Publisher, Audio Partners (July 2006)

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"Quammen writes with effortless control over his material and a silent passion" — Los Angeles Times

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin is a book for everyone who has ever wondered about who this man was and what he said. Drawing from Darwin's secret notebooks and personal letters, David Quammen has sketched a vivid life portrait of the man whose work never ceases to be controversial. In September 1838, a young Englishman named Charles Darwin hit upon the idea that "natural selection" among competing individuals would lead to wondrous adaptations and species diversity. Twenty-one years passed between that epiphany and publication of On the Origin of Species. Hear how the cautious naturalist gained enough confidence and evidence to publish a book that would displace humankind from its privileged position as a special creation, and spark an intellectual revolution.

About the Author: David Quammen, the author of The Song of the Dodo, is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award, most recently for a National Geographic story on Darwin. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.

About the Narrator: Grover Gardner is an actor, director, and award-winning narrator named one of the "Best Voices of the Century" by AudioFile. He was also named Narrator of the Year for 2005 by Publishers Weekly.