The most accessible edition ever published of Darwins incendiary classic, edited by as fine a science essayist as we have (New York Times)
The Descent of Man, Darwins second landmark work on evolutionary theory (following The Origin of the Species), marked a turning point in the history of science with its modern vision of human nature as the product of evolution. Darwin argued that the noblest features of humans, such as language and morality, were the result of the same natural processes that produced iris petals and scorpion tails.
To convey the revolutionary importance of this groundbreaking book, renowned evolutionary science writer Carl Zimmer edited this special abridged editionmade up of nine excerpts, each one representing one of Darwins major themesand wrote illuminating introductions to each section, as well as an overall introduction. Zimmer brilliantly places Darwins basic ideas in the context of the current understanding of human nature and twenty-first-century DNA research. By accessibly presenting Darwins thinking to a modern readership, Zimmer eloquently demonstrates Darwins ever-increasing relevance and amazing scientific insight.
