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Simply Darwin
“An excellent sprint through the highlights of Darwin’s life and work. Ruse is a masterful writer who presents a clear account of who Darwin was and why he was important. It’s the connection to larger questions of our lives that makes this book a success. Well done, Ruse!”—Joe Cain, Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology, University College London
Simply Darwin tells the story of Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882) and his theory of evolution through natural selection. On one level, the book portrays a dedicated scientist who, through careful observation and brilliant insight, became convinced that organisms were the end product of a long, slow, and natural process of development. On another level, it is an account of a cataclysmic change in our ideas about ourselves—a conceptual upheaval that continues to generate aftershocks—and heated debates—to this day.
In Simply Darwin, author Michael Ruse puts Darwin and his ideas in their proper context, clearly showing that, while the father of evolutionary biology was a true trailblazer, he was no rebel. He was simply following an evidentiary trail that led to an inevitable conclusion about the origin of species and natural selection. Eventually, as Darwin and his fellow scientists began to apply his ideas to humans, long-held notions about the nature and origins of religion, morality, race, sexuality, and much more, were called into question. Then, as now, some of us embraced these provocative ideas, while others reacted with horror and disbelief.
In recounting this fascinating and inspiring story, Ruse doesn’t neglect the visual component that has always been an inherent part of evolutionary thought. Simply Darwin features copious illustrations, which provide an informative and captivating element to this riveting account.With Simply Darwin, readers will benefit
A clear and compelling account of Darwin and his theory of evolutionA captivating exploration of how Darwin's ideas challenged long-held beliefs about religion, morality, race, sexuality, and moreA wealth of illustrations that bring the story to lifeSimply Darwin covers Darwin's life and work, his theory of evolution, its application to humans, and more. This book also contains a comprehensive range of illustrations for readers to explore. Buy now before the price changes!
Simply Darwin tells the story of Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882) and his theory of evolution through natural selection. On one level, the book portrays a dedicated scientist who, through careful observation and brilliant insight, became convinced that organisms were the end product of a long, slow, and natural process of development. On another level, it is an account of a cataclysmic change in our ideas about ourselves—a conceptual upheaval that continues to generate aftershocks—and heated debates—to this day.
In Simply Darwin, author Michael Ruse puts Darwin and his ideas in their proper context, clearly showing that, while the father of evolutionary biology was a true trailblazer, he was no rebel. He was simply following an evidentiary trail that led to an inevitable conclusion about the origin of species and natural selection. Eventually, as Darwin and his fellow scientists began to apply his ideas to humans, long-held notions about the nature and origins of religion, morality, race, sexuality, and much more, were called into question. Then, as now, some of us embraced these provocative ideas, while others reacted with horror and disbelief.
In recounting this fascinating and inspiring story, Ruse doesn’t neglect the visual component that has always been an inherent part of evolutionary thought. Simply Darwin features copious illustrations, which provide an informative and captivating element to this riveting account.With Simply Darwin, readers will benefit
A clear and compelling account of Darwin and his theory of evolutionA captivating exploration of how Darwin's ideas challenged long-held beliefs about religion, morality, race, sexuality, and moreA wealth of illustrations that bring the story to lifeSimply Darwin covers Darwin's life and work, his theory of evolution, its application to humans, and more. This book also contains a comprehensive range of illustrations for readers to explore. Buy now before the price changes!
136 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 29, 2016
2 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Michael Ruse
131 books100 followersMichael Escott Ruse was a British-born Canadian philosopher of science who specialised in the philosophy of biology and worked on the relationship between science and religion, the creation–evolution controversy, and the demarcation problem within science. Ruse began his career teaching at The University of Guelph and spent many years at Florida State University.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 4, 2016
What is to know someone? Can you really tell what makes that particular person that person only by knowing the details of his or her life events? Simply Darwin is not a typical biography — this is an intelectual dissection of Darwinism, for this is how you really get to know the man behind it all.
