The Greatest Show on Earth
The Evidence for Evolution
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Narrated by:
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Richard Dawkins
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Lalla Ward
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By:
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Richard Dawkins
About this listen
In 1859 Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, shook society to its core. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke. But he surely would have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later.
Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity. Now the author of the iconic work The God Delusion takes them to task.
The Greatest Show on Earth is a stunning counterattack on advocates of "Intelligent Design", explaining the evidence for evolution while exposing the absurdities of the creationist "argument". Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence: from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics. Combining these elements and many more, he makes the airtight case that "we find ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct consequence of evolution by non-random selection."
The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is menacing as never before. In American schools, and in schools around the world, insidious attempts are made to undermine the status of science in the classroom. Dawkins wields a devastating argument against this ignorance, but his unjaded passion for the natural world turns what might have been a negative argument into a positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a master's vision of life, in all its splendor.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2009 Richard Dawkins (P)2009 Simon & SchusterListeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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Fascinating survey of amazing biology
- By Nerd's-eye view on 12-06-19
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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
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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.
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Fascinating in-depth look at evolution in action
- By Philip on 05-15-11
By: Jonathan Weiner
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The Most Perfect Thing
- By: Tim Birkhead
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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How are eggs of different shapes made, and why are they the shapes they are? When does the shell of an egg harden? Why do some eggs contain two yolks? How are the colours and patterns of eggshells created, and why do they vary? And which end of an egg is laid first - the blunt end or the pointy end?
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Great book about eggs!!
- By Timothy on 03-24-21
By: Tim Birkhead
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The Complete (Short) Guide to Absolutely Everything
- Adventures in Math and Science
- By: Adam Rutherford, Hannah Fry
- Narrated by: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
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Geneticist Adam Rutherford and mathematician Hannah Fry guide listeners through time and space, through our bodies and brains, showing how emotions shape our view of reality, how our minds tell us lies, and why a mostly bald and curious ape decided to begin poking at the fabric of the universe.
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Humour and understandability.
- By Chris B on 09-08-24
By: Adam Rutherford, and others
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Letters to a Young Scientist
- By: Edward O. Wilxon
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
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Edward O. Wilson has distilled sixty years of teaching into a book for students, young and old. Reflecting on his coming-of-age in the South as a Boy Scout and a lover of ants and butterflies, Wilson threads these twenty-one letters, each richly illustrated, with autobiographical anecdotes that illuminate his career - both his successes and his failures - and his motivations for becoming a biologist.
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Long on biography, short on advice
- By A. Mandelin on 08-02-18
By: Edward O. Wilxon
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The Lives of a Cell
- Notes of a Biology Watcher
- By: Lewis Thomas
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
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In The Lives of a Cell, Dr. Lewis Thomas opens up to the listener a universe of knowledge and perception that is perhaps not wholly unfamiliar to the research scientist; but the world he explores is also one of men and women, of complex interrelationships, old ironies, peculiar powers, and intricate languages that give identity to the alienated and direction to the dependent. This remarkable work offers a subtle, bold vision of humankind and the world around us - a sense of what gives life - from a writer who seems to draw grace and strength from the very substance of his subject.
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So enlightening and enjoyable!
- By Flora on 03-15-18
By: Lewis Thomas
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Nature's Nether Regions
- What the Sex Lives of Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Tell Us About Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ourselves
- By: Menno Schithuizen
- Narrated by: Steven Menasche
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
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The story of evolution as you’ve never heard it before. What’s the easiest way to tell species apart? Check their genitals. Researching private parts was long considered taboo, but scientists are now beginning to understand that the wild diversity of sex organs across species can tell us a lot about evolution. Menno Schilthuizen invites listeners to join him as he uncovers the ways the shapes and functions of genitalia have been molded by complex Darwinian struggles.
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A New Favorite
- By S. Pepper on 05-15-15
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The Tyrannosaur Chronicles
- By: David Hone
- Narrated by: Gavin Osborn
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
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Adored by children and adults alike, tyrannosaurus is the most famous dinosaur in the world, one that pops up again and again in pop culture, often battling other beasts such as King Kong, triceratops, or velociraptors in Jurassic Park. But despite the hype, tyrannosaurus and the other tyrannosaurs are fascinating animals in their own right and are among the best-studied of all dinosaurs.
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An Engaging Biography of the King
- By Erik on 08-06-18
By: David Hone
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Creation
- How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself
- By: Adam Rutherford
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
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What is life? Humans have been asking this question for thousands of years. But as technology has advanced and our understanding of biology has deepened, the answer has evolved. For decades, scientists have been exploring the limits of nature by modifying and manipulating DNA, cells, and whole organisms to create new ones that could never have previously existed on their own.
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The Goldilocks book on what is life
- By Gary on 07-11-13
By: Adam Rutherford
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Arrival of the Fittest
- Solving Evolution's Greatest Puzzle
- By: Andreas Wagner
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In Arrival of the Fittest, renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner draws on over 15 years of research to present the missing piece in Darwin's theory. Using experimental and computational technologies that were heretofore unimagined, he has found that adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take.
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Robustness makes for an interesting life and book
- By Gary on 11-29-14
By: Andreas Wagner
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For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why - and how - it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion’s evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma.
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Great Reader Actually Enhances A Great Book!
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Daniel C. Dennett—preeminent philosopher and cognitive scientist—has spent his career creating the basis for a naturalistic account of consciousness with acumen and elegance. I’ve Been Thinking traces the development of Dennett’s own intellect and instructs us how we too can become good thinkers. Dennett’s restless curiosity leads him from his childhood in Beirut to Harvard, and from Parisian jazz clubs to “tillosophy” on his tractor in Maine. Along the way, he reveals the breakthroughs and misjudgments that shaped his paradigm-shifting philosophies.
