What DID Darwin Write?

` And who am I to say?

` Got this article in the mail by - you guessed it! - Michael Shermer! Didn't read much of it, about some evolutionary biologist convention. I got about this far:

` Darwin was, in fact, a creationist throughout the voyage, and did not accept evolution until he discovered natural selection a full ten months after leaving the Galapagos, when he was home working intensely on his collections. The Galapagos were an after-the-fact inspiration, and he could have kicked himself for not taking better notes while he was there.

` Ah yes, another myth dispelled. Honestly, I think that Charles D. was a really neat guy. He was born near London in 1809, was a cute little boy for a time, later studied to be a doctor, then a minister, and went on biological-oriented journeys, figured out that life on earth had shared at least one common ancestor, and in the latter 1800s, wrote lots of interesting insights about the only theory of evolution that has been supported through the centuries (instead of disproven). That's him in a nutshell.
` So, what was all this he wrote?

` Well, I just went to Seattle and back while I was in the middle of this and I am really tired and cranky... so this is all I have to say:

Darwin wrote some intensely nifty and revolutionary books after much study of plants and animals around the world, which really helped to popularize the idea of evolution through natural selection. These ideas, for the most part, hold up with today's scrutiny and are important to use to discover most other things in biology and other sciences. There is a lot of writing to go through, so if I were you, I'd start cracking!
` Charles also wrote lots of letters, if anyone is interested in what he personally thought and wrote to individual people.

` Why am I doing this to you all? Well, if you want to know what Darwin thunk, don't take my word for it. Go directly to the source! Good idea, right? Heh... Don't wait for me to make any short answers for you...
` Others have though, for example, a really straightforward description an be found here. Don't say I wasn't helpful at all!

` Seriously, though, I'm very tired and cranky after today - the day we were supposed to go to an art museum but didn't bring the directions, even though we considered taking them with us before leaving!
` Long story short: If I knew we were going to be walking around Belltown, I would have brought my video camera instead of my sketchbook, because it was a gorgeous day and the whole place was pretty tapeable. In the end, my sketchbook only acquired dirt, water damage, and abrasions instead of drawings.
` I'm still dehydrated... my headache is massive... I need some sleep. Speaking of which, it's almost three in the morning and Phil has been sleeping on the couch since we got back.