River out of Eden

A Darwinian View of Life

By: Richard Dawkins

Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward

Length: 5 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

How did the replication bomb we call "life" begin, and where in the world, or rather, in the universe, is it heading? Writing with characteristic wit and an ability to clarify complex phenomena (the New York Times described his style as "[T]he sort of science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius"), Richard Dawkins confronts this ancient mystery.

©1995 Richard Dawkins (P)2015 Orion Publishing Group

Loved it

Dawkins is, to me anyway, the most interesting and lucid science writer today. It's an absolute joy listening to him as he takes his listeners on a tour of his favorite subject, Darwinian evolution. I've read or listened to all of his books, and never tire of listening to him. Two thumbs up!

Must read

Required content for anyone interested in where they come from and what their existence means.

Insightful. Great book and great audiobook!

Found out about the mitochondrial DNA and its possible origins. The river metaphor with different branches for species is an interesting way to look at life and Darwinism.

Another worthy read

As always, the logic and layout are supurb! That he reads it himself adds just the right level of conviction and passion to the book. Well worth listening to. Very informative.

Insightful Manner of Perspective

Thoroughly enjoyed this piece as it presented several universal notion about the material and energetic history of life and its future potential. almost a philosophical right within itself.

Great book

I enjoyed it, and the part about the bee dance will forever be engraved in my memory. The nature is fascinating.

an interesting glimps into dawkins meandering mind

a fine collection of disjointed evolutionary anecdotes. less cohesive than his other books but still provides insight into his evangelically atheistic mind.

Informative and easy to understand

This is a great book telling the fascinating story of DNA. A far more informative and entertaining book than any religious fable. The truth about the world is a much more remarkable tale when understood within the details of gradual evolution.

Thought Provoking

I’ll have toner-listen one day. Deep thoughts made clear and simple. Simply a lot to contemplate. It’s a book to revisit every 5-10 years

Tom L.

All his books are great. Dawkins is a super intelligent person, yet he educates his listeners on a level that’s simple to understand, fascinating and entertaining.

Not a subway read but interesting

Interesting topics, but maybe better division of Chapters

Not a subway read. Maybe more before bedtime

A compelling explanation of natural selection

I have a background in evolutionary biology, but even I felt that I learned something. It was a different and compelling way of describing evolution by natural selection. Several times I’d thought of a retort and then he directly addressed it.
I also thought that the back and forth narration was rather good.

Fantastic

worth a read. very interesting and informative. Exposes some realities in life. Very good. throughly enjoyed it.

More of the same, but a nice summary

It covers and refers to the same topics as spoken about in 'the greatest show on earth', 'the ancestors tale' and 'the selfish gene'. But in a compact way. It's target audience seems to be religious people who haven't the faintest idea of what evolution is, yet Richard bypasses the basics of evolution in this book, and refers to the books where he already described it. If i were you, i would just read the aforementioned books and skip this one, as little new information is added. I would start with 'the greatest show on earth' if you are religious, and then afterwards read 'the selfish gene' as to get a better understanding of how genes work. Still, it's never a waste of time listening to Richard read about what he is passionate about, especially since i share his enthusiasm about the topic. 4.6/5