Origin Story
- An Economist Best Book of the Year
Origin Story by Howard Markel is one of 2026's most credible books, appearing on 1 of the year's most respected lists, including The Economist, for a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100.
Appears on these lists
Our take
AI-draftedMarkel narrows Darwin's decades-long project to a tight, high-stakes window, 1858 to 1860, when the arrival of Alfred Russel Wallace's competing theory forced Darwin to rush "On the Origin of Species" into print, and pairs that scientific drama with a parallel investigation into the mysterious chronic illness that plagued Darwin throughout. The medical-history strand gives the book a diagnostic hook that keeps the more familiar publishing history from feeling rote.
In the press
“Deeply satisfying...Darwin's two iconic years rendered masterfully by a highly knowledgeable chronicler”
Kirkus Reviews“Gripping...a detailed and dramatic close-up of a consequential period in scientific history”
Publishers Weekly
How the Consensus Score is calculated
Our Consensus Score is our own transparent editorial metric — not a user rating. It weighs each list by the credibility of its source, how recent the listing is, and any award status. Here is the full breakdown.
| Source | Authority | Recency | Award | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Economist | 0.95 | 0.70 | 1.00× | 0.67 |
| Weighted sum → Score | 0.67 → 15 | |||
Similar consensus books
Because they appear on some of the same lists.
Frequently asked
What lists is Origin Story on?
Origin Story appears on 1 list in our 2026 corpus, including The Economist.
What is its Consensus Score?
Origin Story has a Consensus Score of 15 out of 100, our transparent editorial measure of how many credible lists agree on it.