Table of Contents Introduction The Chance of a Lifetime 1 Chapter One Songbirds and Sea Mats 7 Chapter Two New Horizons 15 Chapter Three Distant Shores 29 Chapter Four To the Ends of the Earth 41 Chapter Five Gauchos and Guanacos 53 Chapter Six Fire in the Earth 69 Chapter Seven Lands of the Giant Tortoise 83 Chapter Eight Homeward Bound 91 Chapter Nine Toward an Origin of Species 101 Chapter Ten Glory to His Country 113 Bibliography 116 Author’s Note 117
INTRODUCTION The Chance of a Lifetime Atrip around the world Twenty-three-year-old Charles Darwin couldn’t believe his luck He eagerly reread the letter from his friend and teacher John Stevens Henslow August 24 1831 I shall hope to see you shortly fully expecting that you will eagerly catch at the offer which is likely to be made you of a trip to Terra del Fuego home by the East Indies The Voyage is to last 2 yrs if you take plenty of Books with you anything you please may be done In short I suppose there never was a finer chance for a man of zeal spirit His excitement growing Darwin read on A ship captain named Robert FitzRoy was seeking a compan ion on a scientific voyage from Britain to the coast of
