On Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’

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Feb 8, 2017

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On Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’

Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” is known today as the foundational text of the theory of evolution.

Book cover.

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LONDON, United Kingdom: Reading glasses are held over the first printed edition of the book 'Origin of Species' (1859) by Charles Darwin at London's Natural History Musuem, 08 June 2006. The book was a gift from Charles Darwin to his collegue William Berhard Tegetmeier and forms part of the museum's 'Kohler Darwin Collection.' The collection is the largest and most comprehensive collection of books by and about Charles Darwin in the world, and is also the biggest purchase by the Natural History Museum. AFP PHOTO/SHAUN CURRY (Photo credit should read SHAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty Images)

Reading glasses are held over the first printed edition of the book 'Origin of Species' (1859) by Charles Darwin at London's Natural History Musuem, 08 June 2006.

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AFP/AFP/Getty Images

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Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” is known today as the foundational text of the theory of evolution.

Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” is known today as the foundational text of the theory of evolution.

But it was read very different when the book first came out in 1960. In “The Book That Changed America: How Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation,” writer Randall Fuller looks at the book’s historical context, and how it was first received.

Guest:

Randall Fuller, a professor of English at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. He is the author of many books, including his latest, “The Book That Changed America” (Viking, 2017)

Credits