Keith Francis' "Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species" is part of an interesting series published by Greenwood Press. The "Series Foreword" states that vii): "This series, Greenwood Guides to Historic Events, 1500-1900, is designed to illumionate that path by focusing on events from 1500 to 1900 that have shaped the world." The series is designed for advanced high school and lower level college students. It would also be of interest to those in the larger public who are curious about major figures/events from 1500-1900.

And a work on Darwin certainly would fit into such a series. The Preface says that (xii): "Charles Darwin is one of the great minds of the last five hundred years because his work transformed the way humans think about themselves."

As with other books in the series, several themes are discussed. The introductory chapter examines the impact of Darwin's work. The second chapter explores Darwin's life, from birth to death (albeit briefly). Chapter three looks at his major book, "The Origin of Species," the work itself and its background (including those who had laid the groundwork for Darwin's theory, with his emphasis on natural selection as the mechanism driving evolutionary change). Chapter 4 has a nice discussion of the reception of Darwin's work from 1859 through 1920, followed by a chapter titled "Darwin, Darwinism, and Evolution in the Twentieth Century." Fianlly, a concluding chapter rflects on Darwin and his legacy.

Other useful features of this volume are brief biographical sketches of people important to Darwin and Darwinian theory, key documents related to Darwin and his works,a glossary, and an annotated bibliography.

This is not a detailed work; it is not a sophisticated work. However, for those who want a "quick and dirty" introduction to Darwin's work, this is not a bad place to start.

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