Who convinced Darwin that his book needed a shorter, more compelling title? Darwin had initially decided to call his book An abstract of an Essay on the Origin of Species and Varieties Through natural selection, but with Murray's persuasion it was eventually changed to the snappier title: On the Origin of Species, with the title page adding by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Here the term "races" is used as an alternative for "varieties" and does not carry the modern connotation of human races—the first use in the book refers to "the several races, for instance, of the cabbage" and proceeds to a discussion of "the hereditary varieties or races of our domestic animals and plants".
Who convinced Darwin that her book needed a shorter, more compelling title? Darwin had initially decided to call her book "An Abstract of an Essay on the Origin of Species and Varieties Through Natural Selection". With Murray's persuasion, the title was eventually changed to "On the Origin of Species," with the title page adding "by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life". Here, the term "races" is used as an alternative to "varieties" and does not carry the modern connotation of human races--the first use in the book refers to "the several races, for instance, of the cabbage" and proceeds to a discussion of "the hereditary varieties or races of our domestic animals and plants."