The Origin of Species (Charles Darwin, 1859)

I have read descriptions of this book so often that I thought I just as well take a tour through it. My impression is that Darwin was a thoughtful, kindly, grandfatherly type of scholar with tons of field experience; he knew his book would spark a strong reaction, I'm guessing he had no idea how strong.

He actually uses phrases like "survival of the fittest." Probably didn't foresee eugenic and other applications. Probably did foresee the potential theological debate, though for the life of me I can't figure out why it matters so much to so many.

I don't read natural history at all, and don't intend to. So lots of what he talks about is not of much interest to me. I did find the degree of detail pretty surprising. He discusses how bees build cells in hives; drones; lots of details about pigeons (a special interest of his); hybrids (and resulting sterility); all in the context of natural selection. The guy clearly spent a lot of time in the field and wasn't just theorizing.

He addresses, in detail, what remain the major objections to his theory - issues like the evolution of sophisticated organs such as the eye, and the lack of transitional creatures in the fossil record.

I found quite interesting his comparisons of natural selection and "breeding" by human intervention. There are some useful comparisons.

The volume included "The Voyage of the Beagle," but I took a pass. In fact, I skipped about 100 pages (or 20%) of the book.

I don't think the importance of the book can be exaggerated, so I'm glad to have spent some time with it.