Jump to content

Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution
AuthorRebecca Stott
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistory of Science
PublisherSpiegel & Grau
Publication date
2012
ISBN978-0-8129-8170-4

Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution is a nonfiction history of science book by British author Rebecca Stott. It was published in the United States in 2012 by Spiegel & Grau, the international version is subtitled differently: Darwin's Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists. It is written in 12 distinct chapters that highlight persons that contributed to the pre-history of evolution by natural selection, published by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species in 1859. The book contains biographical sketches of 12 persons spanning from 344 BC to 19th century contemporaries of Darwin.

The book has received reviews from notable reviewers[1][2][3] and was included on the New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books 2012 list.[4]

Synopsis

[edit]

Tho focus of each chapter is summarized in the table below.

Chapter Number Title Bibliographic Focus Time Location
1 Darwin's List Charles Darwin 1859 Kent
2 Aristolte's Eyes Aristotle 344 BCE Lesbos
3 The Worshipful Curiosity of Jahiz Al-Jahiz 850 Basra & Baghdad
4 Leonardo and the Potter Leonardo da Vinci

Bernard Palissy

1493

1570

Milan

Paris

5 Trembley's Polyp Abraham Trembley 1740 The Hague
6 The Consul of Cairo Benoît de Maillet 1708 Cairo
7 The Hotel of the Philosophers Denis Diderot 1749 Paris
8 Erasmus Underground Erasmus Darwin 1767 Derbyshire
9 The Jardin des Plantes Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1800 Paris
10 The Sponge Philosopher Robert Edmond Grant 1826 Edinburgh
11 The Encyclopedist Robert Chambers 1844 Edinburgh
12 Alfred Wallace's Fevered Dream Alfred Russel Wallace 1858 Malay Archipelago

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution | Washington Independent Review of Books". www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  2. ^ Raffles, Hugh (2012-07-13). "Revolutionary Theory". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  3. ^ Fortey, Richard (2012-06-01). "Darwin's Ghosts by Rebecca Stott – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  4. ^ "100 Notable Books of 2012". The New York Times. 2012-11-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-03.