DARWIN"S OWN WORDS

 
Published: Thursday 31 July 2008

http://www.darwin-online.org.uk

This site under review contains at least one exemplar of all known Charles Darwin's publications. The University of Cambridge-run site contains over 54,000 pages of searchable text and 155,000 electronic images. The site derives a lot from R B Freeman's pioneering work The works of Charles Darwin: an annotated bibliographical handlist

But it also has, in addition, many unpublished transcriptions, such as the field notebook used on the Galapagos islands or his Beagle animal notes. Searches can be limited by name, date and title. There is also a powerful battery of advanced search options. The evolutionist's works are also provided in pdf format for downloading and printing.

The site carries Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian and Russian translations of Darwin's works. More translations are promised. The authors of the site also say that, "New items are still being discovered and added to the site as well as further editions and translations when copies of the originals become available". These and other newly added materials are listed on the 'what's new' page--the site is updated almost daily.

Also on the anvil are new editorial introductions to help readers understand Darwin's work and context.

Subscribe to Daily Newsletter :

Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.