Sunday 17 October 2010

Charles Darwin Autobiography


Charles Darwin was an amazing man, his contribution to science helped change the way we view the world and although not everyone can appreciate the finer details of his work there can't be many people who haven't heard of him.

Considering all he had achieved, Darwin's autobiography is surprisingly short (only 90 pages) however, as with his 'Voyage of the Beagle' and 'Origin of Species' I find his writing style very dry and difficult to read.

Having said that the portions of the book in which he talks about his family, childhood experiences and friends are very interesting and give the reader an excellent idea of his early life. Sadly the latter chapters of the book slip into details of his scientific publications which I really found boring and a poor ending to the book in general. If you are a fan of Darwin it is definately worth a read but otherwise you probably won't appreciate it.

Final rating 3/5

Chris

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review! I'd be interested in a well-written biography on Darwin, but this doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy.

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  2. wow I would love to read this. If I could meet anyone from history it'd be Darwin, I think he's amazing. another one to put on the christmas wish-list (I'm not even leaving it places for people to find, I'm just blatantly telling them lol)

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  3. @ Zara: I guess the sad truth is
    although Darwin was a great scientist, he wasn't a great writer! lol

    @ Toni: I know what you mean, meeting Darwin would be excellent. I hope you enjoy the read :o)

    Chris

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