Books by Peter J. Bowler

The ideas and terminology of Darwinism are so pervasive these days that it seems impossible to avoid them, let alone imagine a world without them. In this title, the author asks: What if Charles Darwin had not returned from the voyage of the Beagle and thus did not write "On the Origin of Species"?

Argues that the social environment of early twentieth-century Britain created a substantial market for science books and magazines aimed at those who had benefited from better secondary education but could not access higher learning.

Provides a survey of the interplay between British science and religion from the late 19th century to World War II. The book argues that, unlike the United States, where strong opposition to evolutionism developed, in Britain there was a concerted effort to reconcile science and religion.

Describes the development and impact of some of the most controversial of scientific theories. This book examines scholarship and trends within the study of evolution.

Bowler doesn't minimize the hostility of many of the faithful toward evolution, but he reveals the less well-known existence of a long tradition within the churches that sought to reconcile Christian beliefs with evolution by finding reflections of the divine in scientific explanations for the origin of life.