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THAT Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were both born on 12 February 1809 is surely nothing more than coincidence. Seeing a deep cosmic link is for mystics and Whiggish historians.

sets out to persuade us otherwise. His dual biography argues that science is inextricably bound to modern liberal democracy, and hence that these two men helped to make the modern age. If their lives’ work seems unrelated, it is only because the dispute over Darwin’s ideas is ongoing and visible while Lincoln’s once-disputed convictions – that democracy is a viable long-term form of government – have become ingrained in us to the point of invisibility.

Gopnik’s breezy book tills no new soil, but it blends essay and biography so superbly that you don’t care. Especially good are his reflections on death: thousands died in wars waged by Lincoln, and the struggle to escape death dominates Darwin’s ideas. Yet neither’s philosophical views of death were much consolation for private tragedy.

Gopnik knows well enough that Darwin and Lincoln’s shared birth date is a mere accident of history, but he comes as close as anyone can in convincing you otherwise.

See everything in our pick of the Darwin 200 books