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The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
Audiobook14 hours

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

Written by Richard Dawkins

Narrated by Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

Richard Dawkins transformed our view of God in his blockbuster, The God Delusion, which sold millions of copies in English alone. He revolutionized the way we see natural selection in the seminal bestseller The Selfish Gene. Now, he launches a fierce counterattack against proponents of "Intelligent Design" in his New York Times bestseller, The Greatest Show on Earth.

"Intelligent Design" is being taught in our schools; educators are being asked to "teach the controversy" behind evolutionary theory. There is no controversy. Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence—from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from natural clocks that mark the vast epochs wherein evolution ran its course to the intricacies of developing embryos; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics—to make 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." His unjaded passion for the natural world turns what might have been a negative argument, exposing the absurdities of the creationist position, into a positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a master’s vision of life, in all its splendor.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 22, 2009
ISBN9780743579285
Author

Richard Dawkins

RICHARD DAWKINS is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was the University of Oxford's Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008. He is the author of 15 books includingUnweaving the Rainbow, A Devil’s Chaplain, and The God Delusion.Dawkins lives in Oxford.,

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Rating: 4.611464968152866 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Richard Dawkins has done it again! In a followup to his 2006 bestseller, The God Delusion, Dawkins hits religion again. This time, he compares the religious who deny evolution to Holocaust deniers, calling them 'nuts.' The Greatest Show on Earth is life: the beauty, elegance and evolution of life. Dawkins delves deep into his science background to show how life has evolved and how it is still evolving. Beautiful full color pictures accompany the text.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Religious people are utterly stupid, thank god for Richard Dawkins.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another masterpiece from the 'rotweiler of Darwin'. Intellligent and amazing book about the greatest show on Earth (evolution). Sometimes incredibly funny (when he debates with creationist) and easy to understand to everyone with an IQ higher than 50 (yes, it excludes most of the creationist and/or ID believers... :-) )

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Dawkins does a nice job of collecting the evidence for evolution in one place, keeping the gloating mostly under control. I think there might be a few people already teetering on the edge who would read this book and find it enough to push them over, but mostly I think it will serve to fill gaps in knowledge for those of us who are not "history deniers" as Dawkins aptly describes creationists. I liked the update on missing link fossils, although I personally find molecular evidence the most compelling.Dawkins throws in many self-indulgent asides in the form of long tiny-print footnotes. He says he knows they annoy some of his readers but he doesn't care. I enjoyed some of them; many were annoying.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Excellent, strong, intense exposition of the evidence for evolution. A lot of pages for a lot of evidence, but worth reading it all.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Richard Dawkins is obviously a rational, concerned, and passionate man. He sees the great diversity of life as The Greatest Show on Earth, and he is upset that so many people (about 40% in the U.S. and 20% in Britain) are willfully blind to the process that brought it about. I can understand his dismay. It's a bit like bringing some friends to the most wonderful movie you ever saw, and they close their eyes so they can't see it and plug their ears so they won't hear the score. You implore them to look, plead for them to listen, but they simply refuse. How frustrating that would be. Now imagine it's not a movie you want them to see, but something far more important, something real?a fact of life?THE fact of life.

    This book is Dawkins' attempt to explain the process of evolution by natural selection to those who apparently do not understand it, especially to those who willfully refuse to understand it. He provides examples, analogies, and summarizes the overwhelming amount of supporting evidence. There are even color pictures. He undoubtedly thinks this will help. He is a rational person, after all.

    The Greatest Show on Earth is an excellent summation of what we know about the evolution of life. If the book has a shortcoming, it's that it can't do what he wants it to do. I doubt logic and evidence are capable of swaying the opinions of young Earth creationists. They hold their views based on faith, not on reason, and evidence is entirely beside the point. Creationism isn't amenable to scientific evaluation since it is not a scientific theory, and I found his occasional digressions into refutations of it little more than a distraction from the science he was otherwise explaining so well. Still, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject of evolution. I can't see it as being much help to those who aren't interested in it, though.

