The Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life & The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex (The Modern Library of the World's Best Books) (Modern Library Giants G27)

xvi, 1000 pp. 8vo. The Origin of Species includes an historical sketch, introduction, full text, a glossary of scientific terms, and an index. The Descent of Man includes introduction, full text, supplemental note, and index. The Origin of Species is Darwin's most important and respected work, and The Descent of Man is a close second, also notable as the first work in which Darwin used the word 'evolution'. "Easily the most influential book published in the nineteenth century, Darwin’s The Origin of Species is also that most unusual phenomenon, an altogether readable discussion of a scientific subject. On its appearance in 1859 it was immediately recognized by enthusiasts and detractors alike as a work of the greatest importance: its revolutionary theory of evolution by means of natural selection provoked a furious reaction that continues to this day." "In The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin refused to discuss human evolution, believing the subject too 'surrounded with prejudices.' He had been reworking his notes since the 1830s, but only with trepidation did he finally publish The Descent of Man in 1871. The book notoriously put apes in our family tree and made the races one family, diversified by 'sexual selection' Darwin’s provocative theory that female choice among competing males leads to diverging racial characteristics. Though less well known than The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man continues to shape the way we think about what it is that makes us uniquely human."