Darwin: Nature Reinterpreted

Darwin-Nature reinterpreted is a nonfiction book by Piero Ventura that explores the work of naturalists like Darwin, Lewis and Clark and Thomas Jefferson. Although the book has chapters describing the work of many naturalist, it is primarily on the life and work of Charles Darwin. The book portrays

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the society of Darwin's time as well as his voyage on the Beagle. It humanizes darwin as a twenty two year old young man from an affluent family who doesn't know what he wants to do in life. ""He has no doubts about his true vocation: he wants to be a scholar of natural sciences". At this time, Darwin receives an invitation to accompany Captain Robert FitzRoy on an expedition aboard the Beagle to explore the South American coast. The next few chapters describes Darwin's life on the ship, his journey, the hardships he faced but most importantly the evidence he found to support his Theory of Evolution. There are snippets of information about the various places where the ship docked as well as Darwin's fascination with the natural world. The pictures accompanying each chapter are rich with information and support the theme of the chapters.
Although the book narrates Darwin's thoughts and feelings, there was no proof to support these claims. it seemed like an informational picture book where the reader might be confused whether one read fictions or non-fiction. How can the author be sure that "Darwin was struck by the grand condors that took advantage of high-altitude air currents to soar without moving their wings". This seemed more like a made up statement than actual thoughts of Darwin.
In all an entertaining book that can be read to students in the 6th-10th grades. it would act a hook to start a controversial topic like Evolution.

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