Darwin and the Beagle

by Alan Moorehead

An account of Darwin's five-year expedition, as a naturalist on board HMS Beagle, illustrated from contemporary sources.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Science, Evolution, Travel, Biology

280 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1969

About the author

Alan Moorehead was lionised as the literary man of action: the most celebrated war correspondent of World War II; author of award winning books; star travel writer of The New Yorker; pioneer publicist of wildlife conservation. At the height of his success, his writing suddenly stopped and when, 17 years later, his death was announced, he seemed a heroic figure from the past. His fame as a writer gave him the friendship of Ernest Hemingway, George Bernard Shaw and Field Marshall Montgomery and the courtship and marriage of his beautiful wife Lucy Milner.

After 1945, he turned to writing books, including Eclipse, Gallipoli (for which he won the Duff Cooper Prize), The White Nile, The Blue Nile, and finally, A Late Education. He was awarded an OBE in 1946, and died in 1983.

Reviews

[Strona po stronie · Rating 5 out of 5]

[po polsku - http://stronapostronie2013.blogspot.c... ]

First of all, I have a copy of the Polish edition and it might be a bit different (as you can see in my blog post in Polish, if you click on the link). It's simply stunning. It has lots of beautiful illustrations (both muted and insanely colourful) and I'm not sure if they are included in this edition too.

I just loved this book! So captivating. It's the story of Darwin's game changing journey on board of the Beagle. It's really atmospheric!

What makes the book remarkable is the combination of this writing style that really lets you immerse yourself in the adventure (easy to follow, vivid), a great story (did you know that Darwin was just a normal guy from a well-off family and the only remarkable thing about him was his curiosity about the world and the courage to take the first step and then just keep going? Did you know that he first intended to find evidence for the flood theory from the Bible? Did you know that... ;) ) and SO MANY ILLUSTRATIONS that are mostly just in the right places to perfectly accompany the writing and show you the characters, scenes from Darwin's times and basically look like something that the onboard artist could have sketched during the journey (some of them really have been). STUNNING! But yeah, it has flaws too ;).

[Paleoanthro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable, engaging and thoroughly entertaining look at Darwin and his voyage on the Beagle. Much in the vain of a travel adventure, Moorehead introduces us to the discoveries and trials Darwin faced on his voyage that lead to many of Darwin's scientific ideas and researchers. For the photographs alone, this book is one anyone interested in Darwin should have in their library.

[Alan Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book to the end having read the first few chapters years ago!

[Helen Mccarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for my December trip to the Galapagos Islands. It was very interesting to me for that reason, but also to learned of his visits to the many other locations on his trip around the world on the ship the Beagle. Moorehead does a good job of revealing Darwin's development of his thoughts on this journey that eventually led to his theory of evolution, and of his thorny relationship to the biblically oriented Captain FitzRoy. This edition is liberally illustrated with drawings some of which were first rendered on the voyage. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the development of Darwin, the theory of evolution and the history of science.

[Sarah Vaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. While I knew the broad facts (Darwin, expedition to the Galapagos, finches, theory of evolution), I didn’t realize how long the journey had been and how much of the world he saw. I also had always assumed that Darwin would have used this theory to justify poor treatment of native peoples, and was surprised to learn that he was horrified by slavery and by the treatment of many indigenous groups.

I learned a lot from this one and enjoyed all the art included in this book.

[Bevan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1969 hardcover edition of this book is the one to own. With brilliant color and b/w illustrations, most of them contemporary or nearly so, it makes the story come alive. This book is the perfect companion to every other book I own on Darwin and evolution. I found it in my favorite local bookshop, Harding's Books, in Wells, Maine.

[Art Cofod · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting tale of exploration, adventure and natural science. Pre-Origin of the Species. Illustrated with many beautiful contemporaneous drawings.

[Tomasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na wstępie - prześliczne wydanie książki, poręczne, ogromne ilustracje - doskonale oddające to, co opisywane jest przez autora.
Pięknie widać - nomen omen - ewolucję poglądów Darwina, jego pracę naukową. Także relacje z kapitanem statku, także opisy poszczególnych ludów - im bliżej Azji, tym bardziej chyba cywilizowanych i przede wszystkim wpływ tzw. cywilizowanego człowieka na ich życie i ich lokalnej flory i fauny, także niezwykle sugestywny opis trzęsienia ziemi i wysp Galapagos. Nie jest to specjalnie w książce opisywane, ale zaciekawił mnie też system pocztowy (obejmujący wówczas prawie cały świat).
To niesamowita sprawa - mam na myśli wyprawę na pokładzie Beagle'a - i autor tu ani nie pomaga, ani nie przeszkadza. Nie ma się wrażenia fabularyzacji, jest to, co wiadomo na pewno. I za to plus, ale z drugiej strony chętnie przeczytałbym jakieś bardziej drobiazgowe opisy zdarzeń na poszczególnych lądach.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd read enough Moorehead to recognize him as an excellent writer, well-suited for the quieter times here at Heirloom Books. This title is a survey of Darwin's career, focused on his five years on the Beagle. I'd read his Beagle book before, years ago, so this reading was by way of review, supplemented by other materials such as Darwin's correspondence.

The whole is beautifully illustrated in color and black and white. The only complaint is that the maps could have been a bit better coordinated with the text.

[Ana Boto · Rating 4 out of 5]

En Cambridge se había fijado que la creación del
Mundo aconteció el 23 de octubre del año 4004 antes de Cristo. En 1831 el Beagle inicia un viaje científico de cinco años para que Fitzroy y su tripulación completara el círculo de medidas cronométricas del mundo. Les acompañaba Charles Darwin, que sin grandes expectativas y con una mente abierta, se sumergió sin prisa en lo que la naturaleza le iba enseñando. Las
especies no habían sido creadas inamovibles y el planeta se le escapaba de la mano creadora De Dios. Y... tras más de 20 años de reflexión y lucha, tuvo que defender esta “herejía”. Que delicia viajar con ellos de manera tranquila, sin prisa.

[Chris Lira · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice travelogue of Darwin's voyages; it's not an in-depth exploration of his theories, or their impact. The book is very, very nicely illustrated though- 48 color illustrations and 140 b&w.

[Quo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his book of essays Ever Since Darwin, Steven Jay Gould begins one of the tales with a reference to an old television program featuring Groucho Marx, wherein Groucho would ask contestants who had thus far gotten every question on the quiz show wrong, "Who is buried in Grant's tomb?" This occurs as a lead-in to a question of more interest to readers of Alan Moorehead's wonderful book, Darwin & the Beagle, "Who was the naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle"?


This turns out to be a trick question because in fact, Charles Darwin was brought on board the ship not as a naturalist, someone else having been hired for that role, but because he was of the same social class as the ship's captain, a depressive fellow by the name of Robert Fitzroy.

Instead, the young Mr. Darwin, came on board to serve as the only dinner companion Fitzroy would have over the 5 year voyage, a British mapping & research expedition, with the intent that he would be of benefit during the captain's occasional mood-swings.

Many will be more familiar with Moorehead's The White Nile and The Blue Nile, books I read ages ago while preparing to teach in East Africa. Darwin & the Beagle represents a fascinating overview of Charles Darwin's extensive experiences on board Captain Fitzroy's vessel + the amazing explorations he had during his many weeks ashore.


Very often Darwin was left to his own devices for extended periods when the ship was in port for resupply or undergoing repairs. While gathering specimens of every sort--flora, fauna, insects & indeterminate bones as well as geological samples. Darwin encountered Spanish gauchos, an occasional Englishman, while attempting to avoid warlike Indian tribes within the interior spaces of South America, intrepidly surveying landscapes on foot & via randomly purchased horses from Patagonia to the Andes Mountains.

In terms of the path of the British exploration ship, Beagle, a 2-masted, 240 ton "Brig" with 10 guns, 90 feet in length, a vessel that held 74 people, including 3 "passengers", most will remember Darwin's investigations within the Galapagos Islands where he spent just 5 weeks, the origin of his eventual conclusions about natural selection and biological evolution.


