IT IS said you can find a quote in the Bible to support whatever point of view you care to take. Darwin鈥檚 Island made me think that this might be one thing that the words of the good book and the work of Darwin have in common.
takes Darwin鈥檚 lesser-known books, such as The Descent of Man and The Power of Movement in Plants, based on his work at home in Down House, and uses them as a departure point for a tour of a huge swathe of biology, from earthworms to obesity. Who knew, for example, that Darwin discovered the first hormone, in plants?
The unifying theme of Darwin鈥檚 work, Jones argues, is 鈥渢he power of small means, given time, to produce gigantic ends鈥�. Darwin鈥檚 Island broadens our appreciation of Darwin beyond the Beagle and On the Origin of Species, and shows that he deserves to be thought of as the father of the life sciences, not just evolution.
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Little, Brown
