On the Origin of Species
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4.1 • 171 Ratings
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Publisher Description
Can we doubt that individuals having any advantage, however slight, over others, would have the best chance of surviving and of procreating their kind?' In the Origin of Species (1859) Darwin challenged many of the most deeply held beliefs of the Western world. His insistence on the immense length of the past and on the abundance of life-forms, present and extinct, dislodged man from his central position in creation and called into question the role of the Creator. He showed that new species are achieved by natural selection, and that absence of plan is an inherent part of the evolutionary process. Darwin's prodigious reading, experimentation, and observations on his travels fed into his great work, which draws on material from the Galapagos Islands to rural Staffordshire, from English back gardens to colonial encounters.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Originally published in 1859, Darwin's revolutionary idea is revisited in this spirited and profoundly enthralling reading by Professor Richard Dawkins, who in reading Darwin's material aloud manages to rediscover old ideas and unearth some dramatic subtleties in his prose. Dawkins offers a well-pronounced, pitch-perfect delivery and smartly never attempts to turn the reading into a performance from Darwin's point of view. Instead, Dawkins delivers the material from his own context as a modern-day interpreter of the classical work. Dawkins also splendidly adapts this abridgment, leaving out sections of Darwin's original theories that have been discredited by modern science. Dawkins says he believes his alterations are what Darwin himself would have wished for the recording, and the final result is an absolutely astounding glimpse into life as we know it.
Customer Reviews
Hmm
The book is entertaining and very informative, Darwin never mention how the very first complex cell came to existence, which I think is the weak point of his theory, and also him admitting how incredibly complex the eye is and how it's hard that natural selection can cause such a complex organ.
I'm a Christian, but...
I'm also open to the facts. I believe god created life on earth, but evolution took place soon after. I mean no offense by this but evolution is more or less proven at this point. I once went purely off faith that everything in the good book was true but it's hard to deny the hard evidence (Radiometric dating, early fossils). It's possible that over the decades of countless translations (by man) to the bible, we now have something very different than the original (ever play telephone). Even now we make slight modifications to the writing styles and word choices in the most recent versions.
These are just my thoughts on the matter. I realize to some this is blasphemy, but it is possible.
Btw, I call myself Christian yet I have these beliefs. Is there a name for what I believe? I believe most of the bible, just not so much, "women came from mans rib" or "earth is 6000 years old".
Also, I realize this is likely a joke but obviously Darwin didn't create man =]
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Good
Very well written and explained. Good for biology or any science for that matter who are wanting to expand their knowledge.