http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/books/review/Benfey-t.html



Wow, this was a slew of new information on Charles Darwin. He was quite the character, outside of the fact he is now considered a genius with the whole "evolution theory" thing. Can you believe that they actually paid someone to "banter intelligently" with the captain of a ship, while getting to see amazing parts of the world?! Dang, I want that job. I don't know about the 7 kiddos under the age 11 and another one on the way, though. "They set out to overturn the widespread view that Darwin was a “tough-minded scientist” who unflinchingly followed the trail of empirical research until it led to the stunning and unavoidable theory of evolution" is an especially wonderful quote from the author of the article. As a side note, what is the deal with amazing legends marrying their cousins? Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Darwin (new to me), and even the more recent Jerry Lee Lewis (not that I would consider his work legendary.) I wonder if they have any pictures of their 8 kiddos laying around...
I did find this interesting photo. This is Darwin with his second child, Anne. She was his first daughter and died at the age of 10, the cause believed to be tuberculosis. It was Anne's death that caused Darwin to question Christianity. 2 more of his children died very young, one only a month old and another (a son named after Charles himself) before he turned 2. Glad to be living in our time, yet?