Preview
  • Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

  • By: James Lovelock
  • Narrated by: Gary Telles
  • Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (60 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

By: James Lovelock
Narrated by: Gary Telles
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In this classic work that continues to inspire its many fans, James Lovelock deftly explains his idea that life on Earth functions as a single organism. Written for the non-scientist, Gaia is a journey through time and space in search of evidence with which to support a new and radically different model of our planet. In contrast to conventional belief that living matter is passive in the face of threats to its existence, the book explores the hypothesis that the Earth's living matter - air, ocean, and land surfaces - forms a complex system that has the capacity to keep the Earth a fit place for life.

Since Gaia was first published, many of Jim Lovelock's predictions have come true, and his theory has become a hotly argued topic in scientific circles. Here, in a new preface, Lovelock outlines the present state of the debate.

©1995 J. E. Lovelock (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Critical insights about our planetary condition

From James Lovelock, possibly the most influential tinker we have regarding the true implications of
climate change and what we can do about it. this book is particularly prescient.
I highly suggest all of Lovelock's books
Wish there were more in audio format. All of them!!
this book is rich with insight and authoritative examples and possible solution.
Truly we must act and wisely
Bravo!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Complicated, but interesting and eye-opening

A lot of comments talk about how the narrator is robotic, but just play the book at 1.40x and he will sound normal!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

one of the most important books of our time

I enjoyed it. I already purchased the hard copy to further study the terms used since I have no background in biology and chemistry. beautiful read. I am raising my kids based on the knowledge I gathered in this book. in my culture, gaia is called Ani. I am somewhat familiar with the ideas expressed in this book. James will probably be worshipped in the future. lol

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting content marred by lacklustre read

This is a great look at the first public iteration of the Gaia hypothesis. Though some of the analysis is dated (the first edition is from 1979, after all), the data is still the same, and the conclusions drawn still quite relevant.

The analysis of different 'Gaian' control systems was particularly fascinating, as some of them are far more complex than I - a fairly knowledgeable person, but no expert - would have thought: for example, ocean salinity and the controls involved with keeping it constant.

Unfortunately, this read is particularly lacklustre. The performance requires extra effort to engage with the content, and I came to the book excited to listen to it. It may be worth reading a hard copy or finding a different performance, if one exists.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hard to follow sometimes

Found the vocabulary to be harder to assimilate than other books on climate and evolution. But found the evidence and arguments to be compelling. Fears for humanity’s future are warranted.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, poor recording

It feels like the book was read by AI. No logical intonation, the whole recording feels a lot like a patchwork of a thousand short pieces. Comprehension is highly problematic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful