On the Origin of Species the publication of "On the Origin of Species" and the bicentenary of Darwin's birth were scheduled for 2009. They celebrated the ideas which "over the last 150 years have revolutionised our understanding of nature and our place within it". In a survey conducted by a group of academic booksellers, publishers and librarians in advance of Academic Book Week in the United Kingdom, "On the Origin of Species" was voted the most influential academic book ever written. It was hailed as "the supreme demonstration of why academic books matter" and "a book which has changed the way we think about everything".
Essay on the Origin of Languages Essay on the Origin of Languages Essay on the Origin of Languages () is an essay by Jean-Jacques Rousseau published posthumously in 1781. Rousseau had meant to publish the essay in a short volume which was also to include essays "On Theatrical Imitation" and "The Levite of Ephraim." In the preface to this would-be volume, Rousseau wrote that the "Essay" was originally meant to be included in the "Discourse on Inequality", but was omitted because it "was too long and out of place". The essay was mentioned in Rousseau's 1762 book, "Emile". In this text, Rousseau lays out a narrative