Charles Darwin's Notebooks from the Voyage of the Beagle

The first full edition of the notebooks Darwin used during his Beagle voyage, surviving as priceless documents in scientific history.

Gordon Chancellor (Edited by), John van Wyhe (Edited by), Richard Darwin Keynes (Foreword by), Kees Rookmaaker (Assisted by)

9780521517577, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 July 2009

650 pages, 312 b/w illus. 10 maps 3 tables
24.6 x 17.3 x 3.3 cm, 1.43 kg

'… impressive … a meticulously edited piece … It provides some interesting dimensions about how scientific observation was made two centuries ago … as an archival source, it could definitely help graduate students in their research related to Darwin.' PaleoAnthropology

This is the first full edition of the notebooks used by Darwin during his epic voyage in the Beagle. It contains transcriptions of all fifteen notebooks, which now survive as some of the most precious documents in the history of science. The notebooks record the entire range of Darwin's interests and activities during the Beagle journey, with observations on geology, zoology, botany, ecology, barometer and thermometer readings, ethnography, anthropology, archaeology and linguistics, along with maps, drawings, financial records, shopping lists, reading notes, essays and personal diary entries. Some of Darwin's critical discoveries and experiences, made famous through his own publications, are recorded in their most immediate form in the notebooks, and published here for the first time. The notebook texts are accompanied by full editorial apparatus and introductions explaining Darwin's actions at each stage, focussing on discoveries that were pivotal to convincing him that life on Earth had evolved.

Foreword by Richard Darwin Keynes
Introduction
Acknowledgements
List of illustrations
The Notebooks: Cape de Verds, Rio, Buenos Ayres, Falkland, B. Blanca, St. Fe, Banda Oriental, Port Desire, Valparaiso, Santiago, Galapagos, Coquimbo, Copiapò, Despoblado, Sydney
Expedition equipment
Chronological register
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Evolution [PSAJ], Biology, life sciences [PS], History of science [PDX]