The Beagle Letters
By Janet Browne
2008
First Published
4.36
Average Rating
534
Number of Pages
Charles Darwin s voyage on the HMS Beagle is a gripping adventure story, and a turning point in the making of the modern world. Brought together here in chronological order, the letters he wrote and received during his trip provide a first-hand account of a voyage of discovery that was as much personal as intellectual. We follow Darwin s adventures as he prepares for his travels, lands on his first tropical island, watches an earthquake level a city, and learns how to catch ostriches from a running horse. We witness slavery, political revolution, and epidemic disease, and share the otherworldly experience of landing on the Galapagos Islands and collecting specimens. His letters are counterpoised by replies from family and friends that record a comfortable, intimate world back in England. Original watercolors by the ship s artist Conrad Martens vividly bring to life Darwin s descriptions of his travels.
Avg Rating
4.36
Number of Ratings
22
5 STARS
50%
4 STARS
36%
3 STARS
14%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
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Author
Janet Browne
Author · 6 books
Elizabeth Janet Browne (née Bell, born 30 March 1950) is a British historian of science, known especially for her work on the history of 19th century biology. She taught at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University College, London, before returning to Harvard. She is currently Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University
