Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Evolution

Evolution

Evolution

Selected Letters of Charles Darwin 1860–1870
Frederick Burkhardt, American Council of Learned Societies
Alison M. Pearn, Cambridge University Library
Samantha Evans, Cambridge University Library
May 2008
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Adobe eBook Reader
9780511401350
$32.99
USD
Adobe eBook Reader
USD
Hardback

    Charles Darwin is a towering figure in the history of science, who changed the direction of modern thought by establishing the basis of evolutionary biology. With a Foreword by Sir David Attenborough, this is a fascinating insight into Darwin's life as he first directly addressed the issues of humanity's place in nature, and the consequences of his ideas for religious belief. Incorporating previously unpublished material, this volume includes letters written by Darwin, and also those written to him by friends and scientific colleagues world-wide, by critics who tried to stamp out his ideas, and admirers who helped them to spread. They take up the story of Darwin's life in 1860, in the immediate aftermath of the publication of On the Origin of Species, and carry it through one of the most intense and productive decades of his career, to the eve of publication of Descent of Man in 1871.

    • The only text of its kind to contain the actual letters written to and by Darwin makes this a unique piece of publishing
    • Clear explanatory notes construct a narrative to the letters, providing an enjoyable read for anyone interested in Darwin
    • Extra biographical information about each of Darwin's correspondents bring the letters to life

    Reviews & endorsements

    "...this is a fascinating insight into Darwin's life as he first directly addresses the issues of humanity's place in nature, and the consequences of his ideas for religious belief...The only text of its kind to contain the actual letters written to and by Darwin makes this a unique piece of publishing...an enjoyable read for anyone interested in Darwin"
    -Southeatern Naturalist, 2009

    See more reviews

    Product details

    May 2008
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9780511401350
    0 pages
    0kg
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • Foreword Sir David Attenborough
    • Introduction
    • Editor's note
    • Symbols and abbreviations
    • Prologue
    • 1860
    • 1861
    • 1862
    • 1863
    • 1864
    • 1865
    • 1866
    • 1867
    • 1868
    • 1869
    • 1870
    • Biographical register
    • Bibliography of biographical sources
    • Bibliographical note
    • Acknowledgements
    • Index.
      Editors
    • Frederick Burkhardt , American Council of Learned Societies

      Frederick Burkhardt (1912-2007) was the founder of the Charles Darwin Correspondence Project, and the associated high profile book series The Correspondence of Charles Darwin (Cambridge University Press, 1985- ). He was President of the American Council of Learned Societies from 1957 to 1974, and in 2003 was awarded the American Philosophical Society Thomas Jefferson Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences.

    • Alison M. Pearn , Cambridge University Library

      Alison Pearn is Assistant Director of the Darwin Correspondence Project, and an affiliated research scholar of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University.

    • Samantha Evans , Cambridge University Library

      Samantha Evans is an editor at the Charles Darwin Correspondence Project, based at Cambridge University Library. The Project was set up to locate, research, and publish summaries of all letters written by Charles Darwin, the most celebrated naturalist of the nineteenth century.