
Superlative
The Biology of Extremes
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $20.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
George Newbern
About this listen
Welcome to the biggest, fastest, deadliest science book you'll ever hear.
The world's largest land mammal could help us end cancer. The fastest bird is showing us how to solve a century-old engineering mystery. The oldest tree is giving us insights into climate change. The loudest whale is offering clues about the impact of solar storms.
For a long time, scientists ignored superlative life forms as outliers. Increasingly, though, researchers are coming to see great value in studying plants and animals that exist on the outermost edges of the bell curve.
As it turns out, there’s a lot of value in paying close attention to the “oddballs” nature has to offer.
Go for a swim with a ghost shark, the slowest-evolving creature known to humankind, which is teaching us new ways to think about immunity. Get to know the axolotl, which has the longest-known genome and may hold the secret to cellular regeneration. Learn about Monorhaphis chuni, the oldest discovered animal, which is providing insights into the connection between our terrestrial and aquatic worlds.
Superlative is the story of extreme evolution, and what we can learn from it about ourselves, our planet, and the cosmos. It's a tale of crazy-fast cheetahs and super-strong beetles, of microbacteria and enormous plants, of whip-smart dolphins and killer snakes.
This book will inspire you to change the way you think about the world and your relationship to everything in it.
©2018 by Matthew D. LaPlante. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing Inc., all rights reserved. Published by arrangement with BenBella Books.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Secret Language of Cells
- What Biological Conversations Tell Us About the Brain-Body Connection, the Future of Medicine, and Life Itself
- By: Jon Lieff MD
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While cells are commonly considered the building block of living things, it is actually the communication between cells that brings us to life, controlling our bodies and brains, determining whether we are healthy or sick, and directly influencing how we think, feel, and behave. In The Secret Language of Cells, doctor and neuroscientist Jon Lieff lets us listen in on these conversations, and reveals their significance for everything from mental health to cancer.
-
-
top notch!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-11-20
By: Jon Lieff MD
-
Mama's Last Hug
- Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mama's Last Hug opens with the dramatic farewell between Mama, a dying 59-year-old chimpanzee matriarch, and biologist Jan Van Hooff. This heartfelt final meeting of two longtime friends offers a window into how deep and instantly recognizable these bonds can be. So begins Frans de Waal's whirlwind tour of new ideas and findings about animal emotions, based on his renowned studies of the social and emotional lives of chimpanzees, bonobos, and other primates.
-
-
SO TRUE!
- By Dana Eichert on 03-15-19
By: Frans de Waal
-
What If? 2
- Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on an erupting geyser? Okay, if you insist.
-
-
Interesting book, horrible narrator
- By Peter on 02-18-24
By: Randall Munroe
-
How to Die in Space
- A Journey Through Dangerous Astrophysical Phenomena
- By: Paul M. Sutter PhD
- Narrated by: Paul M. Sutter PhD
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
So you’ve fallen in love with space and now you want to see it for yourself, huh? You want to witness the birth of a star, or visit the black hole at the center of our galaxy? You want to know if there are aliens out there, or how to travel through a wormhole? You want the wonders of the universe revealed before your very eyes? Well stop, because all that will probably kill you.
-
-
Read me
- By william on 12-27-20
-
The Joy of Sweat
- The Strange Science of Perspiration
- By: Sarah Everts
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sweating may be one of our weirdest biological functions, but it’s also one of our most vital and least understood. In The Joy of Sweat, Sarah Everts delves into its role in the body - and in human history. Everts’ entertaining investigation takes listeners around the world - from Moscow, where she participates in a dating event in which people sniff sweat in search of love, to New Jersey, where companies hire trained armpit sniffers to assess the efficacy of their anti-sweat products. Along the way, Everts traces humanity’s long quest to control sweat.
-
-
Quirky topic, but engaging
- By K. Bachelor on 05-02-22
By: Sarah Everts
-
Who Says You're Dead?
