Why Evolution Is True

By: Jerry A. Coyne

Narrated by: Victor Bevine

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Why evolution is more than just a theory: it is a fact.

In all the current highly publicized debates about creationism and its descendant "intelligent design", there is an element of the controversy that is rarely mentioned: the evidence, the empirical truth of evolution by natural selection. Even Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould, while extolling the beauty of evolution and examining case studies, have not focused on the evidence itself. Yet the proof is vast, varied, and magnificent, drawn from many different fields of science. Scientists are observing species splitting into two and are finding more and more fossils capturing change in the past - dinosaurs that have sprouted feathers, fish that have grown limbs.

Why Evolution Is True weaves together the many threads of modern work in genetics, paleontology, geology, molecular biology, and anatomy that demonstrate the "indelible stamp" of the processes first proposed by Darwin. In crisp, lucid prose accessible to a wide audience, Why Evolution Is True dispels common misunderstandings and fears about evolution and clearly confirms that this amazing process of change has been firmly established as a scientific truth.

NOTE: Some changes to the original text have been made with the author's approval.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Jerry A. Coyne (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"I once wrote that anybody who didn't believe in evolution must be stupid, insane or ignorant, and I was then careful to add that ignorance is no crime. I should now update my statement. Anybody who doesn't believe in evolution is stupid, insane, or hasn't read Jerry Coyne. I defy any reasonable person to read this marvellous book and still take seriously the 'breathtaking inanity' that is intelligent design 'theory' or its country cousin, young earth creationism." (Richard Dawkins)
"Coyne wonders what it would take to convince the apparently reasonable people who still deny evolution. A new Milton, perhaps, to justify evolution's ways in great poetry? Meanwhile, at a time...when good evolution books are rife, Coyne has given general readers one of the best." ( Booklist)

excellent!

Jerry Coyne is a tremendous evolutionary scientist and truly a remarkable writer. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in science rather then dogma.

Well researched

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Might, Very informative and fairly entertaining.

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed for the research and examples of many evolutionary traits. Author uses too much space refuting "Intelligent Design" when it is obvious through his research.

Loved it

This is a great review of facts that inexorably leads one to conclude that evolution is as real and true as the Earth orbiting the sun. Unless you don't want to believe it.

True, indeed.

An excellent introduction to the Theory of Evolution as well as a clear presentation of the evidence and arguments obliging a belief therein.

Evolution simplified

Amazing book. Simplifying science has always been challenging. The author is a genuine article as well. I’ve watched his lectures on YouTube. Jerry Coyne is second to none.

It would be nice to see the diagrams

Although I m not a scientist, I enjoyed this immensely. It made the theory of evolution clear, and was interesting enough that I didn't need to switch to something lighter halfway through my hour long commute. The performance was engaging in spite of some rather complex terms. I particularly enjoyed the first and last chapters. My only quibble was that references were made to diagrams -- 22 of them, I believe, which are not available for download on the audible site. (Sometimes an accompanying pdf is available.) This really impeded the understanding of some points.

Devestating to the young earth creationist myth.

While I already understood evolution to the degree that I could correct creationists in academic settings, I having once been a young earth creationist/anti-evolutionist knew it was near impossible to get creationists to shed their mythology if they were unwilling to read a simple science book. However, Jerry Coyne, while somewhat heavy for the first 20 minutes or so, soon gives devastating example after example after example of easy to recall layered facts of evolution that you can simply draw out on a napkin if need be to a creationist who will either have to say you are lying, or be in complete denial and/or intense adherence to their myth to explain away what you just told them.

If a well known creationist claims she or he read this book and claims it didn't at least nearly prove evolution is true, it is clear evidence that they are lying about reading it or lying to protect the income of the patrons of their own books. If you get the chance, have them dispute just the one example of the Ostriches, Emus, and Rheas. They won't, because they can't.

Captivating!

Coyne tells a story so captivating you learn without even trying to keep your focus. A rarity in Audio books!

Very convincing, if you believe in DNA ;)

I loved this book: it is full of evidences and they are laid out in a beautifully consistent order. I will take from it better arguments to defend something I believe: evolution theory validity. But I must say: the bits where the author tries to convince the ID believers are annoying. All of the evidences presented are overkill -- if your faith is not directed at science. So, I guess the intellectual investment would be more fruitful if directed at empowering K12 biology teachers. They have a challenge on hands and need any help scientific community could provide.

Essential reading

This book has not gotten as much attention as some others, like Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, but it's a sleeper. Whether you are new to the science of evolution or, like me, revisiting it, this is essential reading. Professor Coyne does a splendid job of making the information accessible without patronizing the reader. Honestly, I read this book at a time of great personal change and it had a profound effect on me. Anyone who was once religious may understand what I mean by that. This would be a great book to give to an evolution doubter. Only the willfully blind can come away from it not understanding why evolution is true.