Charles Darwin left an extraordinary scientific legacy - as influential to modern thought as that of Newton or Einstein. Yet, in his lifetime, Darwin's radical new interpretation of evolution, based on the mechanism of natural selection, earned him as much antagonism as it did accolades.
Although recognised as a great scientist in his day, it was only after his death that Darwin's towering achievements received their full recognition. Remembered today as, above all, a biologist, he first made his mark in science as a geologist and palaeontologist, and continued to have wide-ranging scientific interests throughout his life.
This book not only examines the man behind the science - a man plagued with ill health and personal tragedy - but lucidly explains the enormous impact of his thinking on natural selection and evolution, bringing the reader up to date in terms of how Darwinism has shaped modern scientific thought.