Pinpointing its manifold philosophical antecedents, Michael Ruse explains in an easy to follow way how Evolution and Natural Selection finally dawned on Darwin — how this polite, discreet, non-confrontational man set himself to change the course of biology, science, and even history. For Darwinism is not only a scientific theory. "[F]rom so simple a beginning" (DARWIN, 1859), the Darwinian revolution has spread much farther than its original field of biology. And that is one of the most important and illuminating features of this book. In it you will find an exploration of the consequences of Darwin's controversial theory, its upsides and downsides, the difficulties it encountered, the many ways it has been appropriated (or misappropriated) by other fields, and how it is still changing our world today. In Ruse's words, "for or against, no one denies that Darwin’s ideas stimulate and provoke. For that reason if for no other, no educated person today should be ignorant of the life and labors of Charles Darwin. In science and in culture, he is one of the seminal figures of all time."
So, is this book worthy of your time? If you're a Darwin buff, this being a Michael Ruse's book is enough to make you want to read it. However, if you're not, but nevertheless you want to understand how the idea of evolution by natural selection evolved (inevitable pun), how it changed the ideas of subsequent thinkers, how it is still very much being a part of our everyday understanding of the world today, and all that in a very short, to the point, and clear manner, this book surely won't disappoint you. If by the end of it you fall in love with the topic, the author even offers a suggested reading list to deepen your understanding. What a neat package!
A brief note on the rating
4 in 5? Graphically is very misleading. Goodreads suggestion for each star is much more illuminating. One star, did not like it; two, it was ok; three, liked it; four, really liked it; five, it was amazing(!).
I really, really liked this book. However, this is not, and does not pretend to be, a masterpiece of literature (think of Flaubert's Madame Bovary, or Saramago's Memorial do Convento, as an example). If I reserve the amazement to the masterpieces, 4/5 is the highest I can give to works of a different caliber — works that I really, really like, such as this.
Pinpointing its manifold philosophical antecedents, Michael Ruse explains in an easy to follow way how Evolution and Natural Selection finally dawned on Darwin — how this polite, discreet, non-confrontational man set himself to change the course of biology, science, and even history. For Darwinism is not only a scientific theory. "[F]rom so simple a beginning" (DARWIN, 1859), the Darwinian revolution has spread much farther than its original field of biology. And that is one of the most important and illuminating features of this book. In it you will find an exploration of the consequences of Darwin's controversial theory, its upsides and downsides, the difficulties it encountered, the many ways it has been appropriated (or misappropriated) by other fields, and how it is still changing our world today. In Ruse's words, "for or against, no one denies that Darwin’s ideas stimulate and provoke. For that reason if for no other, no educated person today should be ignorant of the life and labors of Charles Darwin. In science and in culture, he is one of the seminal figures of all time."
So, is this book worthy of your time? If you're a Darwin buff, this being a Michael Ruse's book is enough to make you want to read it. However, if you're not, but nevertheless you want to understand how the idea of evolution by natural selection evolved (inevitable pun), how it changed the ideas of subsequent thinkers, how it is still very much being a part of our everyday understanding of the world today, and all that in a very short, to the point, and clear manner, this book surely won't disappoint you. If by the end of it you fall in love with the topic, the author even offers a suggested reading list to deepen your understanding. What a neat package!
A brief note on the rating
4 in 5? Graphically is very misleading. Goodreads suggestion for each star is much more illuminating. One star, did not like it; two, it was ok; three, liked it; four, really liked it; five, it was amazing(!).
I really, really liked this book. However, this is not, and does not pretend to be, a masterpiece of literature (think of Flaubert's Madame Bovary, or Saramago's Memorial do Convento, as an example). If I reserve the amazement to the masterpieces, 4/5 is the highest I can give to works of a different caliber — works that I really, really like, such as this.
June 14, 2017
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
This was less a biography and more an intellectual examination of Darwin, which is much different to the other 'Simply...' biographies. It felt pretty good have a break from that style, but this was a very dry intellectual biography. I learnt a lot more about Darwin that I had simply never even thought to ask, but the book was hard to get through.
