The Book That Changed America

How Darwin's Theory of Evolution Ignited a Nation

By: Randall Fuller

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

A compelling portrait of a unique moment in American history when the ideas of Charles Darwin reshaped American notions about nature, religion, science and race

“A lively and informative history.” – The New York Times Book Review

Throughout its history America has been torn in two by debates over ideals and beliefs. Randall Fuller takes us back to one of those turning points, in 1860, with the story of the influence of Charles Darwin’s just-published On the Origin of Species on five American intellectuals, including Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, the child welfare reformer Charles Loring Brace, and the abolitionist Franklin Sanborn.

Each of these figures seized on the book’s assertion of a common ancestry for all creatures as a powerful argument against slavery, one that helped provide scientific credibility to the cause of abolition. Darwin’s depiction of constant struggle and endless competition described America on the brink of civil war. But some had difficulty aligning the new theory to their religious convictions and their faith in a higher power. Thoreau, perhaps the most profoundly affected all, absorbed Darwin’s views into his mysterious final work on species migration and the interconnectedness of all living things.

Creating a rich tableau of nineteenth-century American intellectual culture, as well as providing a fascinating biography of perhaps the single most important idea of that time, The Book That Changed America is also an account of issues and concerns still with us today, including racism and the enduring conflict between science and religion.

Oversold

This is a incisive study of Darwin's effect on the intellectual and philosophical worlds of Boston and Concord, MA. The discussions of how Darwin affected Thoreau were particularly interesting.

The argument, however, that The Origin of Species changed America on the eve of its greatest crisis, one that had been building for at least as long as the country had existed, is simply unsupported.

Wonderful story! Leaving the hearer to ones own understanding!

A wonderful description of men and women who genuinely love science and knowledge and their struggle to understand the world in which they lived.

The narrator has a loud, clear voice that is easy to follow and does very well at divulging the emotions of the characters through his tone which made it fun to listen to.

No matter your walk of life, this book is for you!

An interesting look at the widespread influence of Darwin’s work.

The narrator’s voice…the ends of many words just dropped off so we could not understand him.