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Genesis

By: Edward O. Wilson
Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
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Publisher's summary

Asserting that religious creeds and philosophical questions can be reduced to purely genetic and evolutionary components, and that the human body and mind have a physical base obedient to the laws of physics and chemistry, Genesis demonstrates that the only way for us to fully understand human behavior is to study the evolutionary histories of nonhuman species. Of these, Wilson demonstrates that at least 17 - among them the African naked mole rat and the sponge-dwelling shrimp - have been found to have advanced societies based on altruism and cooperation.

Whether writing about midges who "dance about like acrobats" or schools of anchovies who protectively huddle "to appear like a gigantic fish", or proposing that human society owes a debt of gratitude to "postmenopausal grandmothers" and "childless homosexuals", Genesis is a pithy yet path-breaking work of evolutionary theory, braiding 21st-century scientific theory with the lyrical biological and humanistic observations for which Wilson is known.

©2019 Edward O. Wilson (P)2019 Recorded Books
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What listeners say about Genesis

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Was the narrator drunk or sleepy?

I had to speed up to almost double time to play it at normal speed.

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Genesis is great poetry. This is great science.

The scope is as broad as possible, situating modern societies in an evolutionary process that began some four billion years ago, and explaining how we got here in a crisp and clear prose. We are one of very few species that built societies through group selection, a path of evolution we share with ants and bees. Totally fascinating.

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3 people found this helpful

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objectively maneuvering many difficult topics.

loved it just loved it . this book is informative, insightful, and well written by a leading expert. so much information in one book. a must have!

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2 people found this helpful

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Simply awful

I am a big fan of E. O. Wilson and his work. I have read, listened to, and enjoyed at least four of his other books. I'm not sure who this was aimed at but it seemed like the notes from a really unprepared lecturer at a junior college. I just finished listening and can't recall a single point of interest. This whole mess was only made worse by a nearly incomprehensible and rambling narrator. I rarely give bad reviews but I can do nothing more than to suggest a hard pass on this book.

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3 people found this helpful

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A struggle

A struggle. The narrator does not help, it became so boring after a while. Could not finish

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