<b>Introduction by Edward J. Larson</b><br>  <br> ?Perhaps the most readable and accessible of the great works of scientific inquiry, <i>The Origin of Species</i> sold out its first printing on the very day it was published in 1859. Theologians quickly labeled Charles Darwin the most dangerous man in England and, as the <i>Saturday Review</i> noted, the uproar over the book quickly “passed beyond the bounds of the study and lecture-room into the drawing-room and the public street.” Based largely on Darwin's experience as a naturalist while on a five-year voyage aboard H. M. S. <i>Beagle,</i> <i>The Origin of Species</i> set forth a theory of evolution and natural selection that challenged contemporary beliefs about divine providence and the immutability of species. This Modern Library edition includes a Foreword by the Pulitzer Prize–winning science historian Edward J. Larson, an introductory historical sketch, and a glossary Darwin later added to the original text.<br><br><br><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i>