Brief Candle in the Dark
My Life in Science
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Narrated by:
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Richard Dawkins
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By:
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Richard Dawkins
About this listen
In this hugely entertaining sequel to the New York Times best-selling memoir An Appetite for Wonder, Richard Dawkins delves deeply into his intellectual life spent kick-starting new conversations about science, culture, and religion and writing yet another of the most audacious and widely read books of the 20th century - The God Delusion.
Called "one of the best nonfiction writers alive today" (Stephen Pinker) and a "prize-fighter" (Nature), Richard Dawkins cheerfully, mischievously, looks back on a lifetime of tireless intellectual adventure and engagement. Exploring the halls of intellectual inquiry and stardom he encountered after the publication of his seminal work, The Selfish Gene; affectionately lampooning the world of academia, publishing, and television; and studding the pages with funny stories about the great men and women he's known, Dawkins offers a candid look at the events and ideas that encouraged him to shift his attention to the intersection of culture, religion, and science. He also invites the reader to look more closely at the brilliant succession of ten influential books that grew naturally out of his busy life, highlighting the ideas that connect them and excavating their origins.
On the publication of his tenth book, the smash hit, The God Delusion, a "resounding trumpet blast for truth" (Matt Ridley), Richard Dawkins was catapulted from mere intellectual stardom into a circle of celebrity thinkers dubbed, "The New Atheists" - including Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett.
Throughout A Brief Candle in the Dark, Dawkins shares with us his infectious sense of wonder at the natural world, his enjoyment of the absurdities of human interaction, and his bracing awareness of life's brevity: all of which have made a deep imprint on our culture.
The complete list of narrators includes: Mitch Albom, Roger McGuinn, Ingrid Michaelson, John Pizzarelli, Paul Stanley, George Guidall, Mike Hodge, Robin Miles, Christian Baskous, Tony Chiroldes, Kevin O'Neil, and Adriana Sananes, Ken Brown, and Sarab Kamoo.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
©2015 Richard Dawkins (P)2015 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics.
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Excellent biography of great physicist
- By Eileen on 05-09-13
By: Graham Farmelo
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Memory Craft
- Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History
- By: Lynne Kelly
- Narrated by: Nancy Linari
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Groundbreaking anthropologist and memory champion Lynne Kelly reveals how we can use ancient and traditional mnemonic methods to enhance and expand our memory.
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So grateful this is on Audible!
- By happy_reader on 02-19-22
By: Lynne Kelly
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At the Existentialist Café
- Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails
- By: Sarah Bakewell
- Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Paris, 1933: Three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called phenomenology. "You see," he says, "if you are a phenomenologist, you can talk about this cocktail and make philosophy out of it!"
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Consistent look at incoherent philosophy
- By Gary on 06-19-16
By: Sarah Bakewell
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Angels and Ages
- A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life
- By: Adam Gopnik
- Narrated by: Adam Gopnik
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Written 200 years after Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln shared a birthday on February 12, 1809, this insightful account sheds new light on two men who changed the way we think about the meaning of life and death. Award-winning journalist Adam Gopnik's unique perspective, combined with previously unexplored stories and figures, reveals two men planted firmly at the roots of modern views and liberal values.
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Connecting Darwin and Lincoln
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Adam Gopnik
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Babel No More
- The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners
- By: Michael Erard
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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We all learn at least one language as children. But what does it take to learn six languages...or seventy? In Babel No More, Michael Erard, "a monolingual with benefits," sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages; Emil Krebs, a pugnacious German diplomat, who spoke sixty-eight languages; and Lomb Kat, a Hungarian who taught herself Russian by reading Russian romance novels.
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Heavy on anecdote, light on science
- By S. Yates on 07-15-16
By: Michael Erard
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Alan Turing
- Unlocking The Enigma
- By: David Boyle
- Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
- Length: 2 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Alan Mathison Turing. Mathematician, philosopher, codebreaker, a founder of computer science, and the father of Artificial Intelligence, Turing was one of the most original thinkers of the last century - and the man whose work helped create the computer-driven world we now inhabit. But he was also an enigmatic figure, deeply reticent yet also strikingly naive. Turing's openness about his homosexuality at a time when it was an imprisonable offense ultimately led to his untimely death at the age of only 41.
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Fascinating look at a fascinating man
- By kwestrope on 10-16-18
By: David Boyle
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Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track
- Selected Letters of Richard Feynman
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Richard Poe, Johanna Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Few scientists have enthralled more people than Richard P. Feynman, the Nobel Prize winner and best-selling author of Six Easy Pieces and Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Beloved for his engaging character and zest for life, he is an American icon. In this selection of letters, Feynman's towering genius and singular personality shine like dazzling stars.
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Absolutely delightful
- By csk on 07-07-05
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Great Scientists and Their Discoveries
- By: David Angus
- Narrated by: Benjamin Soames, Clare Corbett
- Length: 2 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Nine remarkable men produced inventions that changed the world. The printing press, the telephone, powered flight, recording and others have made the modern world what it is. But who were the men who had these ideas and made reality of them? As David Angus shows, they were very different - quiet, boisterous, confident, withdrawn - but all had a moment of vision allied to single-minded determination to battle through numerous prototypes and produced something that really worked. This is a fascinating account for younger listeners.
