In 'Darwin’s Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution', Rebecca Stott weaves an intricate tapestry of the history of evolutionary thought long before Charles Darwin. Astonished by a letter accusing him of ignoring his intellectual predecessors, Darwin embarks on a journey to uncover those who pondered the mechanisms of life's diversity before him. Stott vividly resurrects a forgotten lineage from across millennia, including Aristotle's ancient musings, Al-Jahiz's medieval insights, Leonardo da Vinci's fossil discoveries, and the revolutionary musings of Denis Diderot. With grace and scholarly acumen, Stott illustrates how these early thinkers collectively nurtured a dangerous idea against a backdrop of political and religious turmoil. Their speculative courage not only paved the way for Darwin's legacy but also exemplifies the evolutionary nature of ideas themselves, surviving through a process of intellectual natural selection.