Darwin's "On the Origin of Species"

A Modern Rendition

By: Daniel Duzdevich

Narrated by: James Romick

Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Charles Darwin's most famous book On the Origin of Species is without question, one of the most important books ever written. While even the grandest works of Victorian English can prove difficult to modern readers, Darwin wrote his text in haste and under intense pressure.

For an era in which Darwin is more talked about than read, Daniel Duzdevich offers a clear, modern English rendering of Darwin's first edition. Neither an abridgement nor a summary, this version might best be described as a "translation" for contemporary English listeners. A monument to reasoned insight, the Origin illustrates the value of extensive reflection, carefully gathered evidence, and sound scientific reasoning.

By removing the linguistic barriers to understanding and appreciating the Origin, this edition aims to bring 21st-century listeners into closer contact with Darwin's revolutionary ideas.

©2014 Daniel Duzdevich (P)2014 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic Reviews

"This book may be a first for a scientific work, where an attempt is made to translate a text almost line-by-line and preserve each point in the original. Duzdevich has done a nice job indeed. Even for those who have read the Origin many times, this retelling has the ability to change one's focus, so to speak, and in so doing reinvigorate elements of the original text." (James T. Costa, author of The Annotated Origin)

Great Reading of a Very Important Work

Only a few points worth mentioning.

Firstly, I found the narrator's breathing to be somewhat distracting when I was in a quiet environment.

Secondly, the Foreword of the book mentions that some now superfluous words are omitted, and replaced with modernized terms. Though the foreword neglected to mention the use of the word "genetics" and it's qualifiers. I found this to be important because that term was not coined for almost a century after this work.

This is a fantastic piece of literature, and I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I was quite pleased to find an unabridged version of it's reading.

Great update to make reading easier

keeps the spirit of the original text w some wording updates that makes it much easier to read than the original text.