- Medical & Ethical Dilemmas for the Curious & Concerned
- By: Jacob M. Appel MD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing upon the author's two decades teaching medical ethics, as well as his work as a practicing psychiatrist, this profound and addictive little book offers up challenging ethical dilemmas and asks listeners, What would you do? In short, engaging scenarios, Dr. Appel takes on hot-button issues that many of us will confront: genetic screening, sexuality, privacy, doctor-patient confidentiality. He unpacks each hypothetical with a brief reflection drawing from science, philosophy, and history, explaining how others have approached these controversies in real-world cases.
-
-
Happens everyday
- By janine on 01-02-21
-
The Secret Language of Cells
- What Biological Conversations Tell Us About the Brain-Body Connection, the Future of Medicine, and Life Itself
- By: Jon Lieff MD
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While cells are commonly considered the building block of living things, it is actually the communication between cells that brings us to life, controlling our bodies and brains, determining whether we are healthy or sick, and directly influencing how we think, feel, and behave. In The Secret Language of Cells, doctor and neuroscientist Jon Lieff lets us listen in on these conversations, and reveals their significance for everything from mental health to cancer.
-
-
top notch!
- By Amazon Customer on 10-11-20
By: Jon Lieff MD
-
Mama's Last Hug
- Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves
- By: Frans de Waal
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mama's Last Hug opens with the dramatic farewell between Mama, a dying 59-year-old chimpanzee matriarch, and biologist Jan Van Hooff. This heartfelt final meeting of two longtime friends offers a window into how deep and instantly recognizable these bonds can be. So begins Frans de Waal's whirlwind tour of new ideas and findings about animal emotions, based on his renowned studies of the social and emotional lives of chimpanzees, bonobos, and other primates.
-
-
SO TRUE!
- By Dana Eichert on 03-15-19
By: Frans de Waal
-
What If? 2
- Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on an erupting geyser? Okay, if you insist.
-
-
Interesting book, horrible narrator
- By Peter on 02-18-24
By: Randall Munroe
-
How to Die in Space
- A Journey Through Dangerous Astrophysical Phenomena
- By: Paul M. Sutter PhD
- Narrated by: Paul M. Sutter PhD
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
So you’ve fallen in love with space and now you want to see it for yourself, huh? You want to witness the birth of a star, or visit the black hole at the center of our galaxy? You want to know if there are aliens out there, or how to travel through a wormhole? You want the wonders of the universe revealed before your very eyes? Well stop, because all that will probably kill you.
-
-
Read me
- By william on 12-27-20
-
The Joy of Sweat
- The Strange Science of Perspiration
- By: Sarah Everts
- Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sweating may be one of our weirdest biological functions, but it’s also one of our most vital and least understood. In The Joy of Sweat, Sarah Everts delves into its role in the body - and in human history. Everts’ entertaining investigation takes listeners around the world - from Moscow, where she participates in a dating event in which people sniff sweat in search of love, to New Jersey, where companies hire trained armpit sniffers to assess the efficacy of their anti-sweat products. Along the way, Everts traces humanity’s long quest to control sweat.
-
-
Quirky topic, but engaging
- By K. Bachelor on 05-02-22
By: Sarah Everts
-
Who Says You're Dead?
- Medical & Ethical Dilemmas for the Curious & Concerned
- By: Jacob M. Appel MD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Drawing upon the author's two decades teaching medical ethics, as well as his work as a practicing psychiatrist, this profound and addictive little book offers up challenging ethical dilemmas and asks listeners, What would you do? In short, engaging scenarios, Dr. Appel takes on hot-button issues that many of us will confront: genetic screening, sexuality, privacy, doctor-patient confidentiality. He unpacks each hypothetical with a brief reflection drawing from science, philosophy, and history, explaining how others have approached these controversies in real-world cases.
-
-
Happens everyday
- By janine on 01-02-21
-
Brief Answers to the Big Questions
- By: Stephen Hawking, Eddie Redmayne - foreword
- Narrated by: Garrick Hagon, Lucy Hawking, Ben Whishaw
- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen Hawking not only unraveled some of the universe's greatest mysteries but also believed science plays a critical role in fixing problems here on Earth. Now, as we face immense challenges on our planet - including climate change, the threat of nuclear war, and the development of artificial intelligence - he turns his attention to the most urgent issues facing us. Will humanity survive? Should we colonize space? Does God exist? These are just a few of the questions Hawking addresses in this wide-ranging, passionately argued final book from one of the greatest minds in history.
