-
The Hidden World
- How Insects Sustain Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow
- Narrated by: Dr. George McGavin, David Attenborough, Alison Steadman, Jane Horrocks
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
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Publisher's summary
“George McGavin is a rarity” Sir David Attenborough
Entomologist and broadcaster Dr George McGavin presents The Hidden World: How Insects Sustain Our Life on Earth Today and Will Shape Our Lives Tomorrow, an Original Audiobook Production by W F Howes
If you are at all interested in life on our planet, then you need to know about insects. They are the most successful group of animals ever to have lived on Earth. Making up three quarters of all animal species, insects conquered the planet long ago. They were among the very first animals to appear on land and were the first to take to the air. Their total biomass is at least ten times that of all humans and our livestock combined.
This world is not ours alone. We are newcomers on a planet made and maintained by insects.
If we are going to appreciate the massive part that insects play in the ecology of our planet we need to understand where they came from and how they became so successful. The survival of insects is key to our own survival.
Join Dr George McGavin on an exciting audio journey to help us understand the fascinating world of insects. Along the way we are transported from bee-filled meadows to the forest floor, following Dr McGavin as he meets national treasures Sir David Attenborough, Alison Steadman and Jane Horrocks, and a range of experts such as Professors Steve Simpson, Helen Roy, Phil Stevenson and Erica McAlister to understand more about their passion for these incredible creatures.
The Hidden World is an important and timely work to engage people with wildlife, when the world is rapidly losing its biodiversity.
Features bonus audio content including full-length interviews and immersive binaural nature sounds for focus and relaxation.
Dr George McGavin is a regular TV and radio presenter for the BBC and others. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and a Research Associate of The Department of Zoology of Oxford University as well as a Senior Principal Research Fellow of Imperial College. George’s work has taken him from the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea to the caves of Thailand and from the jungles of Belize to the savannahs of Tanzania. Dr George McGavin has several insect species named in his honour and hopes they survive him.
“In this remarkable audiobook George McGavin combines his comprehensive understanding of the biology of insects with his own personal tales and those of experts to explain the extraordinary success of the insects, and to show their fundamental importance to life on earth—past, present and future. This audiobook is a paean to insects and a salutary story for our times. McGavin speaks with a passion that is founded in deep expertise of these small creatures but with an eye to the big picture.” PROFESSOR STEVE SIMPSON
Guest contributors include:
Sir David Attenborough–Broadcaster and Natural Historian
Alison Steadman–Actress and Ambassador for the London Wildlife Trust
Dr Erica McAlister–Senior Curator, Natural History Museum
Professor Philip C. Stevenson–Kew Gardens
Professor Steve Simpson–Marine Biologist
Professor Helen Roy–President of the Royal Entomological Society
Anne Riley–President of the Wharfdale Naturalists Society
Jane Horrocks–Actress and co-host of the podcast Queen Bees Queen Bees
This audiobook was previously released under the title 'All Creatures Small and Great'
Critic reviews
“George McGavin is a rarity.” (Sir David Attenborough)
"This audiobook tells the tales of the little things that rule our world. How they came to be here, what they do for us and their uncertain future in a world that doesn’t care about them nearly enough. Hopefully George’s wise words can redress that balance, before it’s too late.” (Steve Backshall MBE, explorer, naturist and TV presenter)
"In this remarkable audiobook George McGavin combines his comprehensive understanding of the biology of insects with his own personal tales and those of experts to explain the extraordinary success of the insects, and to show their fundamental importance to life on earth - past, present and future. This audiobook is a paean to insects and a salutary story for our times. McGavin speaks with a passion that is founded in deep expertise of these small creatures but with an eye to the big picture." (Professor Stephen Simpson)
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Great book about eggs!!
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By: Tim Birkhead
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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
- Unabridged
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Story
Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spend 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.
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Fascinating in-depth look at evolution in action
- By Philip on 05-15-11
By: Jonathan Weiner
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Fruitless Fall
- The Collapse of the Honey Bee and the Coming Agricultural Crisis
- By: Rowan Jacobsen
- Narrated by: Rowell Gormon
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Many people will remember that Rachel Carson predicted a silent spring, but she also warned of a fruitless fall, a time with no pollination and no fruit. The fruitless fall nearly became a reality when, in 2007, beekeepers watched 30 billion bees mysteriously die. And they continue to disappear. The remaining pollinators, essential to the cultivation of a third of American crops, are now trucked across the country and flown around the world, pushing them ever closer to collapse.
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Compulsory Reading - Share with Everyone!
- By Charles Koenen on 04-12-20
By: Rowan Jacobsen
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The Wonder of Birds
- What They Tell Us About Ourselves, the World, and a Better Future
- By: Jim Robbins
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Birds, Jim Robbins posits, are our most vital connection to nature. They compel us to look to the skies, both literally and metaphorically, draw us out into nature to seek their beauty, and let us experience vicariously what it is like to be weightless. Birds have helped us in so many of our human endeavors: learning to fly, providing clothing and food, and helping us better understand the human brain and body.
