The Ancestor's Tale
A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
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The Ancestor's Tale
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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 The Ancestor's Tale, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins offers a masterwork: an exhilarating reverse tour through evolution, from present-day humans back to the microbial beginnings of life four billion years ago. Throughout the journey, Dawkins spins entertaining, insightful stories and sheds light on topics such as speciation, sexual selection, and extinction. The Ancestor's Tale is at once an essential education in evolutionary theory and riveting in its telling.
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-
Story4 out of 5 stars 72
Ian Tattersall, a highly esteemed figure in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, and paleontology, leads a fascinating tour of the history of life and the evolution of human beings. Starting at the very beginning, Tattersall examines patterns of change in the biosphere over time, and the correlations of biological events with physical changes in the Earth's environment.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great summary of where we are with understanding
- By david on 06-25-11
By: Ian Tattersall
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I, Mammal
- By: Liam Drew
- Narrated by: Neil Gardner
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 22
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
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Story5 out of 5 stars 20
A list of the attributes that define a mammal is a ragbag of things - fur, live birth, three bones in the middle ear, a brain whose two halves are robustly joined together.... But this curious collection of features contain the roots of all the biology that makes us what we are: monkeys with massive brains who parent extensively, enjoy sport and think lots. Which is to say, what makes us mammals makes us human.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Who knew?
- By Fitmen on 04-25-18
By: Liam Drew
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Written in Stone
- Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature
- By: Brian Switek
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 308
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 258
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 254
Spectacular fossil finds make today's headlines; new technology unlocks secrets of skeletons unearthed 100 years ago. Still, evolution is often poorly represented by the media and misunderstood by the public. A potent antidote to pseudoscience, Written in Stone is an engrossing history of evolutionary discovery for anyone who has marveled at the variety and richness of life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very good but has some weaknesses
- By Anonymous User on 06-23-19
By: Brian Switek
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How to Build a Dinosaur
- Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever
- By: Jack Horner, James Gorman
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 103
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 61
In movies, in novels, in comic strips, and on television, we've all seen dinosaurs - or at least somebody's educated guess of what they would look like. But what if it were possible to build, or grow, a real dinosaur without finding ancient DNA? Jack Horner, the scientist who advised Steven Spielberg on the blockbuster film Jurassic Park and a pioneer in bringing paleontology into the 21st century, teams up with the editor of the New York Times's Science Times section to reveal exactly what's in store.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good book but misplaced title
- By Robert on 06-19-15
By: Jack Horner, and others
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Superlative
- The Biology of Extremes
- By: Matthew D. LaPlante
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating survey of amazing biology
- By Nerd's-eye view on 12-06-19
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The Most Perfect Thing
- By: Tim Birkhead
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book about eggs!!
- By Timothy on 03-24-21
By: Tim Birkhead
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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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 469
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 379
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 378
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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5 out of 5 stars
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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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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
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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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5 out of 5 stars
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A New Favorite
- By S. Pepper on 05-15-15
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Letters to a Young Scientist
- By: Edward O. Wilxon
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 314
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 269
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 271
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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2 out of 5 stars
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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 Tyrannosaur Chronicles
- By: David Hone
- Narrated by: Gavin Osborn
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 165
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 166
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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4 out of 5 stars
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An Engaging Biography of the King
- By Erik on 08-06-18
By: David Hone
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Genesis
- The Deep Origin of Societies
- By: Edward O. Wilson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 66
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.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Simply awful
- By Mike A Klotz on 02-07-20
By: Edward O. Wilson
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Masters of the Planet
- The Search for Our Human Origins
- By: Ian Tattersall
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 102
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Fifty thousand years ago - merely a blip in evolutionary time - our Homo sapiens ancestors were competing for existence with several other human species, just as their precursors had done for millions of years. Yet something about our species distinguished it from the pack, and ultimately led to its survival while the rest became extinct. Just what was it that allowed Homo sapiens to become masters of the planet? Ian Tattersall, curator emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History, takes us deep into the fossil record to uncover what made humans so special.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book, Some Sloppy Editing
- By DB on 11-23-20
By: Ian Tattersall
-
The Lives of a Cell
- Notes of a Biology Watcher
- By: Lewis Thomas
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
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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5 out of 5 stars
-
So enlightening and enjoyable!
