On the Origin of Species

By: Charles Darwin

Narrated by: Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and a life-long committed Darwinist, abridges and reads this special audio version of Charles Darwin's famous book. A literally world-changing book, Darwin put forward the anti-religious and scientific idea that humans in fact evolved over millions of generations from animals, starting with fish, all the way up through the ranks to apes, then to our current form.

Dawkin's passion for his subject and hero are clear and exciting for listeners, who, whatever their religious or scientific views, will be intrigued and captivated by this involving production of arguably one of the most important books of all time.

©2006 CSA Telltapes Ltd. (P)2006 CSA Telltapes Ltd.

There's no excuse not to listen to this book

If you were ever curious to read this book because of it's astounding fame but never got around to buying the heavy, dense paperback version then this is just for you. This abridged but comprehensive version of On the Origin of the Species is enough to make you feel like you can cross it off your list while knowing the time you spent listening to it was worth it. This book is truly an impressive piece of work with one of the most important ideas mankind has ever had and it is expressed in artful language and backed up with fascinating evidence.

Richard Dawkins does a good job reading this baby. He's a little cold in his narration and even robotic at times but the text stands up for itself.

You won't regret it.

Simple, Elegant and Enlightening

What did you love best about On the Origin of Species?

The simple elegance, and the numerous examples of what he was talking about. You didn't need to trust him, because he provided examples of everything.

What other book might you compare On the Origin of Species to and why?

Richard Dawkins "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution". It covers the sam esubject but with more modern research and examples.

Which character – as performed by Richard Dawkins – was your favorite?

There is only one- Mr. Darwin.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The discussion of the Slave ants. Intriguing.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book. It answered so many questions I had. Now mind, it is a bit outdated now. While all the general ground rules remain the same there is a plethora of new research that you will find covered in more detail in Mr. Dawkins "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution".

Very approachable and absorbable

Really enjoyed listening to Richard Dawkins. A fine pairing. It was wonderful to finally ‘read’ this foundational book. I marveled at the extent to which Darwin was ahead of his time re several of the hypotheses he made in the absence of modern molecular biology knowledge.

150+ years later

After 150+ years, astoundingly, there are very few editors notes added to update the content of this book , that's amazing. Charles Darwin was way ahead of his time. Nice job narrating from Richard Dawkins.

Excellent Telling of a Classic

To me this may be the definitive version as Richard Dawkins' voice melds perfectly with the telling of On the Origin of Species.