However, Darwin also experienced an icy transit of the Drake Passage in winter, exotic & unpredictable "Fuegians" in the terrain north of Terra del Fuego (Land of Fire), an earthquake & resulting tsunami on the coast of Chile & heavily tattooed Tahitians, about whom little was known at the time. These were just a few of the encounters that would test the mettle of Charles Darwin in the course of his 5 years at sea.

Throughout it all, Charles Darwin suffered intense seasickness, a condition that rarely if ever abated over 5 years. And, while both were of patrician background, Darwin's intellectual considerations on the prospect of evolution were at constant odds with the ship's captain, Mr. Fitzroy, a fundamentalist Christian who contended that the Bible offered the only explanation on life in all of its manifestations & that there had been no possible change from the moment that God created the universe in its entirety.


Darwin attempted to remain a temperate companion to Fitzroy but as the long voyage unfolded, this became an increasingly difficult task to fulfill:

What Darwin was suggesting, was that the world had not been created in a week & most certainly not in 4004 B.C. It was inconceivably older than that, it had changed out of recognition and was still changing, all living creatures had changed as well, and man, far from being made in God's image, may have begun as something much more primitive. The story of Adam & Eve, in brief, was a myth.

Alan Moorehead does an excellent job of relating Charles Darwin's own personal evolution, as Darwin becomes transformed over the 5 year voyage. He initially entered the Beagle as a man without much in the way of a goal in life, becoming increasingly animated by his investigations into the natural world, particularly demonstrating boundless energy & a tireless sense of adventure while ashore, matched with insatiable curiosity at all times.


My handsomely-bound hardcover edition of Darwin & the Beagle, part of The Adventure Library series of books, includes countless, interesting black & white sketches + multiple full color plates by John Gould, a famous ornithologist. I recommend one of the many versions of this book to anyone interested in Charles Darwin's life &/or in travel-adventures of a truly historic nature.

*Within my review are the images of author Alan Moorehead; a partial map of the voyage of the HMS Beagle; Darwin with a finch painted by John Gould on the introductory page of a Darwin manuscript; a drawing of Darwin's ship for the 5 year voyage; an impression of Darwin appraising a tortoise in the Galapagos Islands.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

so I've found it very fascinating. When I think about Darwin I always picture him as an old man. He did his Voyage when quite young.

[Kees Mensch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A special relationship between two super talents on a very special journey of humanity.

My parents had this book and as a young child I wanted to read it, but I could not because the book was in English. Recently, I came across the book in a thrift store and took the opportunity to read it. Darwin and the Beagle describes the origins of the theory of evolution in a very subtle way. The reader is taken into the life of Charles Darwin and the journey with the Beagle. The Beagle or the Journey with the Beagle is a microcosm that indicates very well the turning point of time. The world of rank and position that was still the order of the day in 1850s England is strongly represented on board, and at the same time the breath of the Enlightenment and the rise of science is clearly felt. And science is still in the Wild West phase. This is also noticeable in the preparation of the voyage of the Beagle, the role of Charles Darwin is unclear, there are savages from Tierra del Fuego on board, Charles' father thinks it is complete nonsense, in short, an insignificant start for a great voyage. Judging by the ranks and positions, Captain Fitzroy is Darwin's mate. The scientific nature of the voyage can be summarized as follows: lots of geographical surveying and searching for evidence of God's creation. Fitzroy was a religious man with a passionate character. The uniqueness of Alan Moorehead's book lies in the development of the characters. Charles Darwin becomes the scientist who observes and (very) slowly begins to draw conclusions, and Fitzroy who becomes more and more stubborn in character, but intelligent enough to understand the direction of the measurements and observations. And all this against the background of life on the Beagle, where they have to meet and work together every day for four years, with some interruptions. In the microcosm of the Beagle, there are ranks and positions and friendships and feelings develop during the voyage, while at the same time a modern society develops on board. The book is illustrated with biological drawings that give a sense of the voyage as if you were part of the expedition yourself. When the voyage is over and Darwin has returned to England, you feel the deception of life on land, the great adventure is over. Charles Darwin focuses on his family happiness and hesitates for a long time to publish the theory of evolution, probably because of social tensions. In fact, the fact that other scientists will publish is the last straw for Darwin to start publishing On the origin of species. Heated debates ensue and public opinion is largely too involved. Now the book and the story take an interesting turn, Fitzroy, who has fallen into disrepute, and Darwin meet one more time. The disaster scenario has come true for Fitzroy and he himself has participated in it. As good as Darwin was as a scientist, the Beagle's voyage would never have been successful without Fitzroy's skills as a pilot. And because of these qualities, Fitzroy becomes involved in an impulse that leads to important new discoveries in biology, but also in geology, especially in the conjecture of the different tectonic plates. A special relationship between two super talents on a very special journey of humanity.

