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The Making of the Fittest
- DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
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Publisher's summary
DNA is the genetic material that defines us as individuals. Over the last two decades, it has emerged as a powerful tool for solving crimes and determining guilt and innocence. But, very recently, an important new aspect of DNA has been revealed: it contains a detailed record of evolution. That is, DNA is a living chronicle of how the marvelous creatures that inhabit our planet have adapted to its many environments, from the freezing waters of the Antarctic to the lush canopy of the rain forest.
In this fascinating narrative, Sean Carroll guides listeners on a tour of the massive DNA record of three billion years of evolution to see how the fittest are made. And what an eye-opening tour it is - one featuring immortal genes, fossil genes, and genes that bear the scars of past battles with horrible diseases. This book clinches the case for evolution, beyond any reasonable doubt.
Critic reviews
"Carroll offers some provocative and convincing evidence." (Publishers Weekly)
"Here is evolution clearly explained and stoutly defended." (Booklist)
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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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Who knew?
- By Fitmen on 04-25-18
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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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How to Clone a Mammoth
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Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? The science says yes. In How to Clone a Mammoth, Beth Shapiro, evolutionary biologist and pioneer in "ancient DNA" research, walks listeners through the astonishing and controversial process of de-extinction.
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Very Readable Take on a Complex Subject
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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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Ouch!
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Suddenly, research findings require a paradigm shift in our view of the microbial world. The Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health is well under way, and unprecedented scientific technology now allows the censusing of trillions of microbes inside and on our bodies as well as in the places where we live, work, and play. This intriguing, up-to-the-minute book for scientists and nonscientists alike explains what researchers are discovering about the microbe world and what the implications are for modern science and medicine.
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I learned so much from this book. I am happy.
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By: Rob DeSalle, and others
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Population Wars
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From the very beginning, life on Earth has been defined by war. Today, those first wars continue to be fought around and literally inside us, influencing our individual behavior and that of civilization as a whole. War between populations - whether between different species or between rival groups of humans - is seen as an inevitable part of the evolutionary process. The popular concept of "the survival of the fittest" explains and often excuses these actions.
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Life Changing Book. No other like it.
- By Abraham R. Herrick-Rough on 05-16-16
By: Greg Graffin
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The Most Perfect Thing
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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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Great book about eggs!!
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Arrival of the Fittest
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In Arrival of the Fittest, renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner draws on over 15 years of research to present the missing piece in Darwin's theory. Using experimental and computational technologies that were heretofore unimagined, he has found that adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take.
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Robustness makes for an interesting life and book
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Written in Stone
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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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Very good but has some weaknesses
- By Anonymous User on 06-23-19
By: Brian Switek
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What listeners say about The Making of the Fittest
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Overall
- Guy
- 09-09-08
I learned a lot
I do have to agree with several other reviews that the selling of evolution in the book is a bit heavy handed, particularly since he is mostly “preaching to the choir” since people who don’t believe that in evolution are very unlikely to read the book. Saying something is “unquestionably true” is pointless if a high percentage of the population to indeed question it, their questions by be irrational, but they are still questions, but these sort of comments really make up a small portion of the book and I found fairly easy to ignore. The author should just let the facts speak for themselves; because the facts are presented very well.
I found that I had a much clearer understanding of how evolution works through DNA after reading the book, and that is plenty to make this a worthwhile read. The explanation of the mathematics of evolution, and how changes can occur far more quickly than one might expect, was very well done.
The section showing two examples how irrational opposition to scientific evidence can be damaging was excellent, and the fact that in both cases the culture based views did not have their basis in religion was very effective.
Although I recommend the book, I should warn anyone who is looking for a fun read that the final section of the difficulty in repairing damage done the environment is depressing.
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9 people found this helpful
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- ShopTillYouDrop
- 02-27-10
Great book
I really enjoyed the book. A little dry and technical, since I had to replay certain parts in order to understand or sync in. A very good book that explains how evolution works based on proven facts. Very enlightening.
If you are a realist and enjoy science, then I highly recommend this book.
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- Warnie
- 02-16-12
Not bad, but also not great.
Eh. 2.5 stars, but I'll round up to three because it was enjoyable enough that I made it through the whole thing without getting TOO bored or annoyed.
But first of all, dangit! How did I get stuck with another audiobook narrated by Patrick Lawlor? I meant to avoid him from now on after his reading of Buddy Levy's Conquistador; at least he didn't have any Spanish to butcher this time. I'm sure he's a very nice man, but I have a really hard time with his accent. I just do. However, I did actually manage to make it all the way through his reading of this book, so yay me!