By: David Angus
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The Blind Watchmaker
- Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
- By: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The Blind Watchmaker, knowledgably narrated by author Richard Dawkins, is as prescient and timely a book as ever. The watchmaker belongs to the 18th-century theologian William Paley, who argued that just as a watch is too complicated and functional to have sprung into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Charles Darwin's brilliant discovery challenged the creationist arguments; but only Richard Dawkins could have written this elegant riposte.
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Challenging textbook more than an enjoyable listen
- By Eric on 01-15-12
By: Richard Dawkins
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Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Jeff Crawford
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will.
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Loved it, but some philosophy background needed.
- By LongerILiveLessIKnow on 11-14-13
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Stephen Hawking: His Life and Work
- By: Kitty Ferguson
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Stephen Hawking is one of the most remarkable figures of our time, a Cambridge genius who has earned international celebrity as a brilliant theoretical physicist and become an inspiration and revelation to those who have witnessed his courageous triumph over disability. This is Hawking's life story by Kitty Ferguson, who has had special help from Hawking himself and his close associates and who has a gift for translating the language of theoretical physics for non-scientists.
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Not What it Appears
- By Heizenberg on 04-04-12
By: Kitty Ferguson
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No new ground is covered.
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For decades Richard Dawkins has been the world's most brilliant scientific communicator, consistently illuminating the wonders of nature and attacking faulty logic. Science in the Soul brings together 42 essays, polemics, and paeans - culled from personal papers, newspapers, lectures, and online salons - all written with Dawkins' characteristic erudition, remorseless wit, and unjaded awe of the natural world.
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Great writing; distracting reading
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In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett filmed a landmark discussion about modern atheism. The video went viral. Now, the transcript of their conversation is illuminated by new essays from three of the original participants and an introduction by Stephen Fry.
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Short
- By Cole Brandon Eckhardt on 03-22-19
By: Christopher Hitchens, and others
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The wonder of flight. The science of evolution. From both, Richard Dawkins weaves a fascinating account of how nature and humans have learned to overcome the pull of gravity and take to the skies. Have you ever dreamt you could fly? Or imagined what it would be like to glide and swoop through the sky like a bird? Do you let your mind soar to unknown, magical spaces?
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Thank God for Richard Dawkins!
- By aaron on 12-19-21
By: Richard Dawkins
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The God Delusion
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Discover magazine recently called Richard Dawkins "Darwin's Rottweiler" for his fierce and effective defense of evolution. Prospect magazine voted him among the top three public intellectuals in the world (along with Umberto Eco and Noam Chomsky). Now Dawkins turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.
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Dangerous Religion
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Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands to rethink their beliefs about life.
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Better than print!
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By: Richard Dawkins
What listeners say about Brief Candle in the Dark
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- Lawrence
- 11-02-15
Exceptional
Narrated by the author who's voice gives the story of Dawkins life the flare with which it was meant to be told. I can only hope to be alive to narrate my own.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Johnny
- 07-15-21
one of my most favorite
Richard Dawkins is one of my most favorite scientists. I wish I could know him in private life as I'm quite sure he would be a blast to hang out with. I've been reading his books time and again for several years now and in doing so he has given me answers to some of my hardest questions. From why do dogs die so young in comparison to humans when we are made out of the same flesh and blood, to why are we even here? why do we have contiousness? I enjoy his narration and writing style as well as his wife's and find his choice in friends amongst the scientific community are like my top picks of favorite scientists who I also read from, like Jarod Diamond, Lawrence Kraus, etc.
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- Scott
- 12-19-15
A dry biography - well read to hold some interest
Academic stories told well, but I won't be passing any along in conversation. I'd like to have heard a background of some of the memes he's generated.
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- Kjartan Hansen
- 02-08-18
A great read and really do humanize Mr.Dawkins
I love how mr.Dawkins lives a life filled of passion and integrity, both in the professional and the events of the everyday. He has done the world a lot of good and still remains humble and true to his cause.
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- Patrick Tidwell
- 02-18-16
Hero
Get well soon Professor Dawkins. You sir are my candle in the dark. Thank you.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anne
- 10-18-15
I'm a Dawkins Groupie but...
... I had to hang in there before this memoir caught me up.
I am a huge fan of Richard Dawkins - just to be up front about that. But it took a bit of persistence to stay with this second half of his memoir. Rather than lay the book out chronologically, he laid it out in "topics." Unfortunately, his first topic was all about the various conferences and talks and other such events in which he had taken part. Except for his discussion of the Royal Society Christmas Lectures, this was fairly dry and uninteresting to me. I was about to give up on this book but then...
...the DH and I went to an appearance of his in Kansas City and were privileged to both attend a small reception for him beforehand (a fund-raiser for his Foundation for Reason and Science for which we paid a tidy sum - full disclosure) followed by his public appearance. where he discussed his book and told stories from it...
...so I decided to stick with the book and am now glad that I did. I of course most loved his discussions of science, but I did end up enjoying the opportunity to learn a bit more about his life on a more personal level.
