The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution

David Quammen presents this complicated & controversial subject in a straight-forward and convincing manner. I liked this book so much, I am presenting it to the Natural History Book Club at the local public library, next year.

Livro sucinto mas rico em detalhes sobre o pensamento de Charles Darwin, com ênfase no período compreendido entre o retorno do naturalista à Inglaterra, em 1836, e a publicação do seu famoso "A Origem das Espécies". Não foi o objetivo do escritor (David Quammen) narrar muitos detalhes da vida pessoal do naturalista, como explicitado no prefácio do livro, mas mostrar a evolução do pensamento e os métodos científicos por ele utilizados que culminaram na tese científica perfeita contida em seu livro mais famoso. Ótima leitura.

An absolutely fabulous book. So brilliantly written it is a joy to read. I borrowed it from the library and had to buy my own copy. "Darwin's Fossils" is another lovely Darwin related book for those interested.

Great book, interesting but never boring. Quammen never lets you down

A very good and very readable portrait of Darwin and his contemporaries in the scientific world, and of the fast changing times in which they lived. If you want just one (not too long) book to explain it all - to understand the basics of Darwin's brilliant idea, of how he worked over years to prove it and coped with the inevitable resistance in the society in which he lived and worked - then I would recommend this one!