The Voyage of the Beagle

By: Charles Darwin

Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards

Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

”I hate every wave of the ocean”, the seasick Charles Darwin wrote to his family during his five-year voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle. It was this world-wide journey, however, that launched the scientists career.

The Voyage of the Beagle is Darwin's fascinating account of his trip - of his biological and geological observations and collection activities, of his speculations about the causes and theories behind scientific phenomena, of his interactions with various native peoples, of his beautiful descriptions of the lands he visited, and of his amazing discoveries in the Galapagos archipelago.

Although scientific in nature, the literary quality rivals those of John Muir and Henry Thoreau. Charles Robert Darwin, FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection. Darwin published his theory with compelling evidence for evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species.

By the 1870s the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.

Public Domain (P)2013 Audible Ltd

One of the best audiobooks

Great story, amazing person, a travel story,
He looked for scientific understanding in every thing he experienced.

Wow!

What an adventure! I will be going to the Galapagos in less than a month and can’t wait to experience it!

Wonderful adventure, precious history

Lved it! Beautiful English, well written for any age. What an amazing adventure and he was ahead of his time in so many ways. Magnificent contribution to our knowledge.

Loved it!

The perfect walkabout book! It was such a delight to get to know Darwin, listen to his observations and commentary: enthusiastic, perceptive, insightful, and a fascinating look at what the world looked like to someone like him. The 19th century perception of the beginning of colonization and change. Liked him as a person and admired his courage, fortitude. endless curiosity and amazing energy throughout grueling, physically, challenging experience. Not a sit-down -and listen to every word, experience, but to have Darwins journal read to you with feeling by a good reader was a pleasure.

A Groundbreaking Story beautifully read

Darwin's observations of the natural world are truly insightful. Ranging from a precise description of a spider making a web on the ship to experiencing an earthquake, he carefully studied unique discreet phenomena and then speculated about the broader implications.

The reader fully captures Darwin's sense of wonder and observation; he captured Darwin's attempts to figure out the world based on his observations. He read the scientific names with grace and humor-a difficult task.

I would have liked a PDF of the images that are in the text, but found them at Darwin Online http://darwin-online.org.uk

It was a great book.

what an adventure

This book was a pleasant surprise. it was exciting to go along on the journey. Darwin was curious and enthusiastic. I would read this one again.

What the world was

If you want to image the world before industrialization, this is your book. He well documented his 5 year journey. The geology, geography, biology all covered well. He was an exceptional naturalist.

How to see the world

An excellent listen to a most perceptive and energetic traveler. Well read, beautifully written, and full of descriptions of the world in the 1830's. Darwin sees all, understands much, and draws understanding from everything around him.

A must read

a must-read or anyone who wonders wonders how and why Earth and man ate!

Traveling with Darwin

I first read this book 4 decades ago, while an undergraduate student. Even though I studied a lot of biology, no wildlife or field. I've since become an amateur naturalist. As an addict of non fiction audible books, this was a NAT. It is awesome. It's almost like traveling with the man. I never doubted his genius and humanity. I've noticed that this book has been the inspiration for several famous biologists, e.g. Watson (Watson and Crick). Even though I'm no longer a neuroscience researcher, it remains most inspiring for continued local nature studies.