This was less a biography and more an intellectual examination of Darwin, which is much different to the other 'Simply...' biographies. It felt pretty good have a break from that style, but this was a very dry intellectual biography. I learnt a lot more about Darwin that I had simply never even thought to ask, but the book was hard to get through.
December 6, 2024
Note: I was asked to read and review this book by the publisher, presumably because I've reviewed other books on evolution and science generally.
Simply Darwin is part of series called Great Lives, which aims to present "brief, but authoritative, biographies of the world's most influential people... historical figures whose contribution have had a meaningful and enduring impact on our society."
I was expecting Simply Darwin to tell me about the life and times of Charles Darwin, the discover/inventor of evolution by natural selection. What I got was book with one chapter on Darwin's life and seven chapters on Darwin's ideas. That's not a bad thing, but it wasn't what I was expecting, so I'm afraid I felt a bit let down.
Author Michael Ruse is a philosopher and science historian and is clearly qualified to write about evolution and natural selection. He does a good job placing these ideas in their historical and cultural context, and then following their history up to the current day. I particularly enjoyed the sections where Ruse explains how the idea of evolution in general was fairly well accepted by Darwin's time. A growing body of knowledge was making it clear to European society that things like animals, continents, and technologies changed. Darwin's contribution to the idea of biological evolution was the mechanism of natural selection, the "survival of the fittest". This supported a world view where humanity was felt to be progressing towards some better condition, a more advanced state. Ruse also writes how various thinkers twisted Darwin's ideas into political ideologies that had some pretty gruesome outcomes.
Ruse's writing is reasonably accessible, although I think he assumes a level of prior knowledge that not all readers will have. Ruse has to pack a lot of information into a fairly short book. He can't explain the background of everything, so he must assume that readers remember their high school biology and have at least a basic understanding of the history of science (say, equivalent to the content of Carl Sagan's Cosmos or Daniel J. Boorstin's The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself). The book is well illustrated with portraits of many of the people mentioned and an occasional sketch from Darwin's notebooks.
If you have a grasp of natural selection and the general history of science, you should find this interesting. If you don't, I think you may feel overwhelmed by the breadth of material here.
Simply Darwin is part of series called Great Lives, which aims to present "brief, but authoritative, biographies of the world's most influential people... historical figures whose contribution have had a meaningful and enduring impact on our society."
I was expecting Simply Darwin to tell me about the life and times of Charles Darwin, the discover/inventor of evolution by natural selection. What I got was book with one chapter on Darwin's life and seven chapters on Darwin's ideas. That's not a bad thing, but it wasn't what I was expecting, so I'm afraid I felt a bit let down.
Author Michael Ruse is a philosopher and science historian and is clearly qualified to write about evolution and natural selection. He does a good job placing these ideas in their historical and cultural context, and then following their history up to the current day. I particularly enjoyed the sections where Ruse explains how the idea of evolution in general was fairly well accepted by Darwin's time. A growing body of knowledge was making it clear to European society that things like animals, continents, and technologies changed. Darwin's contribution to the idea of biological evolution was the mechanism of natural selection, the "survival of the fittest". This supported a world view where humanity was felt to be progressing towards some better condition, a more advanced state. Ruse also writes how various thinkers twisted Darwin's ideas into political ideologies that had some pretty gruesome outcomes.
Ruse's writing is reasonably accessible, although I think he assumes a level of prior knowledge that not all readers will have. Ruse has to pack a lot of information into a fairly short book. He can't explain the background of everything, so he must assume that readers remember their high school biology and have at least a basic understanding of the history of science (say, equivalent to the content of Carl Sagan's Cosmos or Daniel J. Boorstin's The Discoverers: A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself). The book is well illustrated with portraits of many of the people mentioned and an occasional sketch from Darwin's notebooks.
If you have a grasp of natural selection and the general history of science, you should find this interesting. If you don't, I think you may feel overwhelmed by the breadth of material here.
May 22, 2016
Simply Darwin is less a book about Darwin than a book about all things Darwinian. Charles Darwin and his life's work are summed up in the first chapter; ten percent of the book. Michael Ruse, the author, is an ardent Darwinian philosopher; this leads to a very different sort of examination of evolution and its ramifications than a well-read student of natural history might have previously encountered.