-
-
A wonderful, wonderful listening experience
- By La Traviata on 10-16-18
By: Stephen Hawking, and others
-
The Brain That Changes Itself
- Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
- By: Norman Doidge M.D.
- Narrated by: Jim Bond
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An astonishing new science called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the human brain is immutable. Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Norman Doidge, MD, traveled the country to meet both the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've transformed - people whose mental limitations or brain damage were seen as unalterable.
-
-
***MIND BLOWN***
- By Laura Elsasser on 04-04-21
-
Journey of the Mind
- How Thinking Emerged from Chaos
- By: Ogi Ogas, Sai Gaddam
- Narrated by: Cary Hite
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why do minds exist? How did mud and stone develop into beings that can experience longing, regret, love, and compassion - beings that are aware of their own experience? Until recently, science offered few answers to these existential questions. Journey of the Mind is the first book to offer a unified account of the mind that explains how consciousness, language, the Self, and civilization emerged incrementally out of chaos.
-
-
Consciousness: objectively physical yet subjective
- By Jeffrey W. Rudisel on 04-16-22
By: Ogi Ogas, and others
-
Livewired
- The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain
- By: David Eagleman
- Narrated by: David Eagleman
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The answers to these questions are right behind our eyes. The greatest technology we have ever discovered on our planet is the three-pound organ carried in the vault of the skull. This book is not simply about what the brain is; it is about what it does. The magic of the brain is not found in the parts it’s made of but in the way those parts unceasingly reweave themselves in an electric, living fabric.
-
-
Very interesting but the book shpold have had
- By Adi on 12-05-20
By: David Eagleman
-
The Ice at the End of the World
- An Epic Journey into Greenland's Buried Past and Our Perilous Future
- By: Jon Gertner
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Jon Gertner
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Ice at the End of the World, Jon Gertner explains how Greenland has evolved from one of earth’s last frontiers to its largest scientific laboratory. The history of Greenland’s ice begins with the explorers who arrived here at the turn of the 20th century. Their original goal was to conquer Greenland’s seemingly infinite interior. Yet their efforts eventually gave way to scientists who built lonely encampments out on the ice and began drilling - one mile, two miles down.Their aim was to pull up ice cores that could reveal the deepest mysteries of earth’s past.
-
-
Adventure, Science, Advocacy
- By EM Goodkind on 09-08-19
By: Jon Gertner
-
Deep Medicine
- How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again
- By: Eric Topol
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Medicine has become inhuman, to disastrous effect. The doctor-patient relationship - the heart of medicine - is broken: doctors are too distracted and overwhelmed to truly connect with their patients, and medical errors and misdiagnoses abound. In Deep Medicine, leading physician Eric Topol reveals how artificial intelligence can help. AI has the potential to transform everything doctors do, from notetaking and medical scans to diagnosis and treatment, greatly cutting down the cost of medicine and reducing human mortality.
-
-
a must book for all doctors and patients.
- By adva onn on 04-21-19
By: Eric Topol
-
Immune
- A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive
- By: Philipp Dettmer
- Narrated by: Steve Taylor
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You wake up and feel a tickle in your throat. Your head hurts. You’re mildly annoyed as you get the kids ready for school and dress for work yourself. Meanwhile, an epic war is being fought, just below your skin. Millions are fighting and dying for you to be able to complain as you head out the door. So what, exactly, is your immune system? In Immune, Philipp Dettmer, the brains behind the most popular science channel on YouTube, takes listeners on a journey through the fortress of the human body and its defenses.
-
-
Steve Taylor for the win
- By Bay Area Engineer on 11-02-21
By: Philipp Dettmer
-
Undeniable
- Evolution and the Science of Creation
- By: Bill Nye
- Narrated by: Bill Nye
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sparked by a controversial debate in February 2014, Bill Nye has set off on an energetic campaign to spread awareness of evolution and the powerful way it shapes our lives. In Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, he explains why race does not really exist; evaluates the true promise and peril of genetically modified food; reveals how new species are born, in a dog kennel and in a London subway; takes a stroll through 4.5 billion years of time; and explores the new search for alien life, including aliens right here on Earth.
-
-
Leasurly read for those who don't want equations
- By AxeanaB on 02-05-15
By: Bill Nye
-
Teasing Secrets from the Dead
- My Investigations at America’s Most Infamous Crime Scenes
- By: Emily Craig PhD
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emily Craig has been a witness to history, helping to seek justice for thousands of murder victims, both famous and unknown. It’s a personal story that you won’t soon forget. Emily first became intrigued by forensics work when, as a respected medical illustrator, she was called in by the local police to create a model of a murder victim’s face. Her fascination with that case led to a dramatic midlife career change: She would go back to school to become a forensic anthropologist - and one of the most respected and best-known “bone hunters” in the nation.
-
-
A vanity project.
- By Book fiend Kel on 07-17-22
By: Emily Craig PhD
-
Sounds Wild and Broken
- Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction
- By: David George Haskell
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen, David George Haskell
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live on a planet alive with song, music, and speech. David Haskell explores how these wonders came to be. In rain forests shimmering with insect sound and swamps pulsing with frog calls we learn about evolution’s creative powers. From birds in the Rocky Mountains and on the streets of Paris, we discover how animals learn their songs and adapt to new environments. Below the waves, we hear our kinship to beings as different as snapping shrimp, toadfish, and whales.
-
-
A poet-philosopher-scientist-sage for the ages!
- By S. Kalita on 03-27-22
-
How Iceland Changed the World
- The Big History of a Small Island
- By: Egill Bjarnason
- Narrated by: Einar Gunn
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The history of Iceland began 1,200 years ago, when a frustrated Viking captain and his useless navigator ran aground in the middle of the North Atlantic. Suddenly, the island was no longer just a layover for the Arctic tern. Instead, it became a nation whose diplomats and musicians, sailors and soldiers, volcanoes and flowers, quietly altered the globe forever. How Iceland Changed the World takes readers on a tour of history, showing them how Iceland played a pivotal role in events as diverse as the French Revolution, the Moon Landing, and the foundation of Israel.
-
-
Brilliant
- By Ian D. Jones on 06-01-21
By: Egill Bjarnason
-
A History of the Human Brain
- From the Sea Sponge to CRISPR, How Our Brain Evolved
- By: Bret Stetka
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just over 125,000 years ago, humanity was going extinct until a dramatic shift occurred—Homo sapiens started tracking the tides in order to eat the nearby oysters. Before long, they’d pulled themselves back from the brink of extinction. The human brain, and its evolutionary journey, is unlike anything else in history. In A History of the Human Brain, Bret Stetka takes listeners through that far-reaching journey. He also tackles the question of where the brain will take us next, exploring the burgeoning concepts of epigenetics and new technologies like CRISPR.
-
-
Fascinating survey of the evolution of the human brain
- By Cosmos on 03-30-21
By: Bret Stetka
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Sounds Wild and Broken
- Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction
- By: David George Haskell
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen, David George Haskell
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live on a planet alive with song, music, and speech. David Haskell explores how these wonders came to be. In rain forests shimmering with insect sound and swamps pulsing with frog calls we learn about evolution’s creative powers. From birds in the Rocky Mountains and on the streets of Paris, we discover how animals learn their songs and adapt to new environments. Below the waves, we hear our kinship to beings as different as snapping shrimp, toadfish, and whales.
-
-
A poet-philosopher-scientist-sage for the ages!
- By S. Kalita on 03-27-22
-
Life on Earth
- By: David Attenborough
- Narrated by: David Attenborough
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the book’s first publication, David Attenborough has revisited Life on Earth, completely updating and adding to the original text, taking account of modern scientific discoveries from around the globe....
