Charles Darwin, his life and works, are well documented by both Darwin himself and by others. In All Things Darwin, Patrick H. Armstrong has tried to “highlight those parts of Darwin's life and work that, in my opinion, have captured the imagination”. Hence this encyclopedia is not an exhaustive account of Darwin's life but rather an, at times eclectic, assortment of entries, which help to create a picture of the man himself, the times in which he lived and the factors that contributed to his theory of evolution.
All Things Darwin is divided into two volumes. With over 180 entries, this work encompasses a wide range of topics including Darwin's family, predecessors, contemporaries and modern Darwinians as well as Darwin's travels, writings, concepts and ideas. Also included are related topics such as organisms, institutions, and geology. Included in Volume Two is an appendix with extracts from key passages of Darwin's works and a bibliography.
The main bulk of the work is given over to the encyclopedia entries themselves. As Armstrong himself admits, the selection of entries is subjective and indeed sometimes curious. For example, some entries, such as that of Archaeopteryx or the evolution of the horse, bear little or no direct link to Darwin but rather are included to explain Darwin's theory of evolution. Hence not only do the entries offer a glimpse or snapshot of Darwin's life, but also of the times in which he lived and his theories.
Short quotes from Darwin's works are included in many entries and help the reader to form a fuller picture of the man himself. Perhaps most surprising is the detached curiosity evident in some of Darwin's descriptions of the creatures he studied. One such example is his description of a logger‐headed duck as “remarkably strong (my big geological hammer can hardly break it)” and later that “they can dive but little, are very tenacious to life, so as to be (as all our sportsmen have experienced) very difficult to kill”. This is in contrast elsewhere with Darwin's often anthropomorphic descriptions of organisms. Armstrong notes that Darwin typified the Victorian era. Hence this detachment and style may be as much a product of the time in which he lived as a trait of Darwin himself. The fact that such insight can be gleaned from individual entries is testament to Armstrong's familiarity and command of the available material.
Many entries focus on the people in Darwin's life, notably relatives and key figures in evolutionary theory. Other entries include institutions and buildings inspired by or named after Darwin. The relevance of some of these entries is unclear and the work would not have suffered from their omission.
In conclusion, All Things Darwin lives up to its name in as much as the space allows. The appendix includes extracts of key passages from Darwin's works and is a welcome addition to the volume, giving the reader a chance to hear Darwin's own voice. These and other works cited are listed in the bibliography which provides a useful starting point for those wishing to read further. At £85 it is reasonably priced and will be of value to both the Darwin enthusiast as well as to those keen to learn more about Darwin but lacking the time to read his works.