Huxley, Hooker, Wilberforce and Cuvier are all present and accounted for, but the reader will learn to perceive Darwin's legacy far afield of science. Here the "struggle for existence between ideas" is considered by William James and Bertrand Russell, both esteemed philosophers. Darwin's mechanism of natural selection meets Jack London, Thomas Hardy, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and other lesser known poets and novelists, while Edna St. Vincent Millay contemplates sexual selection.
Beyond evolution's obvious impact on the sciences, Ruse reveals the influence of Darwin's work on "social behavior, paleontology, biogeographical distributions, systematics, morphology, and embryology." Human evolution is well-considered in the final chapter, briefly discussing Social Darwinism, Creationism, and the work of the Leakey family, and Don Johanson, who discovered "Lucy."
The first half of this book qualifies as Simply Darwin, the second half is too smart by half. Or maybe it's just the expectation of a book called 'Simply' anything. The broad consideration of Darwin's revolutionary theory, excellent and ample illustrations, plus a lively suggested reading section earn this book a place on the thinking-person's bookshelf.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Huxley, Hooker, Wilberforce and Cuvier are all present and accounted for, but the reader will learn to perceive Darwin's legacy far afield of science. Here the "struggle for existence between ideas" is considered by William James and Bertrand Russell, both esteemed philosophers. Darwin's mechanism of natural selection meets Jack London, Thomas Hardy, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and other lesser known poets and novelists, while Edna St. Vincent Millay contemplates sexual selection.
Beyond evolution's obvious impact on the sciences, Ruse reveals the influence of Darwin's work on "social behavior, paleontology, biogeographical distributions, systematics, morphology, and embryology." Human evolution is well-considered in the final chapter, briefly discussing Social Darwinism, Creationism, and the work of the Leakey family, and Don Johanson, who discovered "Lucy."
The first half of this book qualifies as Simply Darwin, the second half is too smart by half. Or maybe it's just the expectation of a book called 'Simply' anything. The broad consideration of Darwin's revolutionary theory, excellent and ample illustrations, plus a lively suggested reading section earn this book a place on the thinking-person's bookshelf.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 21, 2017
I wasn't too crazy about this book. Usually, I really enjoy biography or biography-type books that talk about some of our society's free thinkers. This was well-put together but it was entirely serious. It read like a dissertation on the life of Darwin and it was one of those books that you read because you need a source to quote for your fifth grade presentation but it's not a book you read if you want to be entertained.
Let me be kind and say this book is full with a lot of knowledge about Darwin but it made Darwin appear like some inhumane robot who wrote this incredible book about a new way to view how the world around us and the human race have come to be, scientifically.
As a Christian, I am not a believer in Darwin's theory of evolution but I still read this book with as much an open mind as I could muster.
Let me be kind and say this book is full with a lot of knowledge about Darwin but it made Darwin appear like some inhumane robot who wrote this incredible book about a new way to view how the world around us and the human race have come to be, scientifically.
As a Christian, I am not a believer in Darwin's theory of evolution but I still read this book with as much an open mind as I could muster.
November 11, 2017
I found the combination of information about Darwin and his life and the more recent information about what's happened with evolutionary science really interesting.
The information is well set out and the writing makes to easy to understand even if you know little about Darwin or his work.
The narration is well done although I would have preferred more of a difference in the voice used when the book was quoting someone or changing POV.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The information is well set out and the writing makes to easy to understand even if you know little about Darwin or his work.
The narration is well done although I would have preferred more of a difference in the voice used when the book was quoting someone or changing POV.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher in exchange for an honest review.
June 1, 2017
Audible:This was a good read.I learned things about Darwin that I never knew before.His family history and childhood were especially interesting.Hugh Hoffman did a fine job as narrator.I was provided this book free by the narrator, author or publisher.
June 12, 2017
Simply Darwin by Michael Ruse was a prettt good read. It tells the story of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution through natural selection. This was a good read about the life of Charles Darwin.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews