• The Upright Thinkers

  • The Human Journey From Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos
  • By: Leonard Mlodinow
  • Narrated by: Leonard Mlodinow
  • Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (200 ratings)

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The Upright Thinkers  By  cover art

The Upright Thinkers

By: Leonard Mlodinow
Narrated by: Leonard Mlodinow
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Publisher's summary

A few million years ago, our ancestors came down from the trees and began to stand upright, freeing our hands to create tools and our minds to grapple with the world around us.

Leonard Mlodinow takes us on a passionate and inspiring tour through the exciting history of human progress and the key events in the development of science. In the process, he presents a fascinating new look at the unique characteristics of our species and our society that helped propel us from stone tools to written language and through the birth of chemistry, biology, and modern physics to today’s technological world.

Along the way, he explores the cultural conditions that influenced scientific thought through the ages and the colorful personalities of some of the great philosophers, scientists, and thinkers: Galileo, who preferred painting and poetry to medicine and dropped out of university; Isaac Newton, who stuck needlelike bodkins into his eyes to better understand changes in light and color; and Antoine Lavoisier, who drank nothing but milk for two weeks to examine its effects on his body. Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and many lesser-known but equally brilliant minds also populate this audiobook, each of their stories showing how much of human achievement can be attributed to the stubborn pursuit of simple questions (why? how?), bravely asked.

The Upright Thinkers is an audiobook for science lovers and for anyone interested in creative thinking and in our ongoing quest to understand our world. At once deeply informed, accessible, and infused with the author’s trademark wit, this insightful work is a stunning tribute to humanity’s intellectual curiosity.

©2015 Leonard Mlodinow (P)2015 Random House Audio

What listeners say about The Upright Thinkers

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10/10 Got What I Wanted.

Well done. I'll be recommending this book to people along with Subliminal! Leonard Mlodinow makes sciences approachable to anyone. Great job Leonard and thank you!

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book

Funny, well informed and at times thrilling and moving. Mandatory read for anyone who cares about science and the our intellectual history.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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unexpected subject focus

A decent read, I found that as it progressed the author moved away from a more generalized observation of human intellectual progress to a more concentrated look at the major contributions to physics.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Professionals do it better

Would you listen to The Upright Thinkers again? Why?

It is one of the few books I'd listen to again. There's a lot to digest and several months from now, I may listen again. I'll remember more the second time.

What did you like best about this story?

The information is fascinating and well delineated. Some I knew, much I did not. It puts it all together nicely.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Usually when the author reads his/her book, it's a major mistake. In this case, only a minor mistake. While it's OK, it would have best to leave it to the professionals. They simply do it better and make for a better listening experience.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I don't think this book would make a film unless it's a documentary.

Any additional comments?

I really liked that the author kept referring to his father. It was touching and made me think often of my father, too.

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Tiresome

The author is self-indulged and tries too hard to hard to be cute with modern pop references while constantly distracting the reader by injecting tiresome blurbs about his personal life. I was left wondering who the book was about. There is no new ground here but rather a rehash of what so many authors have done better. I made it to the fifth chapter before crying uncle.
Author: Leonard Mlodinow
Read by: Leonard MlodinoI
About: Leonard Mlodinow (and some other stuff...).
I want my money back.

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Fascinating history of the development of human thought and problem solving

At first I thought this was going to be just another book about down from the trees to up to the stars. I was wrong. The author has crafted an engaging tale of human thought and interaction. It is a must read history if one is at all interested in where we, as a species, came from and where we might be going. Thank you Professor Mlodinow.

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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Ok book about history of physics

Short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson is much better although more comprehensive in terms of subjects

And his former book, subliminal is better than this. Still okay.

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What a storyteller - didn’t want it to end

This is my second Mlodinow (Audible) book and I can’t wait to read others - though that will have to wait until I listen to this one a second time! While there was some material too complicated for my puny brain I know a good story when I see one and this big, broad view of the history of scientific discovery and invention unfolding from distant (and I mean really distant!) ancestors to the 21st century is a tale told very well. Much fun to be had learning about science with LM and I highly recommend.

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Wow! Really enjoyable listen!

I enjoyed this audiobook. I like his voice, it was easy to listen to. The topic was explained in such a way that most people can understand. I listened to this after having read his other book “the drunkards walk” and now I am moving on to another one of his titles. I just really enjoy educational, but entertaining books like this. Definitely recommend this book if you are interested in how we came to be and just learning in general!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I liked Mlodinow's other books, but this one fell short. Maybe it's appropriate for a high school student? This felt like a poor person's Sapiens. I only made it through a couple of chapters before returning it.

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