    Dawkins is clearly dismayed that so many people are either ignorant of evolution or refuse to acknowledge that it occurs because of theological presumptions. In fact, he seems almost obsessed with it, but he may be upsetting himself unduly. Yes, opinion polls conducted over the last twenty years or so suggest that about 40% of Americans might be under the impression that life on Earth appeared suddenly in all its current and varied forms less than 10,000 years ago, but so what? Even if everyone believed the whole world popped into existence last Thursday (complete with a full set of false memories and a bunch of annoyingly deceptive fossils) it wouldn't affect reality. Life has evolved and will continue to evolve much as it has done for the last several billion years, whether anyone wants to believe it or not.

    We could hope it was otherwise, but cultures change slowly. I'm sure that if a similar poll were conducted a hundred years ago the results would have been far worse. Progress has been made. It just seems stalled among some populations. How long did it take until most people accepted that the Earth orbited the Sun or that continents rode on tectonic plates and shifted position over time? I'm sure there are still people (even a few from industrialized nations) who believe the world is flat. Scientific understanding has never been universal and, for the most part, this hasn't mattered. People can live productive and happy lives without knowing why things are the way they are. A farmer doesn't need to know that axial tilt causes seasons in order for him to grow vegetables. An understanding of how gravity creates tides is not necessary for a fisherman to bring his boat back to the dock. If you think Poseidon causes tides and that seasons shift from spring through winter by divine decree, it doesn't stop them from happening. What does matter is that those who work in scientific fields understand what is actually happening, and this is almost universally the case.

    I'm sure Dawkins would agree with this, but I'm also sure he would point out that, in a democracy, scientifically ignorant people can and sometimes do elect scientifically ignorant representatives. Laws and regulations these politicians enact can have negative consequences if they base them on poor or erroneous understandings of the issues at hand. I confess that this also concerns me.

    From a political standpoint, Dawkins' concern about people who refuse to accept the simple fact that life evolves has merit, but it points to a more general failure of our culture and of our politicians to adapt to our rapidly expanding knowledge of the universe. A general understanding of science and scientific principles is far more important now than it was a mere century ago because of how much we depend on science and technology in our daily lives. Unfortunately, basic scientific literacy lags far behind what it should be. Without it, we only have unquestioned assumptions, uninformed opinions, and gut feelings to help us make decisions, and these seldom provide a good basis for wise choices.

    I'm American, so I would like America to continue to be a leading force in science and technology. A scientifically literate population seems to me to be a necessary precursor of that. But America isn't the world. There are other nations, and some of them seemingly do a far better job of providing a basic scientific understanding to their general populations. This is likely to yield more scientists and engineers, better political decisions, and a greater likelihood of continued technological advancement and economic prosperity. I don't want to sound like a cultural Darwinist, but nations that can adapt their cultures to our growing understanding of the world will prosper. Those that do not won't. If American doesn't lead, some other nation undoubtedly will.

