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The Voyage of the Beagle
The Voyage of the Beagle
A Naturalist's Voyage Round the World
Book Excerpt
e of the most interesting narratives
of voyaging that it has fallen to our lot to take up, and one which
must always occupy a distinguished place in the history of
scientific navigation."
This prophecy has been amply verified by experience; the extraordinary minuteness and accuracy of Mr. Darwin's observations, combined with the charm and simplicity of his descriptions, have ensured the popularity of this book with all classes of readers--and that popularity has even increased in recent years. No attempt, however, has hitherto been made to produce an illustrated edition of this valuable work: numberless places and objects are mentioned and described, but the difficulty of obtaining authentic and original representations of them drawn for the purpose has never been overcome until now.
Most of the views given in this work are from sketches made on the spot by Mr. Pritchett, with Mr. Darwin's book by his side. Some few of the others are taken from engravings which Mr. Darwin had himself selected for their
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This book is as important for its observations of nature, particularly in South America and the Galapagos Islands, as it is for its impact on Darwin's theory of natural selection. Although written in 19th Century idiom, it reads clearly, with a wealth of information on biology, zoology, geology and paleontology. Think of it as adventure meets history meets scientific exploration. A must-read for anyone who enjoys travel tales. This one just happens to be of exceptional importance as the backdrop and basis of Darwin's theory of evolution.
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When Darwin wrote this book, probably to be read at the Royal Geographical Society, the Victorian age was in its childhood and hunger for information on faraway lands was at its peak. So that's why he extends in descriptions more useful to naturalists than to common readers. I would however recommend its reading, jumping perhaps over the naturalists' paras, because the author's eyes discovered and preserved in text many other local details and people's customs, now disappeared, that can answer many of our today's questions about the countries he visited. I'd give it a B+ mark.
08/17/2012
A groundbreaking, extremely important and totally boring book. Important for the development of Darwin's theory of evolution but otherwise deserving of a pass. I am sure the research and observations upon nature deserve 5 stars. As an interesting read I give it 2 stars. It contains much more information on birds, insects and turtles that I have ever needed to know.
07/11/2012