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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
An interesting travelogue which cover's Darwin's round-the-world journey and the observations which led him to develop his theory of evolution by natural selection. I enjoyed reading his cultural observations and collected anecdotes and the descriptions of the varying animal and plant life. I found the detailed reports on geology very boring and flipped past them.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Classic predecessor to his greatest work. I had always wondered why Darwin was spoken about so frequently in culture. This is why.
adventurous
funny
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Really fascinating to read these diaries from the man who changed the face of society more than perhaps anyone else in the last millennium. Did Darwin kill God? If he did, it's remarkable because his diaries read so very gently, and he was certainly a measured and profound intellect. For me this is the magic of this work, it conveys his incredible curiosity and is delivered in such a calm and thoughtful manner.
I note in Darwin's astrology that Saturn/Neptune rising squares Mercury/Pluto, and this seems to describe both the penetrating intellect and how it was in tension with the need to actualise very immaterial concepts, like a theory of evolution.
He was also a great humanist, reading his thoughts on slavery, at the same time as Wilberforce's crusade was in full swing is truly fascinating. You feel his passion, and his disgust at the entire concept of treating humans as chattels.
All in all a very interesting read, although there is a lot of detail. Darwin was my stepfather's hero, and he eventually held the chair of anthropology at Christ's College, Cambridge, Darwin's alma mater. I am so glad to have finally read this, it brings me closer to my late stepfather somehow.
I note in Darwin's astrology that Saturn/Neptune rising squares Mercury/Pluto, and this seems to describe both the penetrating intellect and how it was in tension with the need to actualise very immaterial concepts, like a theory of evolution.
He was also a great humanist, reading his thoughts on slavery, at the same time as Wilberforce's crusade was in full swing is truly fascinating. You feel his passion, and his disgust at the entire concept of treating humans as chattels.
All in all a very interesting read, although there is a lot of detail. Darwin was my stepfather's hero, and he eventually held the chair of anthropology at Christ's College, Cambridge, Darwin's alma mater. I am so glad to have finally read this, it brings me closer to my late stepfather somehow.
I remember reading this one while still living in Australia and enjoyed it. I enjoyed the travels that Charles did and how he found all those interesting things around the islands.
adventurous
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
informative
inspiring