As to the book itself, I found it in turns pretty interesting and pretty frustrating. I really enjoyed the parts about the evolution of the eye, but most of the other examples Carroll uses I have seen documented much more thoroughly in other books, so those parts had less appeal for me. I imagine folks that haven't read or heard about them before will enjoy them much more than I did. I also felt like at times Carroll got pretty repetetive, and his habit of ending every chapter with something like, "in the next chapter, I'll talk about so-and-so..." really got on my nerves. I don't really need you to tell me what you're going to start talking about on the next page--just move along and talk about it already! It felt kind of...I don't know. Amateurish? I didn't like it, whatever it felt like. And then the chapter about intelligent design seemed really unnecessary to me. I get the idea that he's trying to convert people from intelligent design to believing in evolution with the power of his arguments or whatever, but (a) how many people that believe in intelligent design are really reading this in the first place? And (b) it seemed kind of disrespectful, although I do at least appreciate his making the point that not ALL people who believe in God feel that the theory of evolution is antithetical to their faith. I just feel like it would have been a much better book without that entire section.
I know I sound pretty crotchety about this one, but it's not bad. I guess I do think there are better books on this topic out there though. On the other hand, plenty of folks seem to have really liked this one a lot, so maybe that's just me.
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- Dana
- 12-08-11
ERUDITE presentation.
A nearly convincing case for Darwinistic evolution is well presented. The story of evolution thru DNA mutation is fascinating. I have never studied this directly but knew about 1/2 from medical school in the early 90's; it seems the evidence/knowledge has at least doubled in a decade.
Problems: 1. a century ago, a theory competed with DNA mutation which has been discredited but I think is making a partial comeback (mentioned briefly near the book end with the Russian scientist). It involves traits of parents that they acquired during their life getting passed to progeny. Since this can't involve DNA changes as parent germ cell DNA is already cast, this doesn't fit with "Darwinism". EPIGENETICS is the latest concept. Vaguely, changing gene expression without changing DNA sequence can alter the phenotype of the individual and it seems that how an organism lives can change proteins in their sperm or egg and pass along "learned" traits.
2. Behe has a similar book in the Audible library where he makes a case for Intelligent Design. Most (but not all) of that is controverted well here. Both authors agree that random point mutations are mostly entropic or destructive and short-sited. Behe can't see how complex protein structures ("toolbox" genes) could possibly evolve with only this mechanism. There is not a good answer for this, Carroll implies that added opportunity for bigger changes occur with gene duplications and the complexities of promoters and complex switching. (And I would add that the 97% or so of our DNA that is non-coding for proteins or "junk" makes a great workshop for new genes to accidentally occur). But, science has not been able to work back to early evolution and describe in any way where the toolbox genes, with perhaps 5 to 15 major protein complexes interacting in a positive way, came about. Panspermia or Intelligent Design cannot yet be ruled out. Carroll's proposition that simple random DNA mutations are fully adequate to support all evolutionary changes from the beginning is not completely proven in my mind and I fully expect other mechanisms to be elucidated in the next 1-2 decades.
Evolution thru DNA mutation, "survival of the fittest", and common ancestry are about as well proven as gravity and the roundness of the earth. It hardly seems necessary to write such an elaborate book to demonstrate this. But, just as Einstein's relativistic physics updated Newtonian, I think there are important subtleties yet to be discovered.
I would love it if Carroll updated his book. A lot has been learned already in the last 4-5 years which further illuminates the mechanisms of evolution.
Another observation: If you are not familiar with genetics, the audible version of this will be very hard to follow. Diagrams help tremendously (so get the book instead or get online).
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- Traci
- 12-13-11
Very interesting subject matter
This book was very interesting without turning into a science text book. He used good examples to express his points and I walked away with great trivia on the subject matter. I also enjoyed his arguments for evolution vs. creationism. The narrator had voice that was kind of nasally but I was able to deal with it. I would preview it before buying just in case.
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- georg W
- 04-02-09
worthless
This is a propaganda piece for evolution. Since his purpose is to sell evolution rather than fact and science I would have liked him to seriously examine the basis premises of evolution: 1.chance, 2. time, 3. selection, and 4. large numbers. These premises are questionable to say the last. There just has not been enough time for things to have occurred by chance. That is mathematic fact!!!!
The author is a con man. If you believe the whoppers he tells you in the first couple of chapters, he will hook you with even bigger ones towards the end.
Don't be naive. Instead get a copy of THE PSYCHOPATH NEXT DOOR and see where this guy fits into society. As Jesus said of the psychopaths, "they strain at a gnat and swallow a camel."
Whether psychopath or sociopath, they harm the basic functioning of a society. He condemns religionists on the one hand and is as much an evangelical on the other. The only thing he really has going for him is that the new religion is science and the common man has as hard a time challenging the basic premises of this religion as our forefathers had of challenging the premise that the sun revolved around the earth.
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- Bonnie
- 06-11-12
SLOW
Both of us tried to listen to it and it was soooooo slow that it put us to sleep. We did not even make it half way through before we gave up.
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