-
-
100% Pure Attenborough
- By Dave on 09-25-18
-
Our Moon
- How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are
- By: Rebecca Boyle
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it smells like gunpowder? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes listeners on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.
-
-
Interesting but with annoyances
- By J. Pegg on 04-13-24
By: Rebecca Boyle
-
Grizzly Confidential
- An Astounding Journey into the Secret Life of North America’s Most Fearsome Predator
- By: Kevin Grange
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author Kevin Grange—former paramedic and park ranger at Yellowstone and Grand Teton—comes face-to-face with North America’s most fearsome predator, Ursus Arctos. His quest takes him from his home in the Tetons to an eerie, mist-shrouded island of gigantic bruins; from the Bear Center at Washington State University—where scientists believe the secrets of hibernation might help treat diabetes, heart disease, and obesity in humans—to the dark underbelly of for-profit wildlife parks, illegal animal trade and black markets hawking bear bile.
-
-
"Astounding Journey" Indeed
- By Bruce Gehrke on 04-23-25
By: Kevin Grange
-
The Beak of the Finch
- A Story of Evolution in Our Time
- By: Jonathan Weiner
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spend 20 years on Daphne Major, an island in the Galapagos, studying natural selection. They recognize each individual bird on the island, when there are 400 at the time of the author's visit or when there are over a thousand. They have observed about 20 generations of finches - continuously.Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin's finches and come up with a new understanding of life itself.
-
-
Fascinating in-depth look at evolution in action
- By Philip on 05-15-11
By: Jonathan Weiner
-
The Ice at the End of the World
- An Epic Journey into Greenland's Buried Past and Our Perilous Future
- By: Jon Gertner
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Jon Gertner
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Ice at the End of the World, Jon Gertner explains how Greenland has evolved from one of earth’s last frontiers to its largest scientific laboratory. The history of Greenland’s ice begins with the explorers who arrived here at the turn of the 20th century. Their original goal was to conquer Greenland’s seemingly infinite interior. Yet their efforts eventually gave way to scientists who built lonely encampments out on the ice and began drilling - one mile, two miles down.Their aim was to pull up ice cores that could reveal the deepest mysteries of earth’s past.
-
-
Adventure, Science, Advocacy
- By EM Goodkind on 09-08-19
By: Jon Gertner
-
Sounds Wild and Broken
- Sonic Marvels, Evolution's Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction
- By: David George Haskell
- Narrated by: Steven Jay Cohen, David George Haskell
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live on a planet alive with song, music, and speech. David Haskell explores how these wonders came to be. In rain forests shimmering with insect sound and swamps pulsing with frog calls we learn about evolution’s creative powers. From birds in the Rocky Mountains and on the streets of Paris, we discover how animals learn their songs and adapt to new environments. Below the waves, we hear our kinship to beings as different as snapping shrimp, toadfish, and whales.
-
-
A poet-philosopher-scientist-sage for the ages!
- By S. Kalita on 03-27-22
-
Life on Earth
- By: David Attenborough
- Narrated by: David Attenborough
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the book’s first publication, David Attenborough has revisited Life on Earth, completely updating and adding to the original text, taking account of modern scientific discoveries from around the globe....
-
-
100% Pure Attenborough
- By Dave on 09-25-18
-
Our Moon
- How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are
- By: Rebecca Boyle
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it smells like gunpowder? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes listeners on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.
-
-
Interesting but with annoyances
- By J. Pegg on 04-13-24
By: Rebecca Boyle
-
Grizzly Confidential
- An Astounding Journey into the Secret Life of North America’s Most Fearsome Predator
- By: Kevin Grange
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Author Kevin Grange—former paramedic and park ranger at Yellowstone and Grand Teton—comes face-to-face with North America’s most fearsome predator, Ursus Arctos. His quest takes him from his home in the Tetons to an eerie, mist-shrouded island of gigantic bruins; from the Bear Center at Washington State University—where scientists believe the secrets of hibernation might help treat diabetes, heart disease, and obesity in humans—to the dark underbelly of for-profit wildlife parks, illegal animal trade and black markets hawking bear bile.
