Other editions of book The Origin of Species

The Origin of Species sold out on the first day of its publication in 1859. It is the major book of the nineteenth century and one of the most readable and accessible of the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination. Though, in fact, little read, most people know what it says—at least they think they do. This was the first mature and persuasive work to explain how species change through the process of natural selection. Upon its publication, the book began to transform attitudes about society and religion and was soon used to justify the philosophies of communists, socialists, capitalists, and even Germanys National Socialists. But the most quoted response came from Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwins friend and also a renowned naturalist, who exclaimed, “How extremely stupid not to have thought of that!”

Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from a common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. He published his theory with compelling evidence for evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. For the sixth edition of 1872, the short title was changed to The Origin of Species.

Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species (publ. 1859) is a pivotal work in scientific literature and arguably the pivotal work in evolutionary biology. The book’s full title is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. It introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It was controversial because it contradicted religious beliefs which underlay the then current theories of biology. Darwin’s book was the culmination of evidence he had accumulated on the voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s and added to through continuing investigations and experiments since his return.

It was sold out on its first day of publication in 1859. It is the major book of the last century and remains the most readable and accessible of all the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination. It beguiled then and still does today. Darwin's aim was to show the probability that every species is a development from previous species, which implied that man evolved from earlier and different forms of life. Darwin concluded that there exists a "natural selection" of favorable variations, which in the course of years succeeds in producing a variety of living things through this process of evolution. Darwin, like Freud after him, transformed the way people thought about God, the world around them, other people and themselves.

Pp. xxi, 458; 1 folding chart. Publisher's original forest green cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and stamped in blind on the front and rear covers, sm 8vo. Freeman 416, 28th thousand. This is the definitive edition of the 'Origin of Species.' This is the sixth and last edition with additions and corrections to 1872. No ownership marks and no signs of use.

An immensely readable and informative work of scientific literature, The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin was originally published on 24 November 1859. Darwin's work is the foundation of evolutionary biology. This book introduces the scientific theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It presents evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. In The Origin of Species, Darwin includes evidence that was gathered on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s and his subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation. This excellent edition of Charles Darwin's masterpiece is printed on high quality paper with a beautiful, durable cover. It is a valuable resource for all scientists and scholars.