The Origin of Species

By: Charles Darwin

Narrated by: David Case

Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most famous and influential books of its (or any) time, The Origin of Species is, surprisingly, little read. True enough, most people know what it says, or think they do, at any rate. The first comprehensive statement of the theory of natural selection, it does, indeed, provide the basic argument and demonstration of what we think of as Darwinism.

Not quite offering the misleading tautological Spencerian claim of "survival of the fittest", or the claim that man descends from monkeys (a typical perversion of the understanding of natural selection), the book did turn much of the world and how man thinks about it upside down. It is, well more than a century after its first publication, still a powerful and fascinating read.

©1992 Phoenix Recordings (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

A book best read in print

I have long wanted to read this book. It was on sale on Audible, and I thought the perfect opportunity had arisen.

Although the book is well-written and competently narrated, I found it very difficult to follow in audio. Were I reading a printed copy, I would have turned back to previous pages or chapters to review the information. I also believe a printed copy would have illustrations that added to the written word.

I did learn a lot, but not nearly so much as I am sure there is to learn.

I think this book is best read in print.

One of the Most Important Scientific Treatises Ever Written

I wish that at least portions of this were required reading in high school science classes, although we all know that’s unlikely to happen any time soon.

I agree with some other reviewers that the narrator does sound rather uninspired and I think that, along with the lengthy passages of exquisite detail, which would have been expected at the time it was written, is probably a turn-off for anyone who is not already passionate about the subject.

Also, I don’t see it stated anywhere as to which edition is being read. I’m trying to follow along, reading the 6th edition provided by Project Gutenberg but there are enough differences to make that difficult. If I knew which edition this was I could probably find the text version online.

great stuff

an amazing book

lots of talk about birds

= )

An Essential Listen

Darwin changed the way we think about the world. Written in the dense, lightly-punctuated style of the nineteenth century, his book is difficult to read. Fortunately, David Case provides the vocal punctuation needed to make this impressive work accessible.

Darwin's central thesis is that "As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be NATURALLY SELECTED. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form."

Charles Darwin argues against the commonly held notion that species were ???individually created??? by pointing to the effectiveness of ???methodical selection??? in modifying plants and animals under domestication. Although nineteenth century scientists knew little about the mechanism of inheritance, they knew one existed and how to use it to select for desirable attributes. Darwin asserts that,
1. In the ???economy of nature,??? all creatures compete for the scarce resources that enable them to survive and procreate.
2. Reproduction introduces small, but random, changes to the traits of individuals.
3. If those random changes are favorable, the individual is more likely to survive and procreate (thereby preserving the change in future generations).
4. Thus, complex changes are due to ???the slow and gradual accumulation of slight, but profitable, variations??? over a very long interval of time.

Although Darwin refers to his book as an ???abstract,??? he provides extensive detailed examples based on his own work and numerous authorities known to him. His refutes numerous arguments against evolution by pointing to the paucity of the geological record and demonstrating the importance of traits that do not appear to be related to survival or procreation.

Although I cannot claim to have followed every strand of his complex reasoning, I am impressed with his comprehensive approach to identifying and addressing potential objections to his theory. I am also impressed with his scrupulous citation of sources from which his data comes.

Classic

All the hype about survival of the fittest is NOT what Darwin raves about... ONLY in the final chapter he writes about how our robustness is linked to our ability to have reproductive success. If anything this GENIUS of a man is more about cooperation and complementarity.

I just love Darwin's mind!

find aother recording

This is a good example of how a great book can be ruined by a narrator. His voice was irritating enough to make me turn it off after one minute every time I tried to listen. Please find another recording.

mind numbing

Please, beat me in the head with a stick! I accidentally purchased this because there was a Darwin book on my reading list. I just didn't remember which one. I should've purchased Voyage of the Beagle.

Unless you want to hear very dry scientific theory expounded upon by way too numerous examples, skip this. It is a very poor way to get an understanding of Darwin's basic principles and arguments. It is very technical, even though Darwin within the text explains how he is skipping the technical details. I had to force myself through the first of the two audio downloads, and was zoned out through most of it.

If you HAVE to read this, get the abriged version. Otherwise get a different text to explain his arguments. Anyone have suggestions for a better book to read?

-Rick

Disappointed

The reader of this book was ineffective. The narration is a monotone with a dialect that was discomforting to listen. How could this important piece of literature could be presented with so little passion

Required Reading

I am currently in a class that required me to read chapters 2-5. I downloaded and listened to it and my goodness, unless you are really into science, it is boring. The narrator doesn't help much either. He has a boring British accent (normally I like them, but his was mundane). After listening to it, I'm definitely not looking forward to reading it.

It's to bad!

This is an excellent writing, with a wealth of information and knowledge. It is very difficult to listen to, however, as the narration is terrible. The narrator tries way to hard to try and portray a certain time period or something, totally ruining the experience.