The Greatest Show on Earth

The Evidence for Evolution

By: Richard Dawkins

Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward

Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

In 2008, a Gallup poll showed that 44 percent of Americans believed God had created man in his present form within the last 10,000 years. In a Pew Forum poll in the same year, 42 percent believed that all life on earth has existed in its present form since the beginning of time.

In 1859 Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, shook society to its core. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke. But he surely would have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later.

Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity. Now the author of the iconic work The God Delusion takes them to task.

The Greatest Show on Earth is a stunning counterattack on advocates of "Intelligent Design", explaining the evidence for evolution while exposing the absurdities of the creationist "argument". Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence: from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics. Combining these elements and many more, he makes the airtight case that "we find ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct consequence of evolution by non-random selection."

The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is menacing as never before. In American schools, and in schools around the world, insidious attempts are made to undermine the status of science in the classroom. Dawkins wields a devastating argument against this ignorance, but his unjaded passion for the natural world turns what might have been a negative argument into a positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a master's vision of life, in all its splendor.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Richard Dawkins (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"If Charles Darwin walked into a 21st-century bookstore and wanted to know how his theory had fared, this is the book he should pick up. Dawkins remains a superb translator of complex scientific concepts....he has a way of making the drollest details feel like a revelation." ( Publishers Weekly)

Greatest scientific book

I learned so much and gained as much knowledge from reading this book. Dawkins brings a lot of great examples to demonstrate principles of evolution.

Truly Awesome Read

Where does The Greatest Show on Earth rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Dawkins shines here on this topic and his knowledge of evolution is truly vast. These aren't just old arguments and evidence that you've heard a thousand times over. This book contains mountains of evidence, some of which was only discovered in the publication year.

What does Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Having Dawkins read his own work, in my opinion, brings a lot to this book. He knows where to place the emphases and how to make everything flow. His wit clearly comes through and it really is entertaining to listen to.

Fascinatingly brilliant!

In my opinion, Dawkins can easily, and quite successfully, start up a side gig narrating audio books!

as far as the book, there were a few concepts which I was very interested in which fell a bit short in his explanation. I completely owe this to the fact he has many books, and those topics are surely discussed in great deal elsewhere. I was also a bit off-putt by the constant need to argue creational thought, though he does provide explanation on why he feels the need to do this. It almost seems a road map of sorts is needed to find the right Dawkins books. For example, if someone has taken the time to purchase and read his books, they probably do not need to be convinced the earth is more than 10000 years old.

Come one, But not all...

I really like the overall book it has lots of great information but I find it to be a bit snide towards basically anyone who believes in any kind of higher power belief. That's fine really because I'm more concerned with the science than anything else but it does make it more difficult to recommend the book to others who may be open to the concepts but feel attracted by the nearly constant quips geared toward non-atheist. I'm sure that Richard has his reasons to be bitter, indeed there are many examples in the book that just make you want to shake people, however there are more people who believe in a higher power and evaluation than those who just believe in evolution according to a static that is sited in this very book so it seems bad form to constantly make little jabs at the people who are interested in your book just because they don't agree with your worldview 100%. But again it's a very good and informative book.

evolution first timer

What did you love best about The Greatest Show on Earth?

It was (as dawkins likes to put it) an

Spirtual book

The more I learn about the development of life and humans on earth the more spiritual I become because the more special it makes me feel. For all the events to have happened to have put us here after a 100 million centuries and to have awoken up in this special time and place it makes me feel blessed. Dawkins explains these probable events and processes better than anyone. Understanding the path that life had to take to bring us here makes me feel special. Usually, I don't like it when an author reads his own works but I like it when Dawkins does. I listen to all of Dawkins' books and he doesn't repeat his analogies in his explanations and manages to come up with new and better analogies and explanations. (I would recommend listening to "The Selfish Gene" before this one only because both books are so good that you'll end up listening to both and you might as well read them in that more logical order).

One of the great books about natural selection

Surely one of the great books about why evolution is true, is a fact rather than some fuzzy conspiratorial belief system of those foolish, misguided scientists. The first half is the better than the second, providing beautiful examples of actual research that shows natural selection in practice. This segment shows that, while natural selection generally takes a while to see and is almost invisible, experiments can be created that show it functioning more than most people realize. The second half is more nuanced so doesn't provide the best examples in discussions of natural selection. However, I am wondering who Dawkins thinks he is writing it for? Nominally, it's for those "history deniers," but no history denier is going to come closer to this wonderful book than a matchstick.

This is it!!

This book is the modern work of our time concerning evolutionary biology. Richard Dawkins does an amazingly thorough job describing the processes of Evolution via Natural Selection. Dawkins leaves no part, no matter how simple out of the book; leaving absolutely no loopholes in which intelligent design theorists can criticize its accuracy.

There are dry points in this book, but the transfer between readers provides a balance for that. It is appropriately lengthened and is extremely well informative. I loved the book, and learned a lot in the progress!

I have listened to it only once, but it definitely won't be the last; nor will it be the last I will be reading of Dawkins work.

It is important to set aside your personal biases, and have an open mind, while not using the word belief, but looking only at the facts.

Couldn't "put it down"

I really loved this book and I'm certain I will listen to it again, perhaps more than once over time. The subject matter has always been fascinating to me and Dawkins is such an expert at making the science accessible for the non-scientist. In this book he is masterful. He lays out the case for the fact of evolution of species in an organized and reasonable way, but it's not at all "dry". He carefully debunks with evidence and facts all the myths, lies and sheer nonsense offered by those who deny evolution happened. He clearly loves his subject and is enthusiastic about the wonders of the process of evolution by natural selection and the amazing and sometimes bizarre results. The narration is outstanding. The technique of sharing the reading the way he and Lalla Ward did also helps keep the content well organized in the reader's head (helpful with a somewhat complicated topic that you can't look at; just listen to.) I don't often award 5 stars, but this one is a winner.

Just as the Title Said...

If you could sum up The Greatest Show on Earth in three words, what would they be?

Logical, Rational, and Researched

Any additional comments?

Thoughtfully written, Dawkins presents in his usual form the evidence for evolution. It is filled with explanations and analogies, bringing light to evolution from almost every possible angle while maintaining a dialogue which can be followed by most intelligent readers / listeners.
He does come on a bit strong in attacking the idea of a creator- beyond what he really should in a book presenting itself in an otherwise scientific manner. Though very in keeping with Dawkins as a writer, in this book, it gets in the way of his thesis, and removes some of his motivation to petty quibbling. I am sure some like it; I don't. Just give me the science, and let me read The Blind Watchmaker or The God Delusion.
Overall, though, I was satisfied with The Greatest Show on Earth. Dawkins presentation, when topic, is strong and satisfying intellectually. I highly recommend this to everyone, believers in Evolution or ID alike, to help on becoming informed about what evolution is and what the evidence is which supports it as a scientific theory.