This engaging and insightful biography focuses primarily on Darwin’s five-year voyage aboard the Beagle and the years following in which he formulated and published his revolutionary theories on evolution and natural selection. As a child and adolescent, Darwin is depicted as precocious and insatiably curious but a reluctant student regarding formal studies. Readers are left with a strong understanding of which scientists influenced Darwin in his own research and the process by which he arrived at a unique understanding through his own discoveries and observations. Darwin’s writings are quoted extensively. Sidebars throughout citing cultural and historical milestones offer readers a good sense of Darwin’s times. In an epilogue, the authors offer a concise overview of the controversy Darwin’s theories on evolution and natural selection continues to stir. The text is effectively supported by maps, photographs and other archival images. Backmatter includes chronologies, notes and suggestions for further reading. The detailed focus on Darwin’s scientific pursuits makes this book a good complement to the personal portrait offered in Deborah Heiligman’s Charles & Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (2009). (Biography. 10-14)
