David Quammen’s The Reluctant Mr. Darwin puts Darwin into his personal and intellectual context so we can see exactly what he started with and what he gave us. Quammen is particularly interested in the many years between Darwin’s basic insight and the publication of his basic insight. He vividly tells the story of Wallace’s coincident insight and how that prompted Darwin at last to let his idea out.

Quammen contextualizes the ideas superbly and he tells the story engagingly. It’s a page turner and a surprisingly good summer read. [Tags: darwin science david_quammen evolution]

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