# The Kiwi’s Egg

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/david-quammen/the-kiwis-egg/9781474602761

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![The Kiwi’s Egg](https://quivercdn.com/covers/w-n/david-quammen/the-kiwis-egg_978-14-7460-276-1.jpg?v=2026-05-20%2002%3A07%3A13)

- Book: [The Kiwi’s Egg](https://www.bookquiver.com/david-quammen/the-kiwis-egg) ([The Kiwi’s Egg.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/david-quammen/the-kiwis-egg.md))
- Authors: [David Quammen](https://www.bookquiver.com/david-quammen)
- Publisher: w_n
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-14-7460-276-1
- Published: 2015-09-24
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: E-book

## Description

Evolution, during the early nineteenth century, was an idea in the air. Other thinkers had suggested it, but no one had proposed a cogent explanation for how evolution occurs. Then, in September 1838, a young Englishman named Charles Darwin hit upon the idea that 'natural selection' among competing individuals would lead to wondrous adaptations and species diversity. Twenty-one years passed between that epiphany and publication of On the Origin of Species. The human drama and scientific basis of Darwin's twenty-one-year delay constitute a fascinating, tangled tale that elucidates the character of a cautious naturalist who initiated an intellectual revolution. The Kiwi's Egg is a book for everyone who has ever wondered about who this man was and what he said. Drawing from Darwin's secret 'transmutation' notebooks and his personal letters, David Quammen has sketched a vivid life portrait of the man whose work never ceases to be controversial.