The Greatest Show on Earth

The Evidence for Evolution

By: Richard Dawkins

Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward

Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

In 2008, a Gallup poll showed that 44 percent of Americans believed God had created man in his present form within the last 10,000 years. In a Pew Forum poll in the same year, 42 percent believed that all life on earth has existed in its present form since the beginning of time.

In 1859 Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, shook society to its core. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke. But he surely would have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later.

Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity. Now the author of the iconic work The God Delusion takes them to task.

The Greatest Show on Earth is a stunning counterattack on advocates of "Intelligent Design", explaining the evidence for evolution while exposing the absurdities of the creationist "argument". Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence: from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics. Combining these elements and many more, he makes the airtight case that "we find ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct consequence of evolution by non-random selection."

The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is menacing as never before. In American schools, and in schools around the world, insidious attempts are made to undermine the status of science in the classroom. Dawkins wields a devastating argument against this ignorance, but his unjaded passion for the natural world turns what might have been a negative argument into a positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a master's vision of life, in all its splendor.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Richard Dawkins (P)2009 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"If Charles Darwin walked into a 21st-century bookstore and wanted to know how his theory had fared, this is the book he should pick up. Dawkins remains a superb translator of complex scientific concepts....he has a way of making the drollest details feel like a revelation." ( Publishers Weekly)

Fascinating book

I love this book. great information. the only annoying part is with Dawkins and Ward switching reading.

Brilliant book

A brilliant, Consistently fascinating book with great narration by the author and Lailla Ward. Highly recommended.

great book

Fantastic book. The content was dense and well described but way too complex for my little brain to comprehend. Will need to have multiple re-listens to understand. Richard Dawkins books are my favorite performed books. It helps to have Lalla Ward and him trade off especially when it gets in to the more complex ideas. Would recommend to anyone who is interested in science or evolution.

Stand up for Science

the book is great, the ideas are well thought out and presented simply in layman's terms. A great book for jumping into evolution.

The Greatest Book on Earth

This book is extremely fascinating and intriguing! Richard Dawkins does a superb job laying out and explaining thoroughly each example of evidence for evolution and why it is what it is. A FACT! I listened to this book twice and recommended that my sister reads it as well. If I didn't have my Great Courses lectures to tend to, I would listen to it again and indeed probably will in the future.

So much excellent information

Chapter after chapter of wonderful information and evidence are presented.
I like the way the book is organized and I enjoyed the little digs against the creationists in there. I think Dawkins can't help himself! It is amazing that 40% of Americans STILL do not accept the science. They don't read. They don't listen. Ignorance is rampant!! Poor America!

It answers all of life’s questions

It is to bad that we are still fighting a belief system you can trace back to ancient Egyptians. The last two hundred years of human intellectual advancement are denied by over half of humanity.

A refreshing look at reality.

The more I see of science, the more facinated I become. Dawkins has produced fantasict philosphical writing. This scientific writing is even more so.

Gains momentum throughout

As with some previous Dawkins material, I found the first few chapters a bit simplistic. However, once through that stage, it was very interesting and informative. The two readers worked well to provide emphasis and to identify quotations from other works.

Who Better?!

Who better to write a book about evolution then a reknown biologist? This was incredibly helpful in my own understanding of how trivia that I learned from different branches of science all fit together like a puzzle to form an undeniable picture of natural selection and evolution. I truly wish everyone would read this.