The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the…

The tone of this book is a little breezy but the descriptions of the evolution of Darwin's thinking and life after "The Origin" are fascinating. It's sad that some of the characters, like Wallace and Hooker, seem to disappear at the end of the book. The discussion of evolutionary theories presented as alternatives to natural selection in the years following the publication of the book is intriguing. ( )

Quammen has written one of the most personable of biographies. Through the author's extensive research, Darwin's personality is described in a well-written, easy-going style. This book was a pleasure. ( )

Oh, no, not another Darwin biography! Yes, it is, but well written and, like many other biographies, seeks to find its own little hook to tell a slightly different story. This one explores the arrangment between Darwin and Wallace, forged by the friends of Darwin, that allowed joint publication of theory. The book gives some interesting insight into the characters of both men, although there is a great deal that must remain speculation, by virtue of the fact that we can never be sure what others are really thinking. Definitely worth the time to read. ( )

Pretty good. Conversational almost to the point of breeziness, this is an excellent introduction to the state of the art in Victorian biology, the post-Beagle life of Darwin, and to his work leading up to his "Origin of Species". ( )

David Quammen's biography of Charles Darwin is written with an almost tender affection for the naturalist, which he portrays as a fragile, bookish sort of man. It mostly eschews discussion of Darwin's scientific works, aside from placing them in order chronologically, and instead focuses on his personal life and emotional development. He elaborates most notably on his relationships with his wife, children, and father. It is an abbreviated history of Darwin's life and does not delve too deeply into any one event, opting instead to provide a broad overview of goings on.

I found it to be a quick and easy read, though Quammen's tone throughout the book made it difficult for me to feel as though I had been informed. He did not even make an effort to conceal his anti-religious bias, often, and sometimes irrationally, blaming major setbacks in Darwin's work and personal life on his association with the church. He dismisses any discussion of the extremely complex relationship Darwin had with his faith with a statement to the effect of "Darwin, at this point in his life, was still bogged down by his faith; however, signs of his liberation from the oppressive and distinctly anti-scientific motivations of the church are already beginning to show in his works..." -- and this is hardly an exaggeration. This kind of a statement is a bold one to make, especially without any discernible corroborative evidence. This kind of unapologetic bias is difficult for me to swallow, especially in something that bills itself as a non-fictionalized biography.

However, that's not to say that every informative passage in the book was tinged with unreadable partiality. Quammen has an easy, humorous, and almost flippant writing style; if you can make it past his obvious bias (or if you really detest religion and enjoy bashing it self-indulgently with like-minded individuals), you may be able to glean a gem or two of actual information from it. At the very least, you won't waste too much of your time -- at a little under 300 pages and with Quammen's writing style, I had the entirety of the book read in about 4 hours. ( )