Preview
  • The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being

  • Evolution and the Making of Us
  • By: Dr Alice Roberts
  • Narrated by: Dr Alice Roberts
  • Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (7 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.

The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being

By: Dr Alice Roberts
Narrated by: Dr Alice Roberts
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $27.27

Buy for $27.27

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

The presenter of the BBC's The Incredible Human Journey gives us a new and highly accessible look at our own bodies and into the past to uncover the evolutionary secrets hidden in all of us.

Shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize.

Alice Roberts takes you on the most incredible journey, revealing your path from a single cell to a complex embryo to a living, breathing, thinking person. It's a story that connects us with our distant ancestors and an extraordinary, unlikely chain of events that shaped human development and left a mark on all of us.

Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embryos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before.

©2014 Alice Roberts (P)2023 Quercus Editions Limited
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself." (Richard Dawkins)

"A masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are...this book really shines.... Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory." (Observer)

"Witty, personal and above all informed by passion and deep knowledge, this is the story of you, not just from conception onwards but from the millions of years of evolution that have shaped the way we are today." (Adam Rutherford)

What listeners say about The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

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

Enjoyable listening

The author makes a complex scientific story easy to understand and enjoyable to listen to.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Audio is lacking.

I'm enjoying this book's subject matter. Embryology is fascinating. The narrator speaks with a heavy British accent complete with all the different pronunciations and that coupled with a great deal of new biological terms has me constantly trying to understand her. The audio quality is just not there. Audible tells me that the quality of all the books is now the same and they provide the best on each purchase.

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

Just superb

Whenever I listen to one of Alice's presentations, I'm struck by how much I've learned, how much more I now realise that I don't know, and by her extraordinary abilities. This book is so much more than I could have imagined. I'm glad Alice read it herself. It is clear and understandable. I saw one comment saying they didn't understand her accent well. I could not disagree with that comment more.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!