    So, whereas opinion polls may be a cause for concern, they don't imply an end to human advancement, and they certainly don't affect how nature actually works. The only real question is how well people and the societies they live in will deal with scientific discoveries that challenge previously held beliefs. Those better able to adapt their worldviews to accommodate new knowledge will have an advantage over those that do not. It's not exactly the same, but this is something like how evolution works.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A timely book which presents the evidence for evolution in a considered and thoughtful manner. It starts with an explanation of why the book is necessary and then turns to background material about establishing dates. Then it follows Darwin in beginning first with animal breeding by humans (artificial selection) and gradually transitioning to examples of more and more canonical natural selection, demonstrating how sensible and compelling the idea is. It follows all this by presenting the evidence from embryology, DNA, anatomy, the fossil record, and deliberate evolutionary experiments. Dawkins uses excellent analogies and metaphors to get his points across. He feels, probably correctly, that he must remind the reader of the more basic science as he proceeds; he gave me far more chemistry background than I really needed while I was a bit lost in the embryology. He anticipates and refutes arguments nicely and in a lively manner.All this excellent work is unfortunately marred by the occasional personal remark; in which he intrudes irrelevant, seemingly ignorant and somewhat alienating literary opinions, or makes a dumb dig at creationists. This was the book he wrote after "The God Delusion" and he seems to have been still a bit worked up as a consequence. The next book he wrote was "The Magic of Reality" in which, as far as I remember, the tone improved, while the metaphors and analogies were still quite compelling.It is really helpful when he gives technical details about the things that make their way, a little too vaguely into the newspapers. I seem to have known about carbon-14 dating all my life, but not really to have understood what makes it work. The same is true for those remarks about sharing 98% of our DNA with chimpls...Dawkins explains several techniques for measuring that similarity.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Dawkins has a true talent for making complex scientific principles clear. In this book, he reviews basic and not so basic scientific principles and evidence concerning evolution. I appreciated the use of detailed examples and also the references to reliable sources of further information. Yes, he does include some snarky and totally unnecessary anti-religious remarks, but I didn't read the book to learn about theology from a biologist. I read the book to review biology with a biologist and Dawkins does a magnificent job.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An excellent, approachable treatment of the topic. Dawkins does best when on home turf.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I've never expected such an easy read on this topic. My understanding on the subject improved a lot, and even what I already knew, I now feel way more confident in talking about with others, given the very simple to understand examples this book gave me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another classic by Dawkins, lots of eye opening facts about crazy crazy nature!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A very informative and entertaining book, and a pleasure to listen to thanks to Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Richard Dawkins has become in one year and 5 books, one of my favorite authors. His simple style reflects the immense knowledge he possesses. His way of explaining thing is the best tradition of what a professor should be, he aspires to the best by elevating us all.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Synopsis: I wouldn’t have designed it that way. Therefore, it wasn’t designed. Therefore, there is no God.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This should be used in all high school science classes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In this Year of Darwin, it's not surprising to see a new book from one of the leading proponents of Evolution. Dawkins has covered the topic from many angles in the past, this time, however, he's poking his fingers in the eyes of Creationists/"Intelligent Designers" (or, as he prefers to call them, "History deniers"). Dawkins begins by stating the dictionary definitions of the word "theory", a common entry point on Creationist dogma. The first definition of the term is, to paraphrase, "an explanation that describes a set of facts." This, he maintains, is what the Theory of Evolution is; a model which describes a set of facts. The "History deniers," however, insist on pointing to another definition of the term -- again to paraphrase, "a conjecture that describes a set of observations that have not been tested." By the end of the book, there is no doubt whatsoever that the first definition is the correct one when describing evolution.Dawkins also purports to give readers ammunition they can use when going up against Creationist/Intelligent Designer pinheads. His examples superbly describe the evidence for evolution beyond any shadow of a doubt -- however, the examples are not of the sort that simpletons will readily understand or concede. He does debase another tiresome argument that the "fossil record is incomplete" and "riddled with missing links;" Dawkins goes on to explain how we can prove evolution without using a single fossil, and besides, we have plenty of "missing links," the deniers just keep saying that as if constant repetition will make the evidence go away. Some of the hard, indisputable evidence comes from experiments in microbiology -- which is where the ammunition gets a little sophisticated for use in your average bar fight.The conclusion of the book in inescapable -- the Theory of Evolution is not dogma, to be taught alongside alternate opinions -- it is fact and needs to be taught as such. One of the staggering statistics he repeated often is that 44% of Americans actually believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old and that humans coexisted with dinosaurs. While there is some good stuff here to throw at them, most will just yell "la la la" when you try to make them less ignorant.