Charles Darwin

October 1, 2017
The prolific novelist and biographer probes the character and controversies of Charles Darwin's life and the controversial theory that turned the world on its head.Wilson (The Queen, 2017, etc.) writes that Victorian England, deep into the Industrial Revolution, "was ready for a theory of nature which revealed everything in existence to be in a state of becoming, rather than fixed arrival." Born into an upper-class family, Darwin followed in the footsteps of his father and attended medical school. However, he was more intrigued by the natural world than human bodies, and when he was given the opportunity to join an exploratory voyage, he took it. The huge collection of natural specimens that Darwin amassed on this five-year voyage was, in Wilson's eyes, his greatest achievement. After settling down to a quiet country life with his family, Darwin formulated the theory of evolution that he would lay out in On the Origin of Species and further develop in The Descent of Man. Wilson thoroughly analyzes the various facets of Darwin's life for influences both conscious and unconscious. While Darwin is usually credited with the theory of evolution, another scientist, Alfred Russel Wallace, actually came up with the theory at the same time. Both found inspiration from a tract about human population by Thomas Malthus. While most of us now take evolution as a given, there were plenty of questions left open, some of which Darwin himself recognized. The study of genetics has answered some of these questions, but the idea of evolution as the "survival of the fittest" continues to be challenged. Integrating a wealth of biographical details with in-depth discussions of the criticisms and arguments around Darwinism, Wilson helps readers understand how Darwin was an almost inevitable product of his times. As he writes, "the idea...that he alone was responsible for the scales falling from the eyes of the human race is a piece of mythology."An illuminating new biography of a legendary figure in the scientific world whose legacy continues to draw reappraisals.

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October 9, 2017
British biographer and novelist Wilson (The Victorians) makes two important claims as he opens this iconoclastic biography: “Darwin was wrong” and “I am not a scientist.” Though Wilson works hard to prove Darwin wrong, his lack of science background and factual errors derail his main thesis. Wilson draws heavily on Michael Denton’s 1985 book, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, but omits that this creationist text has been widely debunked. Wilson also makes some shocking claims that would surprise virtually all active biologists: “Mendel’s theory ,” he writes,” is really lethal to Darwinism,” and molecular genetics was “able to demonstrate the inadequacy of Darwinism as an explanation for the evolutionary process.” Other assertions are so inaccurate that they can’t be attributed to his lack of a science background. For example, Wilson concludes that a 1954 paper by Australian zoologists supports Lamarck’s theory of evolution when the actual paper explicitly states otherwise. Wilson describes Darwin as unwilling to acknowledge his predecessors, yet Darwin did exactly this in the American edition of On the Origin of Species. Darwin is portrayed as a hypochondriac filled with a “towering ambition” who deserved to become “the hero of pigeon-fanciers” rather than the “torch-bearer of the modern branches of life-sciences.” The book’s many errors make it hard to take seriously. Agent: Anna Stein, Aitken Alexander Associates.

December 1, 2017

Historian and biographer Wilson (Victoria) is known for alternative readings on his subjects, and his latest work takes this to an extreme. From the opening sentence, "Darwin was wrong," Wilson builds a case for his subject (1809-82) as a self-promoter who cobbled together "his" theory of evolution from the ideas of others--including Darwin's own grandfather--without due credit. Wilson's claim that Darwin handpicked facts to fit preconceptions is also this book's shortcoming, confusing Darwin's building on previous theories with plagiarism and his reluctance to engage in theology with evasiveness. There are ad hominem swipes: Darwin is weak-willed, a hypochondriac, a habitual liar. And while Wilson doesn't quite blame Darwin for contemporary eugenics, he does implicate "the Darwin brand." He allows that Darwin readily admitted inconsistencies in what was, after all, always labeled a theory, but such acknowledgments are buried deep in the text. Wilson's prose is lively, with extensive research offering a useful road map of the era's emergent science. But his contentious reappraisal of the theory gets lost in its relentless criticism of the man. VERDICT This could round out a strong collection of Darwin material but should be well balanced by more straightforward works.--Lisa Peet, Library Journal

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2017
Late Victorian Edward Aveling (author of Darwin Made Easy) thought Britain's most famous biologist looked very like the revolutionary political theorist Karl Marx. In this probing biography, Wilson argues that Darwin did indeed resemble Marx: like Marx, he gave the world an immense Theory of Everything. Though Darwin's all-encompassing theory is now widely regarded as paradigmatic science, Wilson provocatively considers it a quasi-religious credolike Marx and Engels' The Communist Manifestoultimately doing more to shape political attitudes than to advance scientific understanding. Retracing the path Darwin followed in formulating his theory, Wilson shows readers how Darwin acquired the concept of evolution from predecessors such as Erasmus Darwin (Charles' grandfather)and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, adding as his distinctive contribution an explanation of how natural selection drives the evolutionary dynamic. But Wilson subjects that explanation to a withering critique: not only do Darwin's principles fail to account for sudden leaps in evolutionary histories, but these principles also enthrone competitive strife as the driving force in biological progress. Derived from Malthusian economics, not biological science, Darwin's belief in evolutionary winnowing through brutal conflict offered smug Victorians a pseudoscientific justification for callously pursuing self-interest. Though he acknowledges Darwin's own innocuous character, Wilson limns a troubling link between his flawed theory and Hitler's murderous dogmas. Sure to spark debate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)