Tom Chaffin is the author of, among other books, Revolutionary Brothers; Giant's Causeway; Sea of Gray; and Pathfinder. His writings have also appeared in the New York Times, the Oxford American, Time, Harper's, and other publications. He lives in Atlanta.
Tom Chaffin lays out in spectacular detail and verve Darwin's voyage, crisply painting vibrant scenes of his many companions and--occasionally dangerous--encounters. . . . Bristling with tales and facts that whet the appetite for more, Odyssey: Young Charles Darwin, the Beagle, and the Voyage that Changed the World is an achievement one suspects Chaffin could only have pulled off by mastering time travel to stow aboard the Beagle himself. --Douglas C. Braaten, the New York Academy of Sciences Chief Scientific Officer Tom Chaffin's Odyssey is a masterpiece. While focused on Darwin's Beagle travels, this lively and detailed, tightly-woven narrative also provides a splendid overview of the great Victorian naturalist's life. Published and unpublished contemporary writings by Darwin and others, as well as up-to-date scholarship, lend colour to depicted events. All the while, the flesh-and-blood Darwin comes shining through. --Patrick Armstrong, Adjunct Professor of Geography at the University of Western Australia, and author of Darwin's Other Islands, Darwin's Luck, and All Things Darwin In Odyssey, Tom Chaffin presents a crisp and colorful narrative of Charles Darwin's seminal voyage on the HMS Beagle, frequently and advantageously animated by Darwin's own words. It is a vivid and insightful account of Darwin's experiences and observations leading to his world-shattering theory of natural selection. --Rob Wesson, author of DARWIN'S FIRST THEORY One might think that, by now, the 'Darwin industry' had exhausted its material and, as has been suggested, studied every laundry list... with paralyzing diligence for some extra insight into the character of the great man . It turns out that there remains space for fresh perspectives on the life of one of the most important scientists in history. Chaffin's narrative of Darwin's Beagle travels makes the reader feel like we're there with an extraordinary young man as he explores--and ultimately creates a theory that will explain--the world. This is a well-told version of a great and enormously consequential adventure. --Warren D. Allmon, Cornell University, Hunter R. Rawlings III Professor of Paleontology, and Director, Paleontological Research Institute.