On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection

by Charles Darwin

Or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life

On the Origin of Species, first published in 1859, is the book in which Charles Darwin set out the theory of evolution by natural selection. He begins with the variation of plants and animals under domestication and in nature, the struggle for existence and the way small inherited advantages accumulate over generations into new species. He then confronts the difficulties: the absence of intermediate forms, the perfection of organs like the eye, instinct, sterility between species and the imperfection of the geological record. The later chapters marshal evidence from geology, geographical distribution, classification, embryology and rudimentary organs. Darwin called the book one long argument, and he wrote it for the general reader, in plain prose that is still persuasive to read. The full text is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, and the first chapter is free.