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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I started reading this over 2 years ago and have finally finished it, but much of it was a chore to get through and I found myself skipping over sections towards the end because I just wanted it out of my reading pile.
I had been looking forward to hearing about Darwin's writing on ecology and how this would lead him to his later work [b:The Origin of Species|22463|The Origin of Species|Charles Darwin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1298417570s/22463.jpg|481941]. Unfortunately though, there is actually not a lot of discussion of the flora and fauna besides him listing various species he encountered. Instead, he spends much of the book talking about the geology of the areas he visited, which may be of interest to some, but personally I found uninteresting.
The rest of the book is mostly about the different cultures Darwin spent time with during his travels, however, being a product of colonial-era Britain he has rather a lot of racist and generally unsavoury opinions. Obviously the book is a product of its time and I expected this to a degree, but it becomes difficult to read someone repeatedly describe native people of another country as "dirty", "wretched", and "poor savages".
There were sections I found interesting - the section on the Galapagos islands, in particular - which is why I have given it 2 stars rather than just 1. But overall, the racist, colonialist overtones were too strong, and made it difficult to truly enjoy much of the book.
I had been looking forward to hearing about Darwin's writing on ecology and how this would lead him to his later work [b:The Origin of Species|22463|The Origin of Species|Charles Darwin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1298417570s/22463.jpg|481941]. Unfortunately though, there is actually not a lot of discussion of the flora and fauna besides him listing various species he encountered. Instead, he spends much of the book talking about the geology of the areas he visited, which may be of interest to some, but personally I found uninteresting.
The rest of the book is mostly about the different cultures Darwin spent time with during his travels, however, being a product of colonial-era Britain he has rather a lot of racist and generally unsavoury opinions. Obviously the book is a product of its time and I expected this to a degree, but it becomes difficult to read someone repeatedly describe native people of another country as "dirty", "wretched", and "poor savages".
There were sections I found interesting - the section on the Galapagos islands, in particular - which is why I have given it 2 stars rather than just 1. But overall, the racist, colonialist overtones were too strong, and made it difficult to truly enjoy much of the book.
Darwin definitely keep detailed accounts of his encounters with the indigenous population & wasn't especially cruel but continued to distinguish people as either civilized or barbaric. I loved the geographic, geological, & zoological accounts of his travel journal.
I definitely enjoyed this book. It's one of my life's goals to read everything that Darwin has written because evolution fascinates me. I liked the way Darwin compared similarities of different animals together, and my favourite chapter was definitely the one where he talked about going to the Galapagos islands. And, yes, I can confirm, he did try to ride on a giant tortoise. It was thoroughly interesting, and some of the things said felt like the roots of theories that would lead into On the Origin, so it was nice to see that. Reading this has also made me want to re-read that book, as it's been a while since I did.
I can't write this review without talking about the racist parts in this book. I thought this would be the case, because this is a 19th century journal about a privileged white man going around the world. When talking classics, we use the phrase "product of its time" and I definitely think this should be applied when talking about this book. Darwin refers to people as "savages" and what I believed was a mixed race person as a "mixed breed", but based on the time it was written, I expected this unfortunately.
Overall, if you're interested in reading Darwin I would recommend reading this either before or after On the Origin as it is interesting, however be aware of the racism in it.
I can't write this review without talking about the racist parts in this book. I thought this would be the case, because this is a 19th century journal about a privileged white man going around the world. When talking classics, we use the phrase "product of its time" and I definitely think this should be applied when talking about this book. Darwin refers to people as "savages" and what I believed was a mixed race person as a "mixed breed", but based on the time it was written, I expected this unfortunately.
Overall, if you're interested in reading Darwin I would recommend reading this either before or after On the Origin as it is interesting, however be aware of the racism in it.
Couldn't get round to actually reading it, and found it very lengthy
'Darwin changed forever our understanding of life on Earth'. Jo Stone-Fewings reads from the journal of his historic voyage.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hkbwd
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hkbwd
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced