Folio Books: The Portable Darwin

The Portable Darwin

by Charles Darwin

Edited, with an Introduction, Notes and Epilogue by Duncan M. Porter and Peter W. Graham

Penguin Books, 1993; 561 pages, paperback.

The Portable Darwin consists of lengthy excerpts from Darwin's books and papers -- The Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, his book on worms, papers, letters, much more. Darwin's stately, measured writing is clear and readable, the train of thought advancing sentence by sentence, building theory upon carefully observed fact. An education in itself and a great companion; also a good way to decide if any of Darwin's other books are your cup of tea (see below for a full reprint of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.) Would be a welcome gift for a naturalist or a biologist, or anyone with a lively interest in evolution and natural history.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin. A complete reprint of a Darwin classic; a chapter or two is reprinted in The Portable Darwin above. Still valuable to research psychiatrists and psychologists. This reprint is many years old; at last check it was out of print again.

M.A., 4 March 1997