Loved it. Primary sources throughout,letters used to provide humanizing details so that the great scientist can be seen as the husband and father as well. Enough detail on the barnacles to help a layman understand how they shaped Darwin’s thinking, without being too dry or technical for the non-specialist ( )

An outstanding treatment of Darwin's "Barnacle Years" by Rebecca Stott. Filled with neat little details and contextual elements, as well as not pulling any punches when it comes to the nitty-gritty of barnacle classification (some seriously taxing taxonomy). Very enjoyable armchair natural history. ( )

I thought this was fab. Disclaimer. I am a Darwin enthusiast or addict. Or as my wife would say, nutter.

Enthralling history and some perceptive insights into the man and his work. ( )

This book covers a part of Darwin's life that all too often gets relegated to a footnote or a sidebar - the years he spent with the humble barnacle, learning about classification, morphology, and taxonomy, preparatory to writing his "big species book". This book examines how that period shaped Darwin's later years, and the role that it played in development of his trademark theory. A really good introduction to how science is done. ( )

Having read this and found out some of Darwin's skills and meticulousness as a researcher into the family of the barnacle; I was a little disappointed not to have found out more about how it prepared him for publishing his Origin of the Species. A lot is surmised about his scientific endeavour although there are some good insights into his personal character and the manner in which he lived and brought up his children. The author also succeeded in describing mid Victorian Britain especially the Great Exhibition ; I think that is where her skills are greatest and not in the science per se.

However on balance this book has persuaded me to read more about Darwin as a person and to pull out my battered copy of the Voyage of the Beagle and reread that knowing what I now know about his later scientific endeavours.