Charles Darwin has 8 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 6 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.7★ across 56 ratings. The most-rated is On the Origin of Species.
On the Origin of Species
Summary
Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and a life-long committed Darwinist, abridges and reads this special audio version of Charles Darwin's famous book. A literally world-changing book, Darwin put forward the anti-religious and scientific idea that humans in fact evolved over millions of generations from animals, starting with fish, all the way up through the ranks to apes, then to our current form. Dawkin's passion for his subject and hero are clear and exciting for listeners, who, whatever their religious or scientific views, will be intrigued and captivated by this involving production of arguably one of the most important books of all time.
©2006 CSA Telltapes Ltd. (P)2006 CSA Telltapes Ltd.
On the Origin of Species
Summary
Perhaps the most influential science book ever written, On the Origin of Species has continued to fascinate for more than a century after its initial publication. Its controversial theory that populations evolve and adapt through a process known as natural selection led to heated scientific, philosophical, and religious debate, revolutionizing every discipline in its wake. With its clear, concise, and surprisingly enjoyable prose, On the Origin of Species is both captivating and edifying. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
Public Domain (P)2016 Naxos AudioBooks
The Voyage of the Beagle
Summary
”I hate every wave of the ocean”, the seasick Charles Darwin wrote to his family during his five-year voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle. It was this world-wide journey, however, that launched the scientists career. The Voyage of the Beagle is Darwin's fascinating account of his trip - of his biological and geological observations and collection activities, of his speculations about the causes and theories behind scientific phenomena, of his interactions with various native peoples, of his beautiful descriptions of the lands he visited, and of his amazing discoveries in the Galapagos archipelago. Although scientific in nature, the literary quality rivals those of John Muir and Henry Thoreau. Charles Robert Darwin, FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. Darwin published his theory with compelling evidence for evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.
Public Domain (P)2013 Audible Ltd
The Voyage of the Beagle
Summary
The Voyage of the Beagle - or, to give it its full title, Journal of researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries visited during the Voyage round the World of H.M.S. Beagle under command of Captain FitzRoy, R.N. - is much more than merely an account of Darwin's scientific observations in his 1831 - 36 travels across the globe: it is fine travel writing in its own right. Voyage of the Beagle foreshadows Darwin's world-changing On The Origin of Species (also a CSA Word audiobook read by Richard Dawkins), in its constant intellectual quest. Darwin - still only in his early 20s - never just accepts what he sees, but wants to understand it; he shares his thinking in clear, entertaining, witty, even lyrical writing. Professor Richard Dawkins, renowned evolutionist and author of ten books including The Selfish Gene, The God Delusion, and The Greatest Show on Earth, reads a carefully considered selection of extracts which makes Darwin's observational and logical genius accessible to a whole new audience.
©2009 CSA Word (P)2009 CSA Word
The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
Summary
The Origin of Species sold out on the first day of its publication in 1859. It is the major book of the 19th century and one of the most readable and accessible of the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination. Though, in fact, little read, most people know what it says—at least they think they do. The Origin of Species was the first mature and persuasive work to explain how species change through the process of natural selection. Upon its publication, the book began to transform attitudes about society and religion and was soon used to justify the philosophies of communists, socialists, capitalists, and even Germany’s National Socialists. But the most quoted response came from Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwin’s friend and also a renowned naturalist, who exclaimed, “How extremely stupid not to have thought of that!"
Public Domain (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex
Summary
First published in 1871, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex sees Darwin apply his evolutionary theory to the human race, controversially placing apes in our family tree. The book covers a range of adjacent themes, including differences between different peoples, the dominance of women in mate choice, and the relevance of evolutionary theory to general society. After the criticism of his On the Origin of Species, Darwin was apprehensive about the possible public reception of The Descent of Man. However, there was an immediate interest in the book, and it had to be reprinted within three weeks of publication, leading a relieved Darwin to remark that "Everybody is talking about it without being shocked". PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Public Domain (P)2020 Naxos AudioBooks
The Very Best of Charles Darwin
Summary
The Very Best of Charles Darwin comprises On the Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle. The first introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. The evidence was gathered on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s, recounted in The Voyage of the Beagle, which is both a travel memoir and a scientific field journal of anthropological, biological, and geological interest. The Beagle sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and carried out hydrographical surveys along the coast of Southern South America. After circumnavigating the globe, the ship returned home via Tahiti and Australia. Soon after this journey, Darwin began to formulate the theories of evolution and natural selection that would become the unifying concept of the life sciences.
Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks
On the Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection
Summary
On the Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin is a work of scientific literature considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. The book introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection, backed by a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. The evidence was gathered on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s and the author’s subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation. Darwin’s theory that species derive from other species by a gradual evolutionary process and that the average level of each species is heightened by the “survival of the fittest” stirred controversy and opposition. Darwin's concept of evolutionary adaptation through natural selection has become the unifying concept of the life sciences.
Public Domain (P)2019 Museum Audiobooks