[Mary Byrne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Moorhead is truely readable popular history, enough detail to keep a story flowing and
Interesting. In this book he highlights Darwin as a young energetic man, who spent much time exploring inland of where the Beagle docked. In particular the Pampas of Argentina and the coast of Chilli. He spent much time scaling mountains and arrived in Conception immediately after a major earthquake. All of this dramatic geology and finding fossils in odd places added fuel to the fire of questioning the origin of organisms. Darwin's theory is closely tied with the visit to Galapagos. Remarkably the Beagle only spent five weeks at these islands. Much thinking must have been in place from the S. American leg of the journey. Fitzroy also nicely features in the story, a religious man who did not share Darwin' open-mindedness. The book has a collection of beautiful illustrations, and good maps!

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read over a long period of time, thanks to my just-passed mother-in-law who kept two paperback copies around, having loved reporting to her book group about Darwin. What is great about this oversized Penguin edition is the illustrations from Darwin and company of the natural history viewed by the traveler from the Beagle. It is also a useful summary, certainly of the five-year voyage, but of the before and after as well. Also, it's my first Moorehead, and I'm planning on reading more by him.

To sum up, this is a good Darwin for a general audience, not dated too much. You could wish for more indigenous points of view, but that was not the colonial encounter, well described here.

Recommended.

[Norm Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining and informative book. I would give it five stars if I hadn't recently read "Voyage of the Beagle," because a large portion of this book is just quotes from Voyage. Definitely some new insights into the interactions between Darwin and Captain Fitzroy, as well as excellent illustrations and paintings.

[Vivian Witkind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1969, this classic documents the voyage of Charles Darwin on H.M.S. Beagle in the early 1830s. I reread the section on the Galápagos Islands before a trip there and found it entrancing. The illustrations from contemporary sources are beautiful (see "Sailor with a Boathook for Turning over Tortoises," and so is the prose.

[Forrest Crock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book as a history of Charles Darwin. I have read other books about Darwin and have read the Origin of Species (which I loved), this book added some insight mainly on his travels on the HMS Beagle. It had plenty of great illustrations of the places he had been and the life he has seen. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about Charles Darwin. 😊

[Paul Gaglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would describe this book as being a brief overview of Darwin’s voyage and the origin of his theories on evolution. It is narrated in a clear concise and easy to understand way. It is beautifully illustrated which really makes the expedition come to life. I genuinely enjoyed this book

[Don Libes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surely a light version of the topic but this was just what I wanted. Lots of pictures enhanced the experience but the text was very good, too.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moorehead wrote about Darwin's life in an engaging way. The book is beautiful - photos, paintings...

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is a bit too “pop-history” for this crusty old relic, but the illustrations are superb.

[DEKE-Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo compré para regalarlo.Lo he dejado marcado con mil reflexiones en márgenes. Ojalá quién es ahora el dueño disfrute tanto como yo viajando en el Beagle con Charles Darwin.

[Derek Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Moorehead's typically pellucid prose carries you along from page to page. A delight!

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and problematique picturebook.

[JAMES · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book.

[Sedat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tamam

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Morehead recreates an adventure journal that reads live a novel. I found it to be highly engaging and rewarding.

[隻眼簽到 · Rating 3 out of 5]

本書是達爾文在小獵犬號近六年的生活簡介，適合對「人」感興趣的人看，尤其是圖片特多。書中，達爾文個性活潑，善良，書信常帶情感，對自然學家的研究工作充滿熱情。最欣賞書中講述赫胥黎在為達爾文辯護時說的：他寧願當猿猴的後代，也不願當那些「把文化及口才能力濫用為偏見和說謊工具的文明人」的後代。佩服！