| Photo Credits | xi |
| Acknowledgments | xiii |
| Foreword by Dr. James A. Moore | xv |
| 1. A "Good for Nothing" Son | 1 |
| 2. "A Useless Undertaking" | 15 |
| 3. Painted Savages and Giant Tortoises | 25 |
| 4. Of Brides and Barnacles | 43 |
| 5. A Theory by Which to Work | 51 |
| 6. Scooped by a Rival | 58 |
| 7. The Origin of Species | 69 |
| 8. The Darwin Gang: Convincing the World | 79 |
| 9. Orchids, Peacocks, and Ape-men | 97 |
| 10. Ghostbusters: Naturalists and the Supernatural | 107 |
| 11. The Tangled Bank | 123 |
| 12. Epilogue: The Survival of Charles Darwin | 131 |
| Glossary | 135 |
| Further Reading | 141 |
| Index | 149 |