The Quotable Darwin

Historical figures rarely feel like real people. They’re distilled into timelines, lists of greatest accomplishments or defeats, bullet points of things you need to know, birthdates and deathdates. To bring them to life, you need their words, their insights. That’s rare.

The Quotable Darwin offers an opportunity to bring Darwin back to life in startling fashion as these collected quotations share his thoughts on everything from modern science to family and morality. This is a glimpse into the creative process and research that birthed the theory of natural selection, as well as the man himself in all his foibles and curiosities.

No history book ever tells you that he rode a turtle during his time in the Galapagos, or that he was the type of guy to keep track of how many times he’s beaten his wife at backgammon (versus how many times she’s beaten him). Heck, when he offered to show someone his pigeons, he called it “the greatest treat, in my opinion, which can be offered to a human being.”

The Quotable Darwin is fascinating, funny, and humanizing. It brings an icon to life.