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An important book. Should be in every high school the world over.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Richard Dawkins, one of the foremost proponents of the ?new atheism,? has returned to his first profession, evolutionary biologist. In this fascinating work, he lays down, in clear terms for the non-professional, all of the evidence from DNA to skeletal structure to behavior proving Darwin?s theory of evolution.He starts off with some things I have argued for years. People who do not believe in evolution misunderstand the use of the term theory in that connection and fail to grasp the immense time scales involved. In fact, Dawkins describes quite a few things about evolution, which seemed to be mere common sense to me. Bi-lateral symmetry and similar skeletal structures for example.Near the end, he sums all this up in a neat little package. Dawkins writes,?What Darwin didn?t ? couldn?t ? know is that the comparative evidence becomes even more convincing when we include molecular genetics, in addition to the anatomical comparisons that were available to him.Just is the vertebrate skeleton is invariant across all vertebrates while the individual bones differ, and just as the crustacean exoskeleton is invariant across all crustaceans while the individual ?tubes? vary, so the DNA code is invariant across all living creatures, while the individual genes themselves vary. This is a truly astounding fact, which shows more clearly than anything else that all living creatures are descended from a single ancestor. Not just the genetic code itself, but the whole gene/protein system for running life,?is the same in all animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, archaea [microbes that live in extreme environments] and viruses. What varies is what is written in the code, not the code itself. And when we look comparatively what is written in the code ? the actual genetic sequences in all these different creatures -- we find the same kind of hierarchical tree of resemblance. We find the same family tree [emphasis by Dawkins] ? albeit much more thoroughly and convincingly laid out ? as we did with the vertebrate skeleton, and indeed the whole pattern of anatomical resemblances through all the living kingdoms. (315)On one or two occasions Dawkins does become a bit overly technical, and some passages required a slower and repeat reading, but overall this is a thoroughly readable and enjoyable account of the present state of the theory of evolution. (5 stars)--Jim, 1/14/11
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Everyone in the world needs to read this book, especially if you question evolution. You can’t say evolution is incorrect without even taking the time to know what it is.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is Dawkins' latest book, a love story to evolution that clearly, painstakingly, and non-combatatively lays out the evidence for evolution. It's very well-written, and it is definitely a book meant to explain to people - reasonable people, who are open to science - why evolution is a fact. This is long-overdue, honestly, and Dawkins shows up a lot of his critics by being able to step back from the religous arguments and say (and this is a paraphrase, because I don't have the book with me, but it's close to a direct quote): "I already wrote a book about why I don't believe in god, so we're not talking about it here. Believe what you want about how the universe started, but now follow me on a journey about how life has transformed."He still retains the Dawkins fire and punchiness, and makes no bones about his ... almost, I don't know, disbelief that there are so many people out there who are young-earth creationists (you and me both, Mr Dawkins!), but he has a specific purpose to this book and sticks with it. It's delightful, and well-done, and the joy of science shines through. This has surpassed The Selfish Gene as my intro-to-evolution go-to book now, which says a lot!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I know you're not supposed to say this about books, generally speaking, but I enjoyed the photographs. They helped to illustrate his points about evolution in a way that helps one better appreciate nature.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As good as Dawkins' writing is, as interesting as many of the analogies and examples in the book are, this feels like a rather unnecessary rehashing of the basics of evolution. Dawkins has had more novel things to say, and I just can't buy the idea that this book will convince or convert anyone who actually needs the information contained within it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another marvelous Dawkins book. Another showcase for the objectivity of science.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Aija bought it for me. Very erudite on the story of evolution, heavy going at times, but ultimately satisfying.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am sure that this book will not change the views of the creationists but it does give a well argued case which clearly shows the rationality behind evolution. Dawkins himself is a good clear writer, thought there are places where he does take some cheap shots that he could have left out to appear more dignified.For myself this book filled in gaps in my own knowledge and provides good cases that should the stupidity of the "missing Link" argument and presents evidence for evolution both natural and human induced that clearly show it does happen. I would highly recommend it for anyone seeking to understand evolution and also to understand the illogical and frankly down right stupid arguments put by many creationist such as Kirk Cameron (as well as some of their attempts to appear more sophisticated in intelligent design). In particular I like the fact that Dawkins lays bare the truth of the statement "Nature is red in tooