This selection from the seven volumes of Darwin's collected correspondence spans the great naturalist's life and career from university days in Edinburgh to the publication of the epochal "Origin of Species" in 1859. Pride of place in terms of priority naturally goes to Darwin's youthful and seminal service on the "Beagle", yet the whole gathering of letters constitutes a fascinating tale. In communication with an astonishing range of correspondents, Darwin begins his interest in natural science, collects evidence, and forms his theories seemingly as we watch. His correspondence comes from and exemplifies the arguably highest point of written documentation. Darwin and his educated contemporaries were literate enough to make their thought commonly and permanently accessible. Theirs is not the "communication" of the throwaway age of electronic information overload. These letters put us at the elbow of a brilliant man as he gives birth to some of the most significant ideas in the history of science.