darwin and about evolution theory, so that may have affected my view. However, they made this book very approachable.
Made up to be a documentary in graphic novel form with some funny hosts. What else can one ask for?
5 stars all the way.
brizreading's review against another edition
4.0
Less a comix in the usual style (there's no "plot"), more a biography with lots of drawings. Imagine a dense, voiceover narration.
That said, lots of humor and admiration in this piece about wonderful Charles "but I am very poorly today and very stupid"* Darwin.
Anyway. This whet my appetite something fierce for more biology and more Darwin. MORE MORE MORE
* One of my favorite quotes of all time - so inspirational. I remind myself of it every time I am taking an exhausted breather on the intellectual mountain.
That said, lots of humor and admiration in this piece about wonderful Charles "but I am very poorly today and very stupid"* Darwin.
Anyway. This whet my appetite something fierce for more biology and more Darwin. MORE MORE MORE
* One of my favorite quotes of all time - so inspirational. I remind myself of it every time I am taking an exhausted breather on the intellectual mountain.
hannah_fox's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of good information and cute illustrations (the book is narrated by a group of primates), but could've used some better editing. There was one random page about three natives from Tierra Del Fuego that Darwin and his crewmates took back to England and later back to Tierra Del Fuego that didn't connect to the surrounding pages very well. Also, for a book on a scientist, a naturalist and biologist no less, you'd think they wouldn't make the mistake of using phrases like "neither animals nor birds" or "plants, animals, fish, microbes, all living things". Birds and fish are animals! This is one of my biggest pet peeves and had I been the editor I would've changed those to "none of the animals" and "plants, animals, microbes, all living things". Otherwise enjoyable, although you'll need to remember it's written for younger readers so don't feel condescended to when they define words you know the meaning of (that reminds me of another editing mistake - in the same paragraph they defined mutations as "little changes" and then as "tiny changes" - the problem, to be clear, not that they changed from little to tiny, but that they defined it twice).
erine's review against another edition
3.0
A short, engaging story about Charles Darwin's life and the development of his theories. The text blended well with the illustrations. The filmmaking monkeys were vaguely entertaining, but mostly distracting. I preferred the biography "Charles and Emma," which had more depth, but this graphic novel was a great overview.
suggoiai's review against another edition
4.0
A very good look at Darwin's life and a good overview of evolution.
eliahaber's review
3.0
An excellent introduction to the work of Darwin, mostly for younger readers. Instead of rote memorization, they get to explore who he was and what lead him to all adventures and ideas. It highlights the importance of questions and curiosity, which is the true motive for any scientist.
lordofthemoon's review
3.0
This short graphic novel was being given away free as part of the Darwin 200 celebrations. It's a sketch (no pun intended) charting Darwin's life and the decisions and milestones that led to natural selection. The language is clear and pretty simple and the art is sketchy but clear. The book is framed by the device of a group of anthropomorphic apes making a documentary about an orchid and nebulously tying that to evolution.
A good way to get an overview of Darwin's life.
A good way to get an overview of Darwin's life.
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