On the Origin of Species more recent study by science historian John van Wyhe has determined that the idea that Darwin delayed publication only dates back to the 1940s, and Darwin's contemporaries thought the time he took was reasonable. Darwin always finished one book before starting another. While he was researching, he told many people about his interest in transmutation without causing outrage. He firmly intended to publish, but it was not until September 1854 that he could work on it full-time. His 1846 estimate that writing his "big book" would take five years proved optimistic. An 1855 paper on the "introduction" of species, written
Genetics and the Origin of Species revive the Jesup lectures, a series that had involved some notable lecturers in the past. It was back-dated so that Dobzhansky's lectures became the first in the series. The Columbia University Biological Series was also revived, and when "Genetics and the Origin of Species" was published in October 1937 it became the 11th volume in that series. Three main editions were published, in 1937, 1941 and 1951, each with significant changes. Dobzhansky considered "Genetics of the Evolutionary Process" (1970) a fourth edition, but one so much changed that it needed a new title. "Genetics and the Origin of Species" has