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

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, General Nonfiction, 1995

Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spent 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.

©1995 Jonathan Weiner (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Pulitzer Prize, General Non-Fiction, 1995
• AudioFile Earphones Award, 2010

"An engaging account of a seminal study that introduces the reader to Darwin and to the dedicated, tireless biologists who have proved him right." ( Booklist)

"Narrator Victor Bevine’s English accents include Australian, American, and British, with seamless switches to Ecuadorian Spanish. He senses just the right pace for his well-pronounced deluge of scientific words and arguments. His enthusiasm for what the finch studies demonstrated heralds the Grants’ momentous contribution to our knowledge of biology today." ( AudioFile)

"Evocative writing, exhaustive research, and Weiner's memorable portrait of the engaging Grants assure The Beak of the Finch membership in the select pantheon of science books that spark not just the intellect, but the imagination." ( Washington Post Book World)

Powerful narrative; fascinating subject

For people who don't have a strong science background, but do believe in evolution and natural selection - the next time some fan of Fox News tells you with great confidence that "Darwin's Theory of Evolution was just a theory. It hasn't been proven," you can whip this book out of your backpack and beat them with it.

Completely accessible, written with a strong narrative arc that keeps you turning pages, Weiner has created a compelling work of popular science. He summarizes, in layman's terms, some of the great field research projects that usually scientists only talk about to each other. Projects where natural selection, sexual selection and hybridization have been observed to change species within the span of human observation. That's right, folks, proof after proof of evolution in various ways - theory no longer.

Weiner then goes on to relate these proofs to other touchstones in our lives - drug-resistant viruses, catastrophic weather events.

This is a darn good read as well as being a sensible antidote to the anti-science wave of foolishness sweeping the U.S.

This book clearly deserves all its awards

Evolution made material, without anthropology. Did you know that the illegal ivory trade is causing elephants to be born with shorter or non-existent tusks. Well written and fascinating for the evolution buff. A must read!

A fantastic introduction to evolution!

This is essential reading for anyone interested in ecology or evolution. The book conveys the science in a very clear and concise manner, without dumbing it down.

This book will make you look at nature with a new eye.

There. Will. Be. Beaks.

This book is literally about the beaks of finches in the Galapagos. And it's also about natural selection, but as it relates to these finches. The first 25% I thought I'd lose my mind if they talked about the beaks of these finches anymore, but then I got fascinated.

The patience these scientists have is amazing. Years and years of work to understand these microscopic developmental changes. It's pretty mind blowing. What I think I found most interesting was the birds reactions to drought and El Nino.

Shortly after I finished this I started Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies and in a million years, I wouldn't have thought the two were in any way related, but it turns out that (among other things) Jared Diamond is an evolutionary biologist, so "Beak" laid a very good foundation for what I've heard so far in this new book.

Who knew science could be interesting?

Superb

A wonderfully rich description of some of the modern research into the current topic of evolution and the remarkable people who conduct that research. I found it fascinating and engrossing.

Superb

If you want to understand the modern science of evolution (it's not a theory anymore), and some of the fascinating work that has been done to elucidate its mechanisms, this is the book for you. It is thorough, varied, and fascinating.

Wonderful book on modern evolution studies

Well written, extremely informative. Unfortunately the narrator's attempts at using other voices for the many quotations in the book are laughable. If he had not tried any voice besides his normal one I would have given him 5 stars. The book is definitely worth listening to.

PLANET EARTH IN AUDIO FORM.

If you don’t care about birds, this book will change you!
I am usually bored by science writing and know nothing about birds but this book is so fascinating and the story telling made it so compelling, I was recommending it to everyone. Victor and Jonathan transport you out of your car and into the island life of the Galapagos. Give this book a shot.

Good History/Too Alarmist

An excellent accessible history of how the Galapagos fit into Darwin's evolving thoughts. But why, starting with the chapter on pesticide resistance, turn this into a hackneyed alarmist environmental polemic? There is a certain irony that since this was published the many imminent catastrophes described by the author have not only not happened but conditions in the Galapagos have actually improved, in part due to the insecticides & pesticides despised by the author (wiping out, for instance, invasive goats and red ants).

Excellent Info, sometimes a bit too much

The book was excellent and really detailed, which was good to a point. I don't know what I would have cut as an editor because it was an insightful examination of the Finches and other examples of speciation, but I found that at the halfway point I found myself thinking "really only I am only half way through the book? I could teach a course on this from the information that I have been given so far. What more could they possibly have to say?" Then the author would give me more great information that backed what he was saying.

Really an insightful and information packed read that gives the Real world life of scientists actively doing science and teh results that they are coming up with. Just a bit too long.