-
-
"Astounding Journey" Indeed
- By Bruce Gehrke on 04-23-25
By: Kevin Grange
-
The Beak of the Finch
- A Story of Evolution in Our Time
- By: Jonathan Weiner
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spend 20 years on Daphne Major, an island in the Galapagos, studying natural selection. They recognize each individual bird on the island, when there are 400 at the time of the author's visit or when there are over a thousand. They have observed about 20 generations of finches - continuously.Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin's finches and come up with a new understanding of life itself.
-
-
Fascinating in-depth look at evolution in action
- By Philip on 05-15-11
By: Jonathan Weiner
-
The Ice at the End of the World
- An Epic Journey into Greenland's Buried Past and Our Perilous Future
- By: Jon Gertner
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Jon Gertner
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Ice at the End of the World, Jon Gertner explains how Greenland has evolved from one of earth’s last frontiers to its largest scientific laboratory. The history of Greenland’s ice begins with the explorers who arrived here at the turn of the 20th century. Their original goal was to conquer Greenland’s seemingly infinite interior. Yet their efforts eventually gave way to scientists who built lonely encampments out on the ice and began drilling - one mile, two miles down.Their aim was to pull up ice cores that could reveal the deepest mysteries of earth’s past.
-
-
Adventure, Science, Advocacy
- By EM Goodkind on 09-08-19
By: Jon Gertner
What listeners say about Superlative
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 06-02-19
Fascinating and fun
If you have any sort of curiosity about the living world around us and how we fit in, this is a must read. LaPlante uses extremes as a platform to guide us to a better realization of what’s going on right under our feet and out the door. He instills the enthusiasm of a child with solid scientific backing to take us on the journey.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nerd's-eye view
- 12-06-19
Fascinating survey of amazing biology
The narrative was great, but the narrator kept mispronouncing words and putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable in various terms. Mispronounced terms like "amigdala" and "cyclopamine" and "cnidarian" and several others grated my ears.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Henrik
- 04-15-21
Gret insight
Great book, with a lot of interesting insights, and crazy discoveries. So seems there is still a lot of things that we need to discover
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stephen Rooney
- 01-30-23
excellent, entertaining and fascinating!
Really enjoyable book jammed packed with fascinating stories, random facts, detailed science. Some words/ names are painfully mispronounced, but considering how full of Latin it is I think the narrator did a pretty good job. This might be a little too jargon-y for those completely unfamiliar with modern life science terminology, but most of it is explained enough to make it accessible to the non-scientist. And for the scientists, a delightful range of details are provided from studies across the globe so that surely there is something new for everyone.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Patricia King
- 05-22-22
Enlightening, funny
I enjoyed this book very much. To learn about a species becoming extinct has always been a fascination of mine. I loved hearing about the science of that.
More so I think this book opens the hard conversations about things as simple as humans being not being the “most intelligent” creatures on the planet. And even deeper how sentient are our planet mates. And still further how much empathy and compassion do they possess and is their memory based and driven by genes or like humans based only on that individuals experience.
Wonderful book I will recommend to many. FYI the narrator was great.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 06-05-19
Awesome book
I dont consider myself an environmentalist, but after reading this, I am more environmentally conscious.
it is also a great book on exploring how science is being applied for developing new products, medicines through the study of extreme animals and plants.
One of my new favorite books.
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
-
Performance
-
Story
- Aaron
- 06-16-20
Very entertaining book of biology!
This book was very entertaining and wonderfully written. Full of fun facts and funny quips. If you are looking for a detailed explanation of how superlative biology comes to exist, this may leave you wanting a little more. But if you want to learn some things you never knew in a fun and light hearted way, this is a great read/listen!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hayley
- 06-21-24
Reasonably interesting
Reasonably interesting book. It gives tidbits of information about a lot of animals but doesn’t give in depth information about anything. If you’re very knowledgeable about animals and like to learn about things in depth, this isn’t the book for you if you any some really interesting facts, give it a listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!