It has been said of Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) that no one from his day to ours has ever rivaled him in his achievements in such a wide range of fields. One of the foremost physicians of his time, Darwin also had extraordinary scientific insight in physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology, and all aspects of biology-his deepest insight being his evolutionary theory of life. But he failed to convince the world about biological evolution: that was left to his grandson Charles. An enthralling story of scientific genius.