ANOTHER week, another book on Darwin – this time an easy read that makes the perfect primer to understanding the man. Picking up the narrative after HMS Beagle’s epic voyage, Quammen unravels the protracted birth of On the Origin of Species, explaining how its radical ideas stewed for over 20 years before publication. Darwin emerges as neurotic but likeable, with a potent mix of courage and caution. There’s nothing especially new here but the clear and sometimes moving prose will leave you wanting more.
The Kiwi’s Egg: Charles Darwin and natural selection
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
