The publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species in 1859 marked a dramatic turning point in scientific thought. The volume had taken Darwin more than twenty years to publish, in part because he envisioned the storm of controversy it was certain to unleash. Indeed, selling out its first edition on its first day, The Origin of Species revolutionized science, philosophy, and theology.

The publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species in 1859 marked a dramatic turning point in scientific thought. The volume had taken Darwin more than twenty years to publish, in part because he envisioned the storm of controversy it was certain to unleash. Indeed, selling out its first edition on its first day, The Origin of Species revolutionized science, philosophy, and theology.

Darwin's reasoned, documented arguments carefully advance his theory of natural selection and his assertion that species were not created all at once by a divine hand but started with a few simple forms that mutated and adapted over time. Whether commenting on his own poor health, discussing his experiments to test instinct in bees, or relating a conversation about a South American burrowing rodent, Darwin's monumental achievement is surprisingly personal and delightfully readable. Its profound ideas remain controversial even today, making it the most influential book in the natural sciences ever written--an important work not just to its time but to the history of humankind.

Introduction.

CHAFFER ONE

Variation Under Domestication

CHAPTERTWO

Variation Under Nature

CHAPTER THREE

Struggle for Existence

CHAPTER FOUR

Natural Selection

CHAPTER FIVE

Laws of Variation

CHAPTER SIX

Difficulties on Theory

CHAPTER SEVEN

Instinct

CHAPTER EIGHT

Hybridism

CHAPTER N1NE

On the Imperfection of the Geological Record

CHAPTER TEN

On the Geological Succession of Organic Beings

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Geographical Distribution

CHAPTER TWELVE

Geographical Distribution continued

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Mutual Affinities of Organic Beings: Morphology: Embryology: Rudimentary Organs

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Recapitulation and Conclusion

Glossary