Is there a definitive version of Charles Darwins “The origin of the species”?
Yes, all of the copies you see are the same book with different covers. “The Origin of Species” is in the public domain now, so any publisher can put out their own edition without paying royalties to the author. Different editions might have different introductions by modern renowned scientists and such, but the main text is the same. On the upside, public domain works can often be found on the internet, so you can download it for yourself without having to pay anyone. Try here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2009 (scroll to the bottom and download the “Plain Text” version). “The Origin of Species” is a pretty accessible work, definitely easily digestible by the layman. Have fun! It’s an interesting read. If you want a more contemporary book when you’re done, try Matt Ridley’s “The Red Queen,” which is a very accessible book summing up all we know — and don’t know — about evolution, and especially human evolution.
