Groundbreaking human evolution book launch to kick start Imperial's Darwin bicentenary celebrations

Leading authors launch new book at Imperial event - Media invitation

Imperial College London media invitation

For immediate use
03 February 2009

A new book by eminent Darwin historians, which will revolutionise our understanding of Darwin's path to human evolution, will be launched at Imperial College London on Monday 9 February 2009.

'Darwin's Sacred Cause: Race slavery and the quest for human origins', written by Adrian Desmond and James Moore, gives a completely new explanation of how Darwin came to his shattering views on human origins.

Journalists and members of the public are invited to attend the book launch, which takes place at 6pm in the Great Hall on Imperial's South Kensington campus – see ticket details below.

The book gives new insight into Darwin's motivations and his trip to the Galapagos

The event will feature a talk by the authors, followed by a discussion session where members of the audience will be invited to put questions both to the authors. The debate will be chaired by Dr Olivia Judson, an Imperial College research fellow and bestselling author of 'Dr Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation'. The book launch is co-hosted by Imperial College London and Penguin Books.

'Darwin's Sacred Cause' restores the moral core of Darwin's work by recovering its lost historical context. The authors say that racial evolution is the key: Darwin abhorred slavery – his 'sacred cause' was abolition – and developed his theories to show that all races are united by descent.

Through massive detective work among unpublished Darwin letters, unplumbed family correspondence and newly discovered Darwin reading lists, as well as diaries, ships' logs, and dozens of official documents and rare contemporary works on race relations and humans origins, the authors back up their claim that Darwin began his career committed to the unity of the human family.

The public event on 9 February kicks off a programme of staff and student celebrations marking Darwin's bicentenary at the College, organised by Imperial evolutionary biologist, author and science television presenter, Professor Armand Leroi.

Professor Leroi says that Imperial has close links with Darwin's work, not least because many of the College's current biologists are carrying out world-leading research in the fields of evolutionary biology and ecology which develops and expands on Darwin's 150 year old ideas.

Previously, the Victorian biologist Thomas Henry Huxley, one of Darwin's peers, collaborators and staunch defenders, was a professor in the Royal School of Mines, one of the founding Colleges of Imperial. Adrian Desmond, one of the authors of 'Darwin's Sacred Cause' has previously written a biography of Huxley, who was known as Darwin's "bulldog."

Professor Leroi said: "I'm delighted that two such renowned Darwin experts are launching 'Darwin's Sacred Cause' at Imperial during the week of international celebrations of his bicentenary. The event promises to be an evening of lively debate, discussion and discovery as the authors, Dr Judson and the audience undertake a groundbreaking re- evaluation of Darwin's science and ideas."

****Attendance at the event is by ticket only. Tickets are free and can be booked in advance by contacting Imperial’s events team on events@imperial.ac.uk ****

For more information please contact:
Danielle Reeves, Imperial College London press office
Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 2198
Out-of-hours duty press office: +44 (0)7803 886248
Email: Danielle.reeves@imperial.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. 'Darwin's Sacred Cause: Race slavery and the quest for human origins' is published by Penguin Books on Thursday 29 January 2009.

2. Adrian Desmond, co-author with James Moore of the seminal Darwin, has published seven other books on evolution, including 'Huxley, a life of Darwin's "bulldog".' He studied at Harvard and University College London, and has higher degrees in vertebrate palaeontology and history of science, with a PhD on Victorian evolution. He is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Biology Department at UCL.

3. James Moore has many publications on Darwin and his age, including 'The Post-Darwinian Controversies' and 'The Darwin Legend'. He holds degrees in science, divinity and history, and a PhD from Manchester University on Victorian evolution and religion. Having taught at Cambridge, Harvard, Notre Dame and McMaster Universities, he is now Professor of the History of Science in the Open University.

3. Armand Leroi is a Reader in Evolutionary Developmental Biology at Imperial College London. Award-winning author of 'Mutants: On the form, varieties and errors of the human body', Professor Leroi has also written numerous newspaper columns, magazine articles and presented television documentaries on human evolution.

Professor Leroi is to present two documentaries on British television to mark Darwin’s bicentenary. The first, 'What Darwin Didn’t Know', will air on BBC4 at 9pm on Monday 26 January 2009. It will explore a new field of genetics known as 'evo devo' – the combined study of evolution and developmental biology – which is allowing us to solve some of Darwin’s unanswered questions.

The second, 'Darwin's lost voyage', will air on the National Geographic channel at 5pm on Sunday 8 February 2009. It will focus on Darwin's famous voyage on board the HMS Beagle, and will show that Darwin's ideas were prompted by his experiences throughout South America and not just on the Galapagos islands as is often thought.

4. About Imperial College London

Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 13,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research for the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve health in the UK and globally, tackle climate change and develop clean and sustainable sources of energy.

Website: www.imperial.ac.uk