Darwin and Lincoln, born on the very same day, remade the world. In this book Adam Gopnik delineates their lives and tries to explain his view of Modern Life. He's much better with the literary and biographical analysis than he is with the Big Theories. (Just an idea -- if you're going to expound a Big Theory in a book, best not to invite comparisons with Charles Darwin.)
Gopnik gets big points for noticing one important way in which Lincoln and Darwin were alike, as men and as writers: they built grand ideas on solid foundations of carefully accumulated detail. People came to accept Darwin's theory because he presented such a mass of closely-observed evidence to back it up. Lincoln could remake American law and society so thoroughly because he could, like the lawyer he was, buttress his arguments with citations of precedent and history, arranged in a coldly logical manner no one could deny. Accept his premise, and you had to accept his conclusion -- that was true of both the Emancipator and the shy Mr. Darwin.
Gopnik spends a lot of time talking about the words spoken by Lincoln's War Secretary just after Abe died: did Stanton say "Now he belongs to the ages," or did he utter "Now he belongs to the angels?" Frankly, I don't care, and we'll never now. It seems like the kind of angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin question that neither Darwin nor Lincoln would have dawdled with for long.

Notable for a bibliographic essay at the end of the book.

I really liked this book, it shows how two men from very different backgrounds showed the way to our age. Both Darwin and Lincoln, sharing the same birthday, were products of the enlightment. Certainly more for Darwin, but each of them using reason expanded the spirital values of the world. A wonderful read ( )

Celebrating Two Great Men

Essayist Adam Gopnik attempts to tackle the connections between intellectuals Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln, both born on 1809 (coinciding with the bicentennial anniversary). The title "Angels and Ages" refers to the dispute over what Edwin Stanton was alleged to have said over Lincoln's deathbed "Now he belongs to the ages?" or "Now he belongs to the angels?" Gopnick dovetails this analogy to Darwin's from "ape or angels?" referring to the perpetual debate between Science and God.

The book is read like an extended essay, just over 200 pages. I thought the sections about Darwin were better written and argued overall, whereas the Lincoln sections appeared to be incomplete. Although, I think one could argue that it was simply due to the vast differences between their respective bodies of work, Darwin was an intellectual, Lincoln led one of the most consequential wars in US history.

Overall, I thought this was a very well-thought out, well-argued essay about two of the most influential people in mankind. The connections between the two are more abstract than real, but Gopnik does a good job weaving through the analogies. A good read for an afternoon or two for sure. ( )