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The Book That Changed America
The Book That Changed America
by Randall Fuller
Price: $27.00 (Hardcover)
MorePublished: January 24, 2017
Rating: 0.0/ 5 (0 votes cast)
From the Publisher: The compelling story of the effect of Charles
Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species on a diverse group of American
writers, abolitionists, and social reformers, including Henry David Thoreauand Bronson Alcott, in 1860 “A must-read for everyone interested in Civil-
War-era history.” – Publishers Weekly In early 1860, a single copy of
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was read and discussed by five
important American intellectuals who seized on the book’s assertion of acommon ancestry for all creatures as a powerful argument against slavery.The book first came into the hands of Harvard botanist Asa Gray, whowould lead the fight for the theory in America. Gray passed his heavilyannotated copy to the child welfare reformer Charles Loring Brace, who
saw value in natural selection’s premise that mankind was destined…
Rate This Book
Add To Wishlist
|Rate/Review Add To Bookshelf
Get This Book
Personalize / Add More ChoicesGo to your preferred retailer, click to choose a format and you' ll be taken directly to their site where
you can get this book.
What We Say
The lightning bolt, the Big Bang of modern science that was Charles Darwin's publication of "On The Origin Of Species" is
given its due in this engaging work of history, which might just as easily have been dubbed "The Book That Changed TheWorld." Like Pulitzer Prize winner Louis Menand's "The Metaphysical Club," Fuller uses the hook of Darwin's book to offer a
group portrait of American thinkers and writers. We implicitly understand the importance of the Theory of Evolution on
science, but Fuller awakens us again to its impact on all the sciences, not to mention philosophy, literature, politics,society at large and the ever-volatile issue of slavery. He shows how Darwin's ideas were immediately seized upon byShare This Book
About The Author
Randall Fuller
MoreRandall Fuller is the author of From
Battlefields Rising: How the Civil War
Transformed American Literature , which
won the Phi Beta Kappa’s Christian GaussAward for best literary criticism, andEmerson’s Ghosts: Literature, Politics, and
the Making of Americanists . He has …
Release Info
List Price: $27.00 (Hardcover)
Published: January 24, 2017
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 304
ISBN 10: 052542833X
ISBN 13: 9780525428336
abolitionists. Even though Darwin cautiously avoided discussing the theory's implications on the origins of people, it was
obvious to everyone where his ideas led and how they reinforced the common humanity of all people. Fine, but Fuller then
shows the dismay -- the buyer's remorse even -- of many ardent abolitionists as they wrestled with Darwin's work and how it
challenged and undercut their faith, seeming to relegate God to observer. Fuller shows this passionate turmoil cutting aswath far and wide. But its sting is especially felt by the group of Transcendentalists and their friends, people like Emersonand Thoreau and the Harvard botanist Asa Gray (Darwin's most able defender in the US). They wrestled with his ideas, fromthe influential thinker behind "Walden" right down to the talented young writer Louisa May Alcott, who was far readier than
her well-intentioned father to see Darwin's ideas to their logical conclusion. (She wrote about interracial romance in an
early novel.) Even those who fancied themselves scientists were confounded, for Darwin's approach in his book was the mostradical of all. Forever after, science would involve facts and data and theories that could be tested and proven, ideaswhich led to specific results (if this, then that), results that could and must be proven again and again -- and then all of itchecked independently by others. This was shockingly new. Philosophical musings, untestable speculations and appeals to
the Almighty have no place in science and Darwin is the reason such an obvious necessity won the day. Towards the end,
Fuller is juggling so many characters that he gets a little lost. We jump in time again and again, from well after the CivilWar to its beginnings, from one person's death to another person's signal event years earlier and so on. It's a tad muddled,but all resolves in a lovely image of Thoreau seeing the wide open possibilities, the horizon that Darwin drew everyone's eye
toward for the very first time, though it was always there. -- Michael Giltz
What Others Say
Advance Praise for The Book That Changed America
“A vibrant history of the reception of Charles Darwin’s ideas by American minds and spirits . . . Fuller creates arich tapestry of personalities and roiling ideas. In radiant prose, and with a sure eye for the telling detail, [he]
reveals the shattering impact of Darwin’s book on religious thought, scientific inquiry, and especially on debatesover slavery . . . A fresh, invigorating history of philosophical and political struggles.”
– Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“In this inventive work, which weaves two powerful events into a vibrant tapestry of antebellum intellectuallife, Fuller beautifully describes how the engagement by a group of Transcendentalists with Darwin’s newly
published On the Origin of Species deepened their commitment to the antislavery movement. . .Elegant writing
and an unusual approach to interpreting the time period make this a must-read for everyone interested in CivilWar-era history.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Charles Darwin's Origin of Species burst upon America at the same time that the nation was descending into…
More
What You Say
Filter by
No Reviews Found .....
about us |faq|advertise |privacy policy |newsletter |contact us ©2018, BookBuddha LLc. All Rights Reserved.