- By Flora on 03-15-18
By: Lewis Thomas
-
The Vital Question
- Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life
- By: Nick Lane
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,041
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,030
The Earth teems with life: in its oceans, forests, skies, and cities. Yet there's a black hole at the heart of biology. We do not know why complex life is the way it is, or, for that matter, how life first began. In The Vital Question, award-winning author and biochemist Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a solution to conundrums that have puzzled generations of scientists.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Ouch!
- By Mark on 06-24-16
By: Nick Lane
-
Creation
- How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself
- By: Adam Rutherford
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 43
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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5 out of 5 stars
-
The Goldilocks book on what is life
- By Gary on 07-11-13
By: Adam Rutherford
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Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous evolutionary biologist, presents a gorgeously lucid, science book examining some of the nature’s most fundamental questions both from a mythical and scientific perspective. Science is our most precise and powerful tool for making sense of the world. Before we developed the scientific method, we created rich mythologies to explain the unknown. The pressing questions that primitive men and women asked are the same ones we ask as children. Who was the first person? What is the sun? Why is there night and day?
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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.
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In 12 fiercely funny, mind-expanding chapters, Dawkins explains how the natural world arose without a designer - the improbability and beauty of the "bottom-up programming" that engineers an embryo or a flock of starlings - and challenges head-on some of the most basic assumptions made by the world’s religions: Do you believe in God? Which one? Is the Bible a "Good Book"? Is adhering to a religion necessary, or even likely, to make people good to one another? Outgrowing God is a concise, provocative guide to thinking for yourself.
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3 out of 5 stars
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No new ground is covered.
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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
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Books Do Furnish a Life
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Books Do Furnish a Life is divided by theme, including celebrating nature, exploring humanity, and interrogating faith. For the first time, it brings together Richard Dawkins's forewords, afterwords and introductions to the work of some of the leading thinkers of our age - Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, Jacob Bronowski, Lewis Wolpert - with a selection of his reviews to provide an electrifying celebration of science writing, both fiction and non-fiction. It is also a sparkling addition to Dawkins's own remarkable canon of work.
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Loved it!
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Science in the Soul
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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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5 out of 5 stars
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Great writing; distracting reading
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From Bacteria to Bach and Back
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What is human consciousness, and how is it possible? This question fascinates thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists, and philosophers. From Bacteria to Bach and Back is Daniel C. Dennett's brilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution, brains, and human culture.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The only other review was so bad that I wrote this
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The Selfish Gene
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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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5 out of 5 stars
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Better than print!
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The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries
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The theory of evolution unites the past, present, and future of living things. It puts humanity's place in the universe into necessary perspective. Despite a history of controversy, the evidence for evolution continues to accumulate as a result of many separate strands of incredible scientific sleuthing. In The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries, Donald R. Prothero explores the most fascinating breakthroughs in piecing together the evidence for evolution.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good synopsis of current understanding
- By Nunya on 05-28-23
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The Four Horsemen
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- Unabridged
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 973
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Story5 out of 5 stars 962
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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4 out of 5 stars
-
Short
- By Cole Brandon Eckhardt on 03-22-19
By: Christopher Hitchens, and others
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The Story of Earth
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- By: Robert M. Hazen
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 928
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 921
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national best-selling author Robert M. Hazen reveals how the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere - of rocks and living matter - has shaped our planet into the only one of its kind in the Solar System, if not the entire cosmos.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Makes minerals interesting
- By Gary on 07-31-12
By: Robert M. Hazen
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The Meme Machine
- By: Susan Blackmore, Richard Dawkins - foreword
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
First coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene, a meme is any idea, behavior, or skill that can be transferred from one person to another by imitation. Susan Blackmore shows that once our distant ancestors acquired the crucial ability to imitate, a second kind of natural selection began, a survival of the fittest amongst competing ideas and behaviors. Ideas and behaviors that proved most adaptive-making tools, for example, or using language - survived and flourished, replicating themselves in as many minds as possible.