I enjoyed his narration to such an extent that I don't think the audio version could have been nearly as good without it. He has a lovely sense of humor, for all his very British reserve, and is clearly passionate about his science and the privilege he enjoys to share his knowledge and experience.
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- Williepete
- 12-07-15
A great read.
If you enjoy any of Richards other books, this is a must read. It ties in all of his other books.
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- Jeff Koeppen
- 03-31-23
Intriguing Second Half of the Autobiography
I really enjoyed this sequel to Dawkins' first autobiography An Appetite for Wonder I've read some of his books and have seen him speak twice, and after reading this two autobiographies I feel like I know him better. Like I said in the review of An Appetite for Wonder, I wish I would've know some of this information when I met him in person. Oh well.
Brief Candle in the Dark held my interest from start to finish. It was full of great science, consistently funny, and always fascinating. This second book starts up where the first left off - right after the publication of The Selfish Gene in 1976 but the events are not in chronological order but are organized by subject. For example, he devotes chapters to his lectures, debates, TV experiences, scientific studies, encounters with other notables of science and society, and other themes.
I was surprised to hear him lightheartedly chat about the time he was lampooned on South Park, considering how that all went down! He has spent time with innumerable big names in the scientific community Some of my favorites: he heaps admiration on to the brilliant planetary scientist Carolyn Porco and her stellar career (who appeared with him at the Dallas event I attended), talks about time spent with Neil Armstrong, and recounts the time spent with the famous paleoanthropologist Richard Leaky, which contains probably the most funny story in the whole book. He also gives a touching tribute to his friend, the great Christopher Hitchens.
To my delight he spends more time in this second installment skewering religion, particularly creationism. He is constantly being attacked by creationists. And when your best selling book is titled The God Delusion religious leaders are going to come after you and challenges to debate arrive fast and furious. One of the funniest anecdotes in this part of the book relates to a lecture with a Q&A he gave in Virginia in which nearby Liberty University (Jerry Fallwell's religious fundamental institution) sent a bunch of students to riddle Dawkins with questions about biblical "facts", fossil dating methods, evolution, etc., and one mentioned that Liberty possessed a three thousand year old dinosaur fossil and what did he think of that? He replied, “leave and go to a proper university”! Another enjoyable rebuttal of religious fundamentalism is his reading from and passionately rebutting a Jehovah Witness pamphlet which portents to explain how the world came about supernaturally rather than from a natural means. Dawkins states, "Creationists have lost ignominiously lost the argument, and deception is their last resort".
Dawkins didn't like debating theologians as he felt it gave them and their beliefs perceived equal footing with science upon the stage. He did some debates, though, and one memorable exchange went like this:
Jesuit Father George Coyne: "God is not an explanation, if I were seeking for a God of explanation I probably would be an atheist".
Richard Dawkins: "That's exactly why I am and atheist. If an all-powerful creator God is really there, how could he not be an explanation for things. Or if he's not the explanation for anything, what exactly does he do with his time to make him worth worshipping?"
He also talks a lot about his intellectual life and does a deep dive in to a few of his research projects. I didn't find these parts of the book as enjoyable as his personal anecdotes but the science was always fascinating and it was interesting to hear him talk about his thought processes and theories.
I listened to him narrate this on Audible. I think that's the way to experience this Richard is a great speaker. Admirers of him will enjoy his anecdotes and appreciate learning what makes this great scientist tick.
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- Mark
- 01-11-16
What Richard did next
I’ve never been much of a one for reading memoirs. I read Churchill’s memoirs from his World War II period, but that felt more like a history than a memoir. The reason I chose to listen to Dawkins' autobiography was that he, like Churchill I suppose, is one of my heroes. The Selfish Gene and the God Delusion changed my life twice over a 25 year period, and I’ve always enjoyed anything he’s ever written (although I confess I didn’t finish the Ancestor’s Tale).
What I like about Dawkins is his ability to explain concepts with superb clarity and rapier-sharp logic, using brilliant examples to illustrate his ideas. In a memoir you don’t really get much of this (except during occasional digressions, which were my favourite parts of the book). You do get some insights into what it is like to be Richard Dawkins (during the second half of his life at least, this being part 2 of his memoirs) and this is amusing and entertaining, but not riveting, fascinating or life-changing.
There is a structure to the book in that it is in chronological order, but aside from this it feels very casual and unstructured, just a series of anecdotes about the things that he got up to. There’s a lot of name-dropping, but not because he wants to impress us with the famous people he’s met, just that he has been increasingly surrounded by famous people and it would be silly to deliberately omit them from his story.
So, if you like Dawkins and you can tolerate the relatively mundane milieu of a memoir, then I’d say this book is definitely worth a listen. I never got at all bored or wanted to switch off, I just didn’t learn anything that altered my World View. It’s probably unreasonable to expect anything so transformative from a memoir.
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6 people found this helpful
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- jeremy
- 04-30-16
Good book by prof Dawkins.
Interesting and informative
Prof Dawkins books are all high quality and these memoirs are enjoyable and easy listening
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