More Darwin, Yes!

Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species: a Graphic Adaptation
Michael Keller, illus. by Nicolle Rager Fuller
New York: Rodale, 2009.
192 p.

I think I fell for Darwin after reading his Voyage of the Beagle about 15 years ago. (BTW, it's a great adventure read.) That prompted me to read several biographies of Darwin, and these only improved my admiration for him. He was a ridiculously rigorous scientist and a very humane person. I remember being especially impressed by his rather progressive attitudes toward parenting and by his generous decision to share the discovery of natural selection with Alfred Wallace - even though Darwin had arrived at his theory (though unpublished) many years before Wallace. Finally - which brings me to the book I'm highlighting here - I tried (but failed) to read all of Darwin's Origin of Species. Well, let's just say that it is not an easy read - it's labored and technical at times; after all Darwin, was trying to cross all his t's and dot all his i's - knowing how controversial his theory would be. So it was with interest that I found this "graphic novel" adaptation of the Origin of Species.

I'd recommend this book with a few qualifications. The book is an excellent introduction to Darwin's theory of natural selection. I especially appreciate how it follows the organizing structure of Darwin's work and distills its main points of evidence and argument in a clear and understandable way. The book is also colorfully illustrated and lovely to look at (that's why I've included a picture of its cover). My only complaints are that it is nearly impossible to tell what are exact quotes from the Origin of Species, quotes from Darwin's letters, or the authors own retelling. I would have appreciated some kind of key to this such as all excerpts from the letters in quotes, while excerpts from Origin in italics, or some such format. At times it was also a little confusing to tell what findings were modern contributions vs. those contemporaneous with Darwin. These complaints aside, this book is a wonderful contribution to popularizing Darwin's stunning discoveries and insights.