Home
Top Picks: All Books
The Book That Changed America
The Book That Changed America
by Randall Fuller
Price: $27.00 (Hardcover)
MorePublished: January 24, 2017
Rating: 0.0/ 5 (0 votes cast)
From the Publisher: The compelling story of the effect of Charles
Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species on a diverse group of American
writers, abolitionists, and social reformers, including Henry David Thoreauand Bronson Alcott, in 1860 “A must-read for everyone interested in Civil-
War-era history.” – Publishers Weekly In early 1860, a single copy of
Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was read and discussed by five
important American intellectuals who seized on the book’s assertion of acommon ancestry for all creatures as a powerful argument against slavery.The book first came into the hands of Harvard botanist Asa Gray, whowould lead the fight for the theory in America. Gray passed his heavilyannotated copy to the child welfare reformer Charles Loring Brace, who
saw value in natural selection’s premise that mankind was destined…
Rate This Book
Add To Wishlist
|Rate/Review Add To Bookshelf
Get This Book
Personalize / Add More ChoicesGo to your preferred retailer, click to choose a format and you' ll be taken directly to their site where
you can get this book.
What We Say
The lightning bolt, the Big Bang of modern science that was Charles Darwin's publication of "On The Origin Of Species" is
given its due in this engaging work of history, which might just as easily have been dubbed "The Book That Changed TheWorld." Like Pulitzer Prize winner Louis Menand's "The Metaphysical Club," Fuller uses the hook of Darwin's book to offer a
group portrait of American thinkers and writers. We implicitly understand the importance of the Theory of Evolution on
science, but Fuller awakens us again to its impact on all the sciences, not to mention philosophy, literature, politics,society at large and the ever-volatile issue of slavery. He shows how Darwin's ideas were immediately seized upon byShare This Book
About The Author
Randall Fuller
MoreRandall Fuller is the author of From
Battlefields Rising: How the Civil War
Transformed American Literature , which
won the Phi Beta Kappa’s Christian GaussAward for best literary criticism, andEmerson’s Ghosts: Literature, Politics, and
the Making of Americanists . He has …
Release Info
List Price: $27.00 (Hardcover)
Published: January 24, 2017
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 304
ISBN 10: 052542833X
ISBN 13: 9780525428336
abolitionists. Even though Darwin cautiously avoided discussing the theory's implications on the origins of people, it was
obvious to everyone where his ideas led and how they reinforced the common humanity of all people. Fine, but Fuller then
shows the dismay -- the buyer's remorse even -- of many ardent abolitionists as they wrestled with Darwin's work and how it
challenged and undercut their faith, seeming to relegate God to observer. Fuller shows this passionate turmoil cutting aswath far and wide. But its sting is especially felt by the group of Transcendentalists and their friends, people like Emersonand Thoreau and the Harvard botanist Asa Gray (Darwin's most able defender in the US). They wrestled with his ideas, fromthe influential thinker behind "Walden" right down to the talented young writer Louisa May Alcott, who was far readier than
her well-intentioned father to see Darwin's ideas to their logical conclusion. (She wrote about interracial romance in an
early novel.) Even those who fancied themselves scientists were confounded, for Darwin's approach in his book was the mostradical of all. Forever after, science would involve facts and data and theories that could be tested and proven, ideaswhich led to specific results (if this, then that), results that could and must be proven again and again -- and then all of itchecked independently by others. This was shockingly new. Philosophical musings, untestable speculations and appeals to
the Almighty have no place in science and Darwin is the reason such an obvious necessity won the day. Towards the end,
Fuller is juggling so many characters that he gets a little lost. We jump in time again and again, from well after the CivilWar to its beginnings, from one person's death to another person's signal event years earlier and so on. It's a tad muddled,but all resolves in a lovely image of Thoreau seeing the wide open possibilities, the horizon that Darwin drew everyone's eye
toward for the very first time, though it was always there. -- Michael Giltz
What Others Say
Advance Praise for The Book That Changed America
“A vibrant history of the reception of Charles Darwin’s ideas by American minds and spirits . . . Fuller creates arich tapestry of personalities and roiling ideas. In radiant prose, and with a sure eye for the telling detail, [he]
reveals the shattering impact of Darwin’s book on religious thought, scientific inquiry, and especially on debatesover slavery . . . A fresh, invigorating history of philosophical and political struggles.”
– Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“In this inventive work, which weaves two powerful events into a vibrant tapestry of antebellum intellectuallife, Fuller beautifully describes how the engagement by a group of Transcendentalists with Darwin’s newly
published On the Origin of Species deepened their commitment to the antislavery movement. . .Elegant writing
and an unusual approach to interpreting the time period make this a must-read for everyone interested in CivilWar-era history.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Charles Darwin's Origin of Species burst upon America at the same time that the nation was descending into…
More
What You Say
Filter by
No Reviews Found .....
about us |faq|advertise |privacy policy |newsletter |contact us ©2018, BookBuddha LLc. All Rights Reserved.