Call number
FIC STO
Collection
Genres
Publication
Doubleday (1980), Edition: 1st, 743 pages
Description
Details the life of Charles Darwin from his notable trip as a naturalist on the Beagle through his mature career as a widely respected but still controversial scientist.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ICANABIBBELG
"The Origin" fills an important gap in literature on Charles Darwin. In 1832 at age 22, Charles Darwin was invited to sail with H.M.S. Beagle as a naturalist. The surveying voyage would encircle the globe. Five years later he returned to Plymouth as an experienced naturalist with a growing
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reputation in England, a priceless collection of rare and unknown plants and creatures, and a set of notebooks containing the germ of an idea about the origin of species..one that was to shake the foundations of accepted wisdom everywhere. This is not only the tale of the Beagle's cruise but the account of a lifetime of intellectual inquiry. Show Less
LibraryThing member yapete
This is a great fictionalization of Darwin's life and travel. Stone is an excellent writer and researched this one meticulously. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member theancientreader
I first read this one in the early 80s. I picked if off my shelf again, a few days ago, and enjoyed it all over again. Being a student of the life of Charles Darwin, I have read the majority of the major biographies over the past twenty years. While this work is a fictionalized version of Darwin's
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
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life, and is certainly overly simplistic at times, there, nevertheless, is no doubt the author did his homework on this one. For a good simple read, and an understanding of the man Darwin (not his work), I highly recommend this one. Mr. Stone is certainly a master of his craft. Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
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LibraryThing member VisibleGhost
Remember Irving Stone? If you don't your parents or grandparents might remember him. He was popular in his day, I gather. He mostly wrote biographical fiction featuring famous artists and such. This was my yearly Charles Darwin book. I'm not sure why- but there are three individuals I find
The Origin sticks very close to accepted facts concerning Darwin. There is little speculation put forth and the little that is doesn't seem to stray from Darwin's voice. If you don't like to read biographies then you'll not likely be engrossed with this one. I zipped through it and enjoyed my revisit with old Charley.
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endlessly fascinating: Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. I know their basic stories. However, I continue to read books about them. The Origin sticks very close to accepted facts concerning Darwin. There is little speculation put forth and the little that is doesn't seem to stray from Darwin's voice. If you don't like to read biographies then you'll not likely be engrossed with this one. I zipped through it and enjoyed my revisit with old Charley.
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LibraryThing member seabear
My Amazon review:
A novel-biography in Stone's usual style, I found this a eminently readable and gripping account. It was particularly pleasing to see Charles Darwin's life treated "organically" - too many accounts treat his Beagle years and the following decade or two as merely preparatory for the
A criticism levelled on Amazon, that too many speech bubbles read like extracts from letters and writings, is warranted. But that's because they *are* quotes! Novel-biographers get pilloried for making too much dialogue up, so why not quote when they can? If it sounds stilted, just read past it - enjoy the fact that the words are at least genuine!
An excellent lightweight introduction to the life of one of science's luminaries.
A novel-biography in Stone's usual style, I found this a eminently readable and gripping account. It was particularly pleasing to see Charles Darwin's life treated "organically" - too many accounts treat his Beagle years and the following decade or two as merely preparatory for the
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"Origin of the Species", and events that became important only in 1859 are emphasised at the expense of others (see his Wikipedia article for a prime example - you'd think he made no geological observations in South America at all, yet geology was his main motivation at the time.) But people's lives are lived without hindsight - Darwin is no exception - and Stone recognizes this. The evolution of Charles Darwin from a mildly indolent undergraduate to wide-eyed field geologist to desk-bound author to experimental horticulturalist to world-famous naturalist is done with admirable skill. The portraits of his friends Charles Lyell and Joseph Hooker - extremely famous in their own rights - amongst others, are also very well done.A criticism levelled on Amazon, that too many speech bubbles read like extracts from letters and writings, is warranted. But that's because they *are* quotes! Novel-biographers get pilloried for making too much dialogue up, so why not quote when they can? If it sounds stilted, just read past it - enjoy the fact that the words are at least genuine!
An excellent lightweight introduction to the life of one of science's luminaries.
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LibraryThing member pre20cenbooks
My second exposure to Darwin, Charles since reading Origin of the Species in high school psych class. Which would have been more better for anthropology class, hum. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride on the H.M.S. Beagle, envisioned the naturalist travels and exploration of life on other continent and
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islands. I was more interested in what Darwins personal life influences were and glad that the second part gave me an historical fiction idea of what his environment was like. Stone is well known as a fine historical fiction writer and I am collecting his works at every opportunity and look forward to reading them. I am interested now to read other authors bios on C. Darwin to find out just who this man was who startled the world with an idea to explain what God had created. C. Darwin's sickness is an area that I will explore as a result of this novel...I have my own ideas as to what was wrong with him, but I look forward to reading for myself other works. Grateful for finding these in the thrift stores. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnB
I didn't enjoy this book as much as some of my fellow LT-reviewers. I struggle with the "biographical novel" label. As a biography, it was good; interesting and comprehensive. As a novel, it didn't tell much of a story -- I got very little sense of the characters other than Darwin himself. Not sure
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this is the genre for me. I really enjoy biographies and novels -- the fusion of the two was not something I enjoyed. I felt I was missing either facts or drama. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
I really enjoyed Stone's Agony and Lust but this is 1970s middle-brow milk-toast. Stone's "biographical novel" style is well suited to a life of action and turmoil, the titles of those two can attest. But Darwin's life is something else. I learned about Darwin but it's long and banal for the most
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part. The most interesting is the writing and publication of Origin. Show Less
LibraryThing member themulhern
Detailed, yet not so lively. Might have been a lot more enjoyable on audio.
Pages
743
ISBN
0385120648 / 9780385120647