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    Cover of The Voyage of the Beagle

    The Voyage of the Beagle

    Charles Darwin · 2008

    s/t: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches When the Beaglesailed out of Devonport on 27 December 1831, Charles Darwin was twenty-two and setting off on the voyage of a lifetime. It was to last five years and transform him from an amiable and somewhat aimless young man into a scientific celebrity. Even more vitally, it was to set in motion the intellectual currents that culminated in the arrival of The Origin of Speciesin Victorian drawing-rooms in 1859. His journal, reprinted here in a shortened version, is vivid and immediate, showing us a naturalist making patient observations, above all in geology. As well as a profusion of natural history detail, it records many other things that caught Darwin's eye, from civil war in Argentina to the new colonial settlements of Australia. The editors have provided an excellent introduction and notes for this Penguin Classics edition, which also contains maps and appendices, including an essay on scientific geology and the Bible by Robert FitzRoy, Darwin's friend and captain of the Beagle.

    Biology & MedicineFood, Travel & Lifestyle
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    7recommend
    21mentions
    18people
    2008–2026years
    38% recommend62% neutral

    Mentions per year

    2008201020122014201620182020202220242026

    What Hacker News says

    1. yelling_catAug 2023
      The Voyage of the Beagle is a fun read, with many little asides about what the animals Darwin ate tasted like. Puma meat was one he called out as particularly delicious and remarkably like veal.
      thread
    2. blululuOct 2021
      I would highly recommend reading Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle. It is one of the finest examples of travel literature and natural history in one text. It is also worth noting that the Galapagos play a relatively minor role in the book and are in many ways one of the more minor chapters. At the closing summary, while reflecting upon the voyage it does not even receive mention among the most notable places on the journey.
      thread
    3. BalgairMar 2021
      Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle[0] is also a great travel read. His style is much more scientific. But that eye for rationalism often leads to very good observations about the places he visited

      Dana's Two Years Before the Mast[1] is another good voyage book. Dana is a recent Harvard grad that makes his way out round Cape Horn to California in last days of the Ranchero era. Any SV people will recognize the place names, but not the places, so to speak. His young, but refined, voice is very special on a long distance fur trading ship.

      [0] http://www.myharvardclassics.com/downloads/20120213_14/downl... Free here

      [1] http://www.myharvardclassics.com/downloads/20120213_8/downlo... Also free here

      thread
    4. veddoxJun 2020
      Darwin "The Voyage of the Beagle"

      Homer "The Odyssey"

      thread
    5. arethuzaSep 2019
      The Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin is a great read - its an account of his adventures (no other word) on the Beagle.
      thread
    6. ImaCakeSep 2019
      I am unapologetic about my embracing of digital reading. I read a lot of history books and find that access to wikipedia and google earth enhance the experience. Not only can I enjoy the book, but I can enrich the experience by taking up extra context from easily available online sources.

      If you haven't tried it, pick up the ebook of "Voyage of the Beagle" and trace Darwin's travels with google earth and wiki. I assure you that the time you spend "distracted" looking at pictures of Patagonia will be a great time.

      thread

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