The Autobiography of Charles Darwin: 1809-1882

Reading the memoir that Darwin wrote for his family, two qualities of the man stand out above all others. The first is his intense humanity--indeed, his lovability. He is modestly self-deprecating in a totally uncalculating way; his devotion to his father, wife, and children shines through, as does his compassion for suffering animals; and his reminiscences of childhood, youth, and young adulthood are quaintly idiosyncratic (he doesn't remember and record "big" events so much as funny or curious little ones that lodged in his memory). He comes across as an incredibly decent guy.Second, he is a scrupulously honest thinker. He abandons his early Christianity (although he admits that he was never very fervent) because his understanding of natural selection rules out the possibility of a Paleyesque divine design in nature, and he rejects the idea of eternal damnation because it seems to him hideously unjust. (The bulk of his religious reflections are found in pp. 85-96.) He is devoted to the empirical method, carefully collecting and collating years and years worth of data before drawing conclusions from them. He especially notes, he tells us, data that seem to run contrary to his hypotheses, because he knows how easy it is to "forget" such inconvenient facts. And he takes great delight in his scientific work. Curious that Darwin laments on at least two occasions that he's lost his youthful taste for poetry, art, and music. His love of the natural world surely is as artistic as scientific.I highly recommend this autobiography to all persons interested in the on-going fracas over evolution. It goes a long way to revealing the real man too often demonized by polemicists.

This is a wonderful book. It provides an insightful view of Darwin himself, with only light reference to his revelations about nature and evolution. By reading this book, one learns that Darwin was not the dark, confrontational, angry person religious people try to portray him (they are projecting, I think). Rather, Charles Darwin was a man full of life, wonderment, and humor. He was a very sociable humanitarian who cherished his family, children (10!), and associates. Most of all, he had an insatiable thurst for knowledge about nature, and was a complete devotee to the scientific method. His contribution to our understanding of biology is, of course, historic, but he was also a central figure in the immediate functions of the scientific community of his day. His work lead to the realization that religion is myth, but he does not dwell on this, but mentions it in passing. Instead, he writes about the beauty of the diversity and functionality of nature and how Natural Selection has provided such a rich environment.

Don't be put off by the rather grim portrait of Darwin that adorns this edition -and be aware that there are SEVERAL editions of the AUTOBIOGRAPHY, including a somewhat "censored" one in which Darwin's wife took out bits that she didn't like -perhaps the most interesting editions are the ones that put these bits back in but italicize or bold them so that you can get a sense of what wasn't "proper" in Emma's mind. This is by no means a definitive Life of Darwin (for that I strongly encourage you to read Janet Brown's excellent 2 part series)but it does give us a gentle portrait of Darwin as he saw himself in late middle age, and it has provided lots of grist for the historians & psychohistorians in their speculations about what Darwin felt about religion, his parents, etc. For my part it only reinforces my impression of a truly wonderful man who was constantly puzzled in a pleasant way with the diversity of life & living, and while he may have had personal demons to grapple with (don't we all?) he was still able to enjoy both his science and his friends and his family. It is primarily this enjoyment that I walk away with after reading this book. Oh yes, the grim portrait on the cover. I doubt that Darwin thought of himself like that, he was FUN, and I think he mostly HAD fun, apart from the periodic bouts with illness. My favorite "portrait" of Darwin is the fantasy picture of young Chas "hanging out" in high top sneakers that adorns Phil Darlington's too-long-out-of-print EVOLUTION FOR NATURALISTS.

Listening to Charles Darwin talk about his life, from his earliest childhood experiences, proved to me, yet again, that really great people completely lack pomposity and artifice.Darwin spends barely anytime talking about his great works, he really just sets the scene in which these works took place. And because that scene was so firmly Victorian with society tightly bound by religion and class, you also realise what a brave man he was in pursuing his scientific observations.This is only a small book, the actual biography I read in a couple of days. This edition was edited by his grand-daughter and in the end notes some space is devoted to a row between Darwin and a Mr Butler - who you may well ask was Butler, its interesting to note how all these other characters fade into history's darkness, whilst the legacy of Darwin's work lives on.