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Some pockets of wisdom but mostly self-gloating
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What listeners say about The Greatest Show on Earth
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Overall
- Steven
- 10-28-09
Interesting book and excellent readers
Dawkins lays out clearly and concisely the science behind evolution. Not only is the book interesting, Dawkins and his wife are also great readers as well. Excellent all-round.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Marshall
- 05-31-10
Extremely informative, a joy to listen to
Evolution has always captured my imagination, and this book may now be my favorite on the subject. Dawkins' passion is obvious in his narration, and he makes the case for natural selection and evolution gracefully. I sincerely hope he and his wife (Mrs. Ward) decides to go back and narrate some of his other books.. they're a joy to listen to.
If you're reading this book with a genuine desire to understand, it will leave you without a shadow of a doubt in the fact of evolution. I especially delight in the fact that our evidence is so strong, that the fossil record is just icing on the cake! Definitely give this book a listen, and if you're looking for something more theologically oriented, also checkout the God Delusion.. both transformative in their own right.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Ryan
- 05-08-10
Powerfully convincing (the science part)
It's hard to imagine that many books out there present a clearer, more logical, and more eloquent explanation of why scientists consider evolution a fact than this one does. As Dawkins explains from the beginning, the public often misunderstands the implications of the word "theory". In turn, he examines each component of evolutionary science, showing in straightforward language how each is logical, sound, supported by an enormous array of facts, and reinforced by other areas of understanding. If like me, you accepted Darwin's theory, but were fuzzy on some of its specifics, Dawkins provides a satisfying overview of natural selection, genetics, mutation, the fossil record, geology, and even some physics and math. The reader learns how evolution has been demonstrated in a laboratory (with bacteria), why the fossil record isn't even necessary to convince scientists of evolution's reality, and how the ideas have been tested with mathematical models.
Dawkins' other goal is to debunk popular Creationist beliefs, and this he does with a certain amount of glee, pointing out the many factual inaccuracies and logical flaws they contain. He also corrects common misconceptions about the theory of evolution, that make Creationist arguments easier to swallow. By the time he's finished, he's made it very difficult for any Creationist to logically refute his framework of reasoning. That said, I think he sometimes strays too far from science into theological territory, attacking conceptions of God that are a little more simplistic than those many religious people actually hold. After all, many theists accept the reality of evolution, but believe that the will of God is still present in natural events.
This is a very informative, well-argued, and substantial book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys science and wants to understand how evolutionary science has gotten to where it is today.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Donald
- 11-15-09
more than many readers can chew
Great science, explicit and careful descriptions. Wonderfully read by Dawkins and his wife Lalla. Although I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject, those expecting it to be easily digested my get bogged down. Nevertheless, give it a try, perhaps listen to it more than once. If possible, augment it with a printed copy. I was captivated. I'm familiar nearly all of the subject matter but some parts were covered in a depth I never encountered.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Steve High
- 01-28-10
A great showcase of reason and inquiry
Dawkins scores another hit with me. This book is thorough in its logic, and it doesn't try to 'dumb down' crucial concepts. This is one thing I love about Dawkins. Just as he doesn't adhere to the compulsory veneration of strange belief systems, he also does not try to massage the facts into small minds. If you get it, you get it. If you don't...get an encyclopedia.
Finally, I think the back-and-forth narration was a great choice. I felt like Dawkins and Ward were sitting around the coffee table having a true conversation.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Siva
- 12-18-17
Comprehensive and enjoyable
Dr. Dawkins presents the strongest case for natural selection and its role in driving biological evolution. The evidence presented is extensive and far reaching: ranging from radiometric analysis of fossils, evidence from embryology - and perhaps what was the most captivating to me - the molecular evidence. His compelling conclusion (I paraphrase) that even if a single fossil were not discovered, the evidence supporting natural selection is overwhelming. Creationists and proponents of intelligent design can only arrive at their conclusions by blatantly ignoring these facts
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- Jeremy B VanDyke
- 01-06-20
what an absolutely phenomenal book!
I never thought that a book on evolution could keep me on the edge of my seat. it is such an exciting listen and packed with so much fascinating and useful information. well done!
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- Christian
- 03-11-16
Best book
One of the best books I have ever read. i would recommend it to anyone
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- stephen yuhas
- 04-27-16
Great supplement or introduction to evolution!
Whether you're well versed in the science and facts and facts about evolution and want to supplement you're understanding of the subject or you are new to the topic and would like a thorough introduction to understanding the theory, this book is a must read. Dawkins has a way of putting things that make complex topics accessible and easy to understand without making you feel patronized or dumb. He tells a fantastic story of the experimental and historical evidence that shows the theory of evolution to be an undeniable fact and paints a picture that makes the denial evolution tantamount to saying the earth is flat or that we dont revolve around the sun. He tells the story of evolution in a way that, while at times is dark and grim, is both humorous and fascinatingly rich in detail while also having the ability at certain moments to move you very deeply. With each new page I found I learned something new and amazing about the way life works and developed on earth and found myself telling friends about the amazing tidbits I had learned that day while reading the book. Dawkins passion for this subject shines through the pages as he defends one of his true heroes in life through describing what Darwin went through to pass this astonishing and amazing knowledge down to further generations. This is an amazing journey into the theory of one of the more controversial but well established and TRUE facets of the modern scientific world. If you want to understand the theory or just want a refreshing and honest take on it from a seasoned voice in the field then you will love this book.
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- Jason
- 09-03-10
Not for casual listening...
Very interesting read, and keeps your attention by switching between Dawkins and Ward. You do really have to focus on the subject matter, which is a bit in depth, or you will find yourself hitting the back button often. Now only if he would do "The Selfish Gene" on tape...
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