Author:Charles Darwin,Karl Marx,Friedrich Engels
To mark the publication of Stop What You're Doing and Read This!, a collection of essays celebrating reading, Vintage Classics are releasing 12 limited edition themed ebook 'bundles', to tempt readers to discover and rediscover great books.
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES & THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE
INTRODUCED BY DARWIN'S GREAT GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER RUTH PADEL
When the eminent naturalist Charles Darwin returned from South America on board the H.M.S Beagle in 1836, he brought with him the notes and evidence which would form the basis of his landmark theory of evolution of species by a process of natural selection. This theory, published as The Origin of Species in 1859, is the basis of modern biology and the concept of biodiversity. It also sparked a fierce scientific, religious and philosophical debate which still continues today.
THE COMMUNISTY MANIFESTO
INTRODUCED BY DAVID AARONOVITCH
The Communist Manifesto was first published in London, by two young men in their late twenties, in 1848. Its impact reverberated across the globe and throughout the next century, and it has come to be recognised as one of the most important political texts ever written. Maintaining that the history of all societies is a history of class struggle, the manifesto proclaims that communism is the only route to equality, and is a call to action aimed at the proletariat. It is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand our modern political landscape.
Why does Darwin's theory matter now? Because it is the basis of modern biology and much medical research; it provides a tool with which to understand the natural world; it offers a deeper, if imperfect, understanding of our behaviour, about where we came from and where we might be going
—— ObserverTHE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO - As a force for change, its influence has been surpassed only by the Bible. As a piece of writing, it is a masterpiece
—— GuardianJim Endersby has come up with a fresh and rewarding approach. He illuminates the story of our understanding of life since 1800... easily readable account of the remarkable progress biologists have made over the past two centuries.
—— Sunday TelegraphA highly entertaining and original book...Endersby provides a new perspective on the history of genetics.
—— Sunday TimesWith an enviable lightness of touch, Endersby weaves his scientific threads into a much broader tapestry of cultural history...[an] accessible and engaging account to find out how we got here.
—— The GuardianA must for anyone even remotely thinking of getting a monkey, a sea lion, or, heaven forbid, a dog
—— David SedarisA fresh, strange, and wonderful new voice in nature writing
—— Michael PollanA lovely little book. After all we've done to them it's great to see the animals getting their own back
—— Tony Fitzjohn, author of Born WildI wolfed it down
—— Will Self on The Red HourglassFirst-rate, unsentimental writing about nature and about the ways that human beings try to cope with the most terrible cruelties that nature offers up
—— The New York TimesElegant and wryly funny
—— EsquireThe most polymathic science writer of our time
—— Peter Forbes , Independent, Books of the YearAn engaging and lively account of an endlessly curious man
—— IndependentA fascinating window into the complex emergent urban future. This book is an extremely sophisticated, often devastatingly witty and ironic, interpretation of what is possible over the next two decades
—— Saskia Sassen (author of TERRITORY, AUTHORITY, RIGHTS)Throw out your old atlas. The new version is here
—— Walter Kirn (author of UP IN THE AIR)Kasarda ... and Lindsay convincingly put the airport at the centre of modern urban life
—— EconomistHighly recommended
—— Library Journal