Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution is a nonfiction history of science book by British author Rebecca Stott. It was published in the United States in 2012 by Spiegel & Grau, the international version is subtitled differently: Darwin's Ghosts: In Search of the First Evolutionists. It is written in 12 distinct chapters that highlight persons that contributed to the pre-history of evolution by natural selection, published by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species in 1859. The book contains biographical sketches of 12 persons spanning from 344 BC to 19th century contemporaries of Darwin.
The book has received reviews from notable reviewers and was included on the New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books 2012 list.
Synopsis Tho focus of each chapter is summarized in the table below. +Chapter NumberTitleBibliographic FocusTimeLocation1Darwin's ListCharles Darwin1859Kent2Aristolte's EyesAristotle344 BCELesbos3The Worshipful Curiosity of JahizAl-Jahiz850 Basra & Baghdad4Leonardo and the PotterLeonardo da Vinci Bernard Palissy1493 1570Milan Paris5Trembley's PolypAbraham Trembley1740The Hague6The Consul of CairoBenoît de Maillet1708Cairo7The Hotel of the PhilosophersDenis Diderot1749Paris8Erasmus UndergroundErasmus Darwin1767Derbyshire9The Jardin des PlantesGeoffroy Saint-Hilaire1800Paris10The Sponge PhilosopherRobert Edmond Grant1826Edinburgh11The EncyclopedistRobert Chambers1844Edinburgh12Alfred Wallace's Fevered DreamAlfred Russel Wallace1858Malay Archipelago
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