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4 out of 5 stars
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memes are gut bacteria, not godlike puppet masters
- By Hans Thieme on 02-14-22
By: Susan Blackmore, and others
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Dinosaurs Rediscovered
- The Scientific Revolution in Paleontology
- By: Michael J. Benton
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 227
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 208
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 207
In Dinosaurs Rediscovered, leading paleontologist Michael J. Benton gathers together all the latest paleontological evidence, tracing the transformation of dinosaur study from its roots in antiquated natural history to an indisputably scientific field. Among other things, the book explores how dinosaur remains are found and excavated, and especially how paleontologists read the details of dinosaurs' lives from their fossils - their colors, their growth, and even whether we will ever be able to bring them back to life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great overview of advances in dinosaur paleo
- By Keegan on 03-28-20
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Life on a Young Planet
- The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth
- By: Andrew H. Knoll
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
Australopithecines, dinosaurs, trilobites - such fossils conjure up images of lost worlds filled with vanished organisms. But in the full history of life, ancient animals, even the trilobites, form only the half-billion-year tip of a nearly four-billion-year iceberg. Andrew Knoll explores the deep history of life from its origins on a young planet to the incredible Cambrian explosion, presenting a compelling new explanation for the emergence of biological novelty.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Earliest Life
- By Arden on 02-16-20
By: Andrew H. Knoll
What listeners say about The Ancestor's Tale
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Travis Vannatta
- 01-16-18
I love Dawkins.
his explanations are intricate, yet simple enough to understand for a self educated individual of modest intellectual abilities.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- jacob swane
- 04-18-16
amazing as always Dawkins
I loved the journey and the story's involved with following humanity back to the origin of life.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elmyr
- 04-09-19
Marvelously well done
As a biologist, I greatly enjoyed this book. It was both accessible to the lay person and full of the wonder and mystery that I think people in the field would appreciate alike. I think he eloquently captured the wonder of an evolved mind contemplating its origins and the complexity of our biodiversity alike. I look forward to listening again someday.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Philip
- 11-27-22
One of the most amazing books in my lifetime
this book makes me feel better about life and living. absolutely amazing. The author and his other narrator are also excellent readers.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tyler
- 06-24-15
Outstanding, an easy listen worth your time.
I had read the paperback before this was released and absolutely loved it. However I must say that there is nothing like hearing a book read by its author. Especially when it is performed as well as Dawkins and Lalla Ward have done once again. Personally, this audio book is a treasure. I really hope he can do the same for all of his work, you know, before he dies.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vermont 1
- 06-03-22
Wonderful tribute to nature
Wonderful book and very well performed with two narrators alternating parts, which is great for extended quotations and for emphasis. I only wish it were an unabridged version.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- S. Spencer
- 03-17-17
ABRIDGED!
I don't know guys, I'm sure this is missing a tale or two. Where is the Tale of the Cauliflower? or the Nautilus? Everything else about it is great.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Online Customer
- 12-06-15
Dawkins makes biology so
If you could sum up The Ancestor's Tale in three words, what would they be?
A very Interesting Natural History lecture.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I enjoy listening to The Hippo's Tale and The Elephant Bird's Tale the most.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex Eaton
- 08-03-15
Great Book; Distracting Narration
The book was great but I didn't like the tag team narration. I also was hoping for more detail about our human cousins but that wasn't the specific focus is the book.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Cheri
- 12-06-16
Thoroughly enjoyable
Fascinating information shared in a very easy to follow and entertaining manner. Highly recommended for all.
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