On the Origin of Species

By: Charles Darwin

Narrated by: Peter Wickham

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Perhaps the most influential science book ever written, On the Origin of Species has continued to fascinate for more than a century after its initial publication. Its controversial theory that populations evolve and adapt through a process known as natural selection led to heated scientific, philosophical, and religious debate, revolutionizing every discipline in its wake. With its clear, concise, and surprisingly enjoyable prose, On the Origin of Species is both captivating and edifying.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2016 Naxos AudioBooks

Aaaaaah! A THRILL to say the least.

so cool to finally listen to this classic. it is the pedestal of modern human knowledge. if you do not know science the vernacular will leave you a little confused.
there’re charts referred to but it’s still comprehensible.
definitely need to listen to more then once.
and again and again. never run out of new information you missed last time.

Well-performed presentation of a classic work of sophistry

Very well-read performance of this classic sophistical work, a must-hear for those without the time to read. Darwin combines half-truths, errors, appeals to ignorance, ridicule, aesthetic arguments, bluster, obfuscation, inundation with irrelevant data, hegemonic and elitist rhetoric, and equivocation to persuade his contemporaries that all biological diversity arose through innumerable successive slight variations, despite massive evidence to the contrary. A true masterpiece of argumentation that has stood the test of time.

Comprehensive genius

Darwin had an unusual ability to draw the right conclusions from data and to project it’s consequences (that geological history could read by observing relative changes of organisms). He is an inspiration to scientists any kind.

climate change is enviable

Read more, learn more. The more you know, the more you can fight back against ignorance.

Nice Narrator

If you’re a student in the biological sciences or even just an amateur naturalist with an inquisitive heart this book is such a foundational read. I really enjoyed the narration… much more than my own voice in my head when I first read this during my undergrad! ;)

Classic, interesting to hear about the theory straight from the source

Although most of what is said in the book is already known/common sense to a modern person that believes in the theory of evolution and has watched at least a few nature shows. Its still nice to hear the details directly from the man himself.

Classic, but still very relevant

The narration is superb, but Darwin sure did go into a lot of detail that most readers today probably will not be interested in. Still, I'd never take the time to read this myself, so I'm very happy there are narrations like this.

Great piece of history!

Taking into consideration the time it was written it's great to see how elegantly Darwin discusses reason over faith. (It should be read taking into consideration it's time. Also for the time spent describing fauna and flora it's sometimes a heavy reading)

Not the first edition.

For those who care about these things, this audiobook is based on a later edition of the book--probably the sixth, though this is not specified in the description. If you're looking for the first edition, try the Penguin audiobook.

Beautiful Work on Natural History

Deeply thoughtful, thorough and breath-taking in its sweep of scientific understanding. A landmark work that remains relevant.