Charles Darwin s foremost biographer, Janet Browne, delivers a vivid and accessible introduction to the book that permanently altered our understanding of what it is to be human. A sensation on its publication in 1859, "The Origin of the Species "profoundly shocked Victorian readers by calling into question the belief in a Creator with its description of evolution through natural selection. And Darwin s seminal work is nearly as controversial today. In her illuminating study, Browne delves into the long genesis of Darwin s theories, from his readings as a university student and his five-year...