Iain McCalman

Imagine adventures on the high seas where intrepid explorers endure rough seas, extreme cold, heat, bandits and disease. Imagine exploration of foreign lands and foreign people. Imagine an intense, protracted struggle to introduce a new area of science amidst fierce opposition from religious circles and the scientific establishment.

The science of evolution developed out of the struggles and insights of these brave explorers during their journeys. This book captures these adventures in individual stories that overlap into a complete rendering of the birth of the theory of evolution.

Darwin may of been given credit for the theory of evolution, but he had help from his friends. Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Wallace all set sail motivated by the desire to further understand the world they lived in and the mechanisms that shaped life. All came backed changed men with exciting insights and observations on native people, plants and wildlife. Wallace spent years in Brazil. Hooker made it to the South Pole. Darwin landed on the Galapagos Islands. Huxley found the love of his life during his time exploring the south seas.

I really enjoyed this book. It isn't so much about the fundamental details about evolution as it is about the adventure and discoveries that lead to the formation of the theory. The first 2/3 of the book is dedicated to the separate voyages of Darwin, Wallace, Huxley and Hooker. The last 1/3 of the book deals with the friendships developed between the men, and the fight that occurred to firmly establish the theory. While Darwin gets the credit, Wallace developed similar ideas during the same time. Huxley and Hooker also contributed to the science of evolution with their individual insights with plants and wildlife and their unwavering support of Darwin and his theory.

If you like an adventure story, a love story and a story of scientific revolution, then this book is for you.

Recommended.… (plus d'informations)

I have a fairly balanced amount of non-fiction in my reading diet, making up a consistent 25% or so of what I read. But it tends most often to be philosophy/theory or some kind of personal history/memoir, and not as much of the pure history or science. This book combines the two, really, providing an account of historical interactions with and scientific explorations of the Great Barrier Reef. It's very well-written and with the deeply personal narrative drive of the book it's easy to become invested in. Each chapter introduces us to a new figure, detailed in around 20 pages, while we linger in or return to our familiar (though vast and changeable) setting.

I'd been a little misled by the introduction and thought that the second part of the book would feature more accounts of indigenous people interacting with the Reef, and I was quite excited to hear some of these stories. However, the second part was more about the white travellers interacting with or reacting to indigenous groups. I understand, because there is far more written material for McCalman to work with, and he does give due mention of the unintended misunderstandings between the players, as well as the intentional misinterpretation recorded by whites with political or economic agendas. Still, I feel a bit bereft with having this history of interactions with an amazing geological feature, one which must have been significant in the lives of the people on Australia's north-east shore, that never fully explores how indigenous peoples understood it. McCalman makes a vague mention of a different geo-spatial understanding of the Reef, of ocean and land, and how our understanding of what the Reef is is still only a construct, a view through a frame we take for granted, but he never follows that thread.… (plus d'informations)