English naturalist Charles Darwin is among one of the most influential figures in the history of science. Inspired by evidence that he collected during his expedition on the 'HMS Beagle' and his research regarding selective breeding, Darwin theorized that all species descended from a common ancestor. In his groundbreaking work of evolutionary biology, "On the Origin of Species," he details the scientific theory of evolution, which posits that species...

"For nearly five years, from Dec. 27, 1831, until Oct. 2, 1836, I served as naturalist aboard the H.M.S. Beagle, exploring. During that voyage I was much amazed by how the various types of organisms were distributed around South America, and how the animals and plants presently living on that continent are related to those found only as fossils in the geological record elsewhere. These facts, as will be seen in later chapters, seemed to me to throw...

"Gould is a natural writer; he has something to say and the inclination and skill with which to say it." -P. B. Medawar, New York Review of Books With sales of well over one million copies in North America alone, the commercial success of Gould's books now matches their critical acclaim. The Panda's Thumb will introduce a new generation to this unique writer, who has taken the art of the scientific essay to new heights. Were dinosaurs really dumber...

Extending the human life-span past 120 years. The "green" revolution. Evolution and human psychology. These subjects make today's newspaper headlines. Yet much of the science underlying these topics stems from a book published nearly 140 years ago--Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. Far from an antique idea restricted to the nineteenth century, the theory of evolution is one of the most potent concepts in all of modern science. In Darwin's...