The Reluctant Mr. Darwin

The story of Charles Darwin and his wondrous, scary idea-the idea of "natural selection" as the main mechanism of evolution-is one of the most exciting in the history of science. Yet twenty-one years passed between Darwin's conception of this idea and his publication of The Origin of Species. In The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, David Quammen draws on Darwin's secret "transmutation" notebooks and private letters to create a meticulous, humane portrait of the man, and a lucid explication of his work, that captures both the personal foibles and the scientific substance. It's an intimate view of a great scientist-taking readers behind the veil of Darwin's greatness and his fame, following him closely through the joys, struggles, and sorrows of his quiet but extraordinarily consequential life. Book jacket.

David Quammen currently holds the Wallace Stegner Chair of Western American Studies at Montana State University, in Bozeman