Charles Darwin: British Naturalist (People of Importance (Mason Crest)) by Cook, Diane (2013) Library Binding

People of Importance

by Diane Cook

Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species changed the way we understand the beginnings of life on earth. Darwin's ideas challenged people to think differently, to question long-held beliefs, and to explore a new field of scientific discovery. As a young man, Darwin worked to join the priesthood, but his life took a turn toward science after he joined a government mission to South America and the Pacific. Darwin's work on the trip pushed him to come up with new ideas about life and nature, including his famous theory of evolution. Learn the story of one of the most important scientific thinkers of all time in Charles British Naturalist.

Library Binding

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Diane Cook is the author of the novel, THE NEW WILDERNESS, and the story collection, MAN V. NATURE, which was a finalist for the Guardian First Book Award, the Believer Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her writing has appeared in Harper's, Tin House, Granta, and other publications, and her stories have been included in the anthologies Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Prize Stories. She is a former producer for the radio program This American Life, and was the recipient of a 2016 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So yes, I am more than a bit disappointed with regard to Diane Cook's 2013 graphic novel Charles Darwin: British Naturalist. For although Charles Darwin: British Naturalist is indeed a decent enough general introduction to Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution, personally speaking, I have found it rather annoying and frustrating that Cook spends so much (read far far too much) time rather pedantically analysing and interpreting Darwin's childhood and young adulthood, how he became interested in science, botany, zoology, geology etc., while his five year journey as naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle (which of course was oh so essential and important for the foundation and development of Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection), his married life post his return to England and how Charles Darwin then solidified his diverse scientific observations into a cohesive whole, into a theory based on scientific facts, fossils, animal observations and dissections and not biblical dogma and/or speculation, seems to be and feel somewhat majorly rushed and actually given what I can only call rather massively short shrift in Charles Darwin: British Naturalist.

Combined with the fact that there is also no bibliographical information whatsoever provided by Diane Cook for further study and research, sorry, but Charles Darwin: British Naturalist has most definitely been quite a major reading disappointment to and for me. And while Cook's presented narrative for Charles Darwin: British Naturalist is actually for the most part adequately engaging and reads easily and approachably enough (for the intended audience, for children above the age of eight or so) and with accompanying illustrations by Vitali Konstantinov that are visually interesting and appealing, albeit they do tend to a bit strangely visually remind me a trifle of Russian religious iconography at times (with Charles Darwin especially kind of aesthetically reminding me of a Russian Orthodox priest or monk), the informational gaps and holes and what has not been sufficiently depicted, described and interpreted by Diane Cook in Charles Darwin: British Naturalist as well as the complete lack of any source acknowledgments and bibliographical information whatsoever (see above), this has totally and completely made me only consider but two stars at best for Charles Darwin: British Naturalist and to not really recommend Charles Darwin: British Naturalist all that readily either. For there indeed are many books on Charles Darwin, and even some very good picture books geared towards children, meant for younger audiences, that are oh so much more intensively extensive and contain more relevant scientifically important information and details than Charles Darwin: British Naturalist and also spend ample textual time and effort describing what in particular and importantly most lastingly shaped Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in sufficient detail, namely his voyages on the HMS Beagle, and the many wonders of nature he observed during his time away from the United Kingdom.

[Alex Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography of Charles Darwin distills his life story into a quick easy read that focuses on his being a normal child who's disinterest in studying medicine or becoming a priest disappointed his father. It lays out simply his voyage on the beagle, his relationship to Wallace and how his theory of the origins of life was first received.

This might be an encouraging book for a young naturalist to read and likely would lead to further interest in evolution. I am a bit confused about who this book is for. It looks like it is meant to stand on an elementary school library shelf for 10 year old to read when they are assigned to write a paper on an important historical figure. The text reads like a magazine article that might have been adapted to appeal to a child, but is both rather sophisticated and rather simple. The illustrations are very playful but the text is not bed time story material in my opinion.