"The best Darwin anthology on the market" (Stephen Jay Gould, Harvard) has just become better, in this newly revised version of the now classic Norton Critical Edition, first published in 1970.
The impact of Charles Darwin’s work on Western civilization has been
broad and deep. As much as anyone in the modern era, he changed human
thought, and his influence is still felt in virtually all aspects of
our lives. This new edition, larger and more varied than the previous
ones, includes more of Darwin's own work and also presents the most
recent research and scholarship on all aspects of Darwin’s legacy. The
biological sciences, as well as social thought, philosophy, ethics,
religion, and literature, have all been shaped and reshaped by
evolutionary concepts.
Excerpts from the most important books and articles of recent years
confirm this Darwinian heritage. New work by Richard Dawkins, Edward O.
Wilson, Kevin Padian, Eugene C. Scott, Steven Pinker, Daniel Dennett,
Michael Ruse, Frans de Waal, Noretta Koertge, George C. Williams,
George Levine, Stephen Jay Gould, Gillian Beer, Ernst Mayr, and many
others illuminates this exciting intellectual history. A wide-ranging
new introduction by the editor provides context and coherence to this
rich body of engaging material, much of which will be shaping human
thought well into the new century.
This edition will be useful to scientists and historians alike: "The
Norton Darwin explains Darwinian evolution and illustrates the social
and intellectual conflicts of the past two centuries better than any
other book that I am aware of." (Charles Taylor, Professor of Biology,
Ecology, and Evolution, University of California, Los Angeles)
And it will be of great value to the humanities and social sciences as
well: "The edition provides the sharpest and most exciting access to
Darwin we have ever had. It shows all of us interested in the heart of
our intellectual heritage how that heritage is sustained, manipulated,
and honored." (James R. Kincaid, Aerol Arnold Professor of English,
University of Southern California)
A Selected Bibliography and an Index are included.