This is one of two recent books about Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle--both are quite good, and one would have sufficed if it wasn't that I am going to the Galapagos and wanted to read any and all available material in order to get the most out of it (for me, going to the literature is a sure fire way to enhance my enjoyment, but it is not for everyone). The other has been previously reviewed by me, and this one, in contrast, makes Darwin out to be more of a heroic adventurer, and it relies more heavily on quotes, or Darwin's accounts, in his own words. I liked the other better, but if I had read this first, and only this, I would have been satisfied.
Despite their differences in style and voice, the two books feature the same stories. Darwin got his job because the Beagle’s Capt. Robert FitzRoy wanted a gentleman conversation partner to abate his suicidal tendencies. Before departure, Darwin had already been steered into geology; he trained in field skills with the geologist Adam Sedgwick; and was presented with Volume One of Charles Lyell’s “Principles of Geology” as a gift from Capt. FitzRoy.
Darwin was a keen observer and hardworking specimen-collector who experienced no eureka moment regarding natural selection during the voyage. Immediately upon his return, Darwin sought out the geologist Lyell as a mentor and champion. In time, Darwin would designate Lyell as the man to edit his radical theory in the case of Darwin’s unexpected death; it was also Lyell who secured a publisher for his magnum opus.
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