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A review by audaciaray
Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik
4.0
I saw Adam Gopnik speak about Darwin and the Evolution of Human Goodness at the 92nd Street Y a few weeks ago, and I was impressed by his sense of humor and his affection for Darwin, so I picked up Angels and Ages.
His affection for both Darwin and Lincoln - not just as public figures and cornerstones of modernity, but as men - is at the core of this book. The book is basically a love letter to these two important men, but it's also thinky enough to be something more than a pure fanboy piece of prose.
I especially appreciation the work on Darwin and Lincoln as family men, and the stuff about both men's relationships with religion is really intriguing. Both men struggled with religion and its impact on their professional lives; both were non-believers who had family members who were avid believers - Gopnik does a great job of teasing this out.
Though the chapters bounce back and forth between Darwin and Lincoln, I felt like there was a bit more Darwin in the book, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Gopnik is a good and accessible writer - I keep laughing at the images he conjures of Darwin's kids assisting him with his worm experiments.
His affection for both Darwin and Lincoln - not just as public figures and cornerstones of modernity, but as men - is at the core of this book. The book is basically a love letter to these two important men, but it's also thinky enough to be something more than a pure fanboy piece of prose.
I especially appreciation the work on Darwin and Lincoln as family men, and the stuff about both men's relationships with religion is really intriguing. Both men struggled with religion and its impact on their professional lives; both were non-believers who had family members who were avid believers - Gopnik does a great job of teasing this out.
Though the chapters bounce back and forth between Darwin and Lincoln, I felt like there was a bit more Darwin in the book, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Gopnik is a good and accessible writer - I keep laughing at the images he conjures of Darwin's kids assisting him with his worm experiments.