I was really excited to read this book, and the first concept and first chapters started off greatly. After Darwin publishes his history-making "On the Origin of Species," letters started piling in from across the globe about people pointing out where Darwin failed to give credit to his predecessors who had come up with parts of his breakthrough theory of evolution, or even claims that he had stolen the work. The story of Darwin's reaction to these letters gave me even more respect for this scientific giant: rather than fight tooth and nail to keep credit to himself and only himself-- he set upon years of research and investigation into each of these claims, and in subsequent versions of his book built his 'sketch' of those who came before him. He did not care to keep credit to himself solely, but wanted to make sure anyone who deserved credit got it from him in a formal sense. In the end, it was Darwin's collection of evidence and physical records to prove not only that species went through changes, but the determination of how-- survival of the fittest-- that set Darwin above his predecessors and peers (though the last chapter was particularly compelling and inspiring in a 'scientific men of honor' type way on how Wallace had come up with the same theory of survival of the fittest, only Darwin had been sitting on that conclusion for 20 years without publishing his findings so it could be argued both came up with the theory on their own).

I wish the book had focused more on this academic and emotional journey of Darwin's-- though that was really just the beginning and end. The meat of the book was a chapter dedicated to each of the main predecessors that Darwin ended up crediting in his 'sketch.' Some of these stories were particularly compelling (Aristotle comes to mind, as he AGES ahead of his time), but some were a bit repetitive and dull.

Some other takeaways I made note of that were particularly interesting to me:
- How frequently scientists searching for evidence of how man came to be through transmutation of species cited mermaids and mermans as evidence-- obviously just because scientists were right to be looking for these answers doesn't mean they were without error
- Sponges were another common theme in a fascinating way, as various scientists and philosophers struggled with whether they were animals or plants
- Everyone along this path towards the theory of evolution did so with the bravery of spouting heresy
- One of the predecessors was Darwin's own Grandfather, though obviously this was one of his predecessors of which he was aware
- It was great to read more about Lamarck and his theory of how species changed over time. I remember being taught what I now know was a way over simplified version of his theory in middle school science as an example of how evolution did not work. It appears my 7th grade teacher owes him more credit.
- Another common theme was always how did animals get from the water to the land, and why were shells so often found in places that were far far away from the ocean. Those trying to go down the path of science in the face of what the Church said did not have an easy time with this, since the answer that was obvious at the time was they were brought by the Biblical flood
- A last piece I loved reading about was how the formal way for academics to communicate in this age was by adding in addendum's, new introductions, or new footnotes in the republication of their books. Without the aid of a widespread media, this was the avenue where scientists could throw shade, offer apologies, lay the smack down, or any other form of formal responses. It certainly was a more patient time.

In the end a very interesting book, but I left it at three stars because I was under the impression based on the book's description that I would be getting to learn more about how Darwin dealt with his ghosts than just about the ghosts themselves.