An essential new edition of the 19th-century scientific masterpiece that translates Darwin’s Victorian prose into modern English: “Most useful” (Walter Brock, Columbia University). Charles Darwin’s most famous book On the Origin of Species is without question one of the most important books ever written. Yet many students have great difficulty understanding it. While even the grandest works of Victorian English can be a challeng for modern readers, Darwin’s dense scientific prose is especially difficult to navigate. For an era in which Darwin is more talked about than read, doctoral student Daniel Duzdevich offers a clear, modern English rendering of Darwin’s first edition. Neither an abridgement nor a summary, this version might best be described as a translation for contemporary English readers. A monument to reasoned insight, the Origin illustrates the value of extensive reflection, carefully gathered evidence, and sound scientific reasoning. By removing the linguistic barriers to understanding and appreciating the Origin, this edition brings 21st-century readers into closer contact with Darwin’s revolutionary ideas.

Hailed as "superior" by Nature, this landmark volume is available in a collectible, boxed edition. Never before have the four great works of Charles Darwin—Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle (1845), The Origin of Species (1859), The Descent of Man (1871), and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)—been collected under one cover. Undertaking this challenging endeavor 123 years after Darwin's death, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward O. Wilson has written an introductory essay for the occasion, while providing new, insightful introductions to each of the four volumes and an afterword that examines the fate of evolutionary theory in an era of religious resistance. In addition, Wilson has crafted a creative new index to accompany these four texts, which links the nineteenth-century, Darwinian evolutionary concepts to contemporary biological thought. Beautifully slipcased, and including restored versions of the original illustrations, From So Simple a Beginning turns our attention to the astounding power of the natural creative process and the magnificence of its products.

A grain in the balance will determine which individual shall live and which shall die...'.

This is the first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on November 24, 1859 in London by John Murray. It is a seminal work in scientific literature and a landmark work in evolutionary biology. It introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. The starting chapters introduce the theory of natural selection, explaining why certain species thrive, while others decrease in number, how the members of nature are in competition with each other and why organisms tend to vary and change with time. Much of this work is based on experiments and observations seen within domestic animals and plants. The later chapters defend the theory of natural selection against apparent inconsistencies, why geological records are incomplete, why we find species so widespread and how sterility can be inherited when the organisation is unable to reproduce and more. The book is approachable for any audience.

First published in 1859, this landmark book on evolutionary biology was not the first to deal with the subject, but it went on to become a sensation—and a controversial one for many religious people who could not reconcile Darwin’s science with their faith. Darwin worked on the book for over 20 years before its publication. The radical crux of his scientific theory was the idea of natural selection, which meant that chance, not a divine Creator, played a great role in humanity's advancement and that individuals who weren't physically able to adapt with the greater populace died off.

This exciting anniversary edition has a new introduction and scholarly references by William Bynum, and the cover design is by Damien Hirst. It replaces our existing 1968 edition. The Origin of Species is one of the most important and influential books of its time and remains one of the most significant contributions to philosophical and scientific thought. The theories Darwin sets out here had an immediate and profound impact on the literature and philosophical thought of his contemporaries, and continue to provoke thought and debate today. Written for the general public of the 1850's, The Origin of Species laid out an evolutionary view of the world which challenged contemporary beliefs about divine providence and the fixity of species. He also set forth the results of his pioneering work on the interdependence of species: the ecology of animals and plants.

It took Charles Darwin more than twenty years to publish this book, in part because he realized that it would ignite a firestorm of controversy. The Origin of Species first appeared in 1859, and it remains a continuing source of conflict to this day. Even among those who reject its ideas, however, the work's impact is undeniable. In science, philosophy, and theology, this is a book that changed the world. In addition to its status as the focus of a dramatic turning point in scientific thought, On the Origin of Species stands as a remarkably readable study. Carefully reasoned and well-documented in its arguments, the work offers coherent views of natural selection, adaptation, the struggle for existence, survival of the fittest, and other concepts that form the foundation of modern evolutionary theory.--Amazon.com.