{"product_id":"evolutions-captain-the-story-of-the-kidnapping-that-led-to-charles-darwins-voyage-aboard-the-beagle-9780060088781","title":"Evolution's Captain: The Story of the Kidnapping That Led to Charles Darwin's Voyage Aboard the Beagle","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the story of the man without whom the name Charles Darwin might be unknown to us today. That man was Captain Robert FitzRoy, who invited the 22-year-old Darwin to be his companion on board the \u003cem\u003eBeagle\u003c\/em\u003e .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the remarkable story of how a misguided decision by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS \u003cem\u003eBeagle\u003c\/em\u003e, precipitated his employment of a young naturalist named Charles Darwin, and how the clash between FitzRoy's fundamentalist views and Darwin's discoveries led to FitzRoy's descent into the abyss.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the great ironies of history is that the famous journey--wherein Charles Darwin consolidated the earth-rattling 'origin of the species' discoveries--was conceived by another man: Robert FitzRoy. It was FitzRoy who chose Darwin for the journey--not because of Darwin's scientific expertise, but because he seemed a suitable companion to help FitzRoy fight back the mental illness that had plagued his family for generations. Darwin did not give FitzRoy solace; indeed, the clash between the two men's opposing views, together with the ramifications of Darwin's revelations, provided FitzRoy with the final unendurable torment that forced him to end his own life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNichols, Peter:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003ePeter Nichols is the author of the national bestseller \u003cem\u003eA Voyage for Madmen\u003c\/em\u003e and two other books, \u003cem\u003eSea Change: Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat\u003c\/em\u003e, a memoir, and the novel \u003cem\u003eVoyage to the North Star\u003c\/em\u003e. He has taught creative writing at NYU in Paris and Georgetown University, and presently teaches at Bowdoin College. He is lives in Maine with his wife and son.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50526737105170,"sku":"9780060088781","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2ae22543-c4d4-4c37-b2d4-792ebcb2bf0e.jpg?v=1731282469","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/evolutions-captain-the-story-of-the-kidnapping-that-led-to-charles-darwins-voyage-aboard-the-beagle-9780060088781","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}