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| Darwin for Beginners | 
| Authors: Jonathan Miller, Borin Van Loon
Publisher: Pantheon
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
Buy Used: $4.49
You Save: $7.51 (63%)
New (26) from $6.18
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 206058
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 0375714588
Dewey Decimal Number: 575.0092
EAN: 9780375714580
ASIN: 0375714588
Publication Date: July 15, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: **Books may NOT include Online Access Codes (InfoTrac, MyEconLab).** Books MAY contain highlighting, writing, and/or bent pages. We ship M - F.
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Product Description
The Beginner Books -- "Their cartoon format and irreverent wit make difficult ideas accessible and entertaining."
-- Newsday
aking us through the upheavals in biological thought which made The Origins of Species possible, Jonathan Miller introduces us to that odd revolutionary, Charles Darwin -- a remarkably timid man who spent most of his life in seclusion; a semi-invalid riddled with doubts, fearing the controversy his theories might unleash; yet also the man who finally undermined belief in God's creation. Along the way we meet a fascinating cast of characters: Darwin's scientific predecessors, his contemporaries (including Alfred Russell Wallace, whose anticipation of natural selection forced Darwin to publish), his opponents, and his successors whose work in modern genetics provided necessary modifications to Darwin's own work.
Splendidly illustrated, this clever, witty, highly informative book is the perfect introduction to Darwin's life and thought.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 BACKGROUND AND BASIS (THE EVOLUTION OF EVOLUTION) December 21, 2005
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Basic facts on how religious creationism developed bit by bit into more falsifiable methods. Good for a high school senior to a college undergrad.
This book is not for kids nor for people with no knowledge of Darwin whatsoever. It is ONLY for those interested in scant tidbits of how his theories accreted (historcal context). The text can be confusing, alternating between pure sarcasm and bland fact so it might do not much but muddle an amateur.
Fun to read August 28, 2002
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is a great lightweight book on Darwin's life and the development of the idea of evolution. Though it would be a shame to stop an exploration of natural selection here, it's a great starting point because it provides the context in which Darwin's thoughts came to be. It also discusses objections and criticisms of natural selection, how it has been misunderstood and abused, and how Darwin himself treated problematic aspects of the theory. I don't know that the illustrations and such are very revealing or useful, but they definitely make the book easy and fun to read, though the last few pages become more text-based. Overall, it's a well executed introduction to a very influential and oft misinterpreted person. But though this book is for beginners, please don't stay one... go and read "Origin of Species."
 Accurate, clever, well done July 11, 2000
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
This lively, clever, humorous little book IS accurate -- "scientifically correct," in the words of Dr. Tim M. Berra of Ohio State University (author of "Evolution and the Myth of Creationism," 1990, Stanford University Press). I agree with him that it would be a great gift for students to give to their parents to help them understand evolution. The illustrations, many of which are worth a thousand words, are at once engaging, informative, and great fun. Solid history and science in superlative format.
The best introduction to Darwinism you can buy July 17, 1998
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
An illustrated narrative tells, all too briefly, the story of Darwin the man and his revolutionary discovery of how the living world came to be. Thanks to its amusing, but informative, cartoon style exegesis, this little gem is a uniquely powerful antidote to creationist propaganda in the classroom. The best introduction to Darwin and his ideas you're likely to see.
 Fatuous and grossly inaccurate July 2, 1998
6 out of 37 found this review helpful
It is a great shame the authors ruined such a good idea by doing no historical research. It is quite clear that the authors are ignorant of the wealth of research produced by the Darwin industry and of course the Correspondence of Charles Darwin. I could spend a long time doing a hatchet job on the book but I prefer to spend my time going to Snowdonia and walk over the mountains Darwin did his geology and read his geological notes where he wrote them. In all a silly book on a great scientist.. We desperately need a good simple book on Darwin, which avoids all the hype and inaccuracy
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