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Stories about birds with something for everyone
- By D on 07-24-17
By: Jim Robbins
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The Triumph of Seeds
- How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses & Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History
- By: Thor Hanson
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life, supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and the humble peppercorn drove the Age of Discovery, so did coffee beans help fuel the Enlightenment and cottonseed help spark the Industrial Revolution. And from the fall of Rome to the Arab Spring, the fate of nations continues to hinge on the seeds of a Middle Eastern grass known as wheat.
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Delightfully simplistic!
- By Adrian on 03-30-16
By: Thor Hanson
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The Tree
- A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter
- By: Colin Tudge
- Narrated by: Enn Reitel
- Length: 19 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
There are redwoods in California that were ancient by the time Columbus first landed and pines still alive that germinated around the time humans invented writing. There are Douglas firs as tall as skyscrapers and a banyan tree in Calcutta as big as a football field. From the tallest to the smallest, trees inspire wonder in all of us, and in The Tree, Colin Tudge travels around the world - throughout the United States, the Costa Rican rain forest, Panama and Brazil, India, New Zealand, China, and most of Europe - bringing to life stories and facts about the trees around us.
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Not the book described in the Audible summary
- By E. Miller on 04-28-17
By: Colin Tudge
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Biomimicry
- Innovation Inspired by Nature
- By: Janine M. Benyus
- Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Biomimicry is rapidly transforming life on earth. Biomimics study nature's most successful ideas over the past 3.5 million years, and adapt them for human use. The results are revolutionizing how materials are invented and how we compute, heal ourselves, repair the environment, and feed the world. Janine Benyus takes listeners into the lab and in the field with maverick thinkers as they: discover miracle drugs by watching what chimps eat when they're sick; learn how to create by watching spiders weave fibers; and many more examples.
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Dated but good
- By stephen taylor on 09-05-21
By: Janine M. Benyus
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Nature's Best Hope
- A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard
- By: Douglas W. Tallamy
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 6 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Douglas W. Tallamy's first book, Bringing Nature Home, awakened thousands of individuals to an urgent situation: wildlife populations are in decline because the native plants they depend on are fast disappearing. His solution? Plant more natives. In this new book, Tallamy takes the next step and outlines his vision for a grassroots approach to conservation.
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A must read for everybody! Not just nature lovers.
- By Steve Ebert on 06-11-20
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The Galápagos
- A Natural History
- By: Henry Nicholls
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Galapagos were once known to the sailors and pirates who encountered them as Las Encantadas: the enchanted islands, home to exotic creatures and dramatic volcanic scenery. In The Galapagos, science writer Henry Nicholls offers a lively natural and human history of the archipelago, charting its evolution from deserted wilderness to scientific resource (made famous by Charles Darwin) and global ecotourism hot spot.
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Thought-Provoking
- By Jean on 10-23-18
By: Henry Nicholls
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The Lives of a Cell
- Notes of a Biology Watcher
- By: Lewis Thomas
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In The Lives of a Cell, Dr. Lewis Thomas opens up to the listener a universe of knowledge and perception that is perhaps not wholly unfamiliar to the research scientist; but the world he explores is also one of men and women, of complex interrelationships, old ironies, peculiar powers, and intricate languages that give identity to the alienated and direction to the dependent. This remarkable work offers a subtle, bold vision of humankind and the world around us - a sense of what gives life - from a writer who seems to draw grace and strength from the very substance of his subject.
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So enlightening and enjoyable!
- By Flora on 03-15-18
By: Lewis Thomas
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The Ancestor's Tale
- A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution
- By: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In The Ancestor's Tale, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins offers a masterwork: an exhilarating reverse tour through evolution, from present-day humans back to the microbial beginnings of life four billion years ago. Throughout the journey, Dawkins spins entertaining, insightful stories and sheds light on topics such as speciation, sexual selection, and extinction. The Ancestor's Tale is at once an essential education in evolutionary theory and riveting in its telling.
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Please do an unabridged version!
- By MovieExpertise on 09-29-16
By: Richard Dawkins
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Gods, Wasps and Stranglers
- The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees
- By: Mike Shanahan
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
They are trees of life and trees of knowledge. They are wish-fulfillers, rain forest royalty, more precious than gold. They are the fig trees, and they have affected humanity in profound but little-known ways. Gods, Wasps and Stranglers tells their amazing story. Fig trees fed our prehuman ancestors, influenced diverse cultures, and played key roles in the dawn of civilization.
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Incredible research in a wonderful story
- By Alonsa Guevara on 11-24-22
By: Mike Shanahan
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Why Evolution Is True
- By: Jerry A. Coyne
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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.
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As great as everyone says it is
- By Joseph on 12-01-10
By: Jerry A. Coyne
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What listeners say about The Hidden World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J. Moras
- 01-09-23
Great broad overview
I myself am pursuing this field and this book was great! I particularly like the chapter of parasitic insects!
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