Darwin’S Sacred Cause

An arresting and deeply personal portrait that confront[s] the touchy subject of Darwin and race head on (The New York Times Book Review).

Its difficult to overstate the profound risk Charles Darwin took in publishing his theory of evolution. How and why would a quiet, respectable gentleman, a pillar of his parish, produce one of the most radical ideas in the history of human thought? Drawing on a wealth of manuscripts, family letters, diaries, and even ships logs, Adrian Desmond and James Moore have restored the moral missing link to the story of Charles Darwins historic achievement.

Nineteenth-century apologists for slavery argued that blacks and whites had originated as separate species, with whites created superior. Darwin, however, believed that the races belonged to the same human family. Slavery was therefore a sin, and abolishing it became Darwins sacred cause. His theory of evolution gave a common ancestor not only to all races, but to all biological life.

This masterful book restores the missing moral core of Darwins evolutionary universe, providing a completely new account of how he came to his shattering theories about human origins (Publishers Weekly, starred review). It will revolutionize your view of the great naturalist.

An illuminating new book.Smithsonian

Compelling… Desmond and Moore aptly describe Darwins interaction with some of the thorniest social and political issues of the day. Wired

This exciting book is sure to create a stir. Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University, and author ofCharles Darwin: Voyaging