Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin

Howard Markel

Book cover for Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin
Book cover for Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin

Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin

Origin Story: The Trials of Charles Darwin

Howard Markel

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Description

By early morning, June 30, 1860, a large crowd began to congregate in front of Oxford University's brand-new Museum of Natural History. The occasion was the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and the subject of discussion was Charles Darwin's new treatise: fact or fiction? Darwin had introduced a cogent explanation of the origin of species--how they adapted, even transmogrified, through natural selection. At stake was the very foundation of modern biology, not to mention the future of the church.

In Origin Story, medical historian Howard Markel recounts the two-year period (1858-1860) of Darwin's writing of On the Origin of Species through its spectacular success and controversy. Simultaneously, Markel delves into the mysterious health symptoms Darwin developed, presenting the first accurate diagnosis of a case that has long fascinated medical historians. The result is a colorful portrait of the man, his friends and enemies, and his seminal work, which resonates to this day.

Critical Reviews

Deeply satisfying.... Darwin's two iconic years rendered masterfully by a highly knowledgeable chronicler.--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Gripping.... A detailed and dramatic close-up of a consequential period in scientific history.-- "Publishers Weekly"

An illuminating approach to the Darwin disputes.--Tony Miksanek "Booklist"

Markel, a medical doctor and masterful science chronicler, turns his attention to the time just before Darwin published his world-changing Origin of Species--and just after, when critics blamed its author for unseating God. Wildly entertaining and thoughtful, too.--Kate Tuttle "Boston Globe"

Markel, a medical historian, delivers a fresh take on a seminal event in the history of science--the publication of 'On the Origin of Species'--along with lively portraits of the allies and adversaries who debated Darwin's scandalous theory, and, not least, of the naturalist himself, plagued by debilitating illness and, hot on his heels, an equally brilliant competitor.-- "New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)"

Publishing Information

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pub date: 2024-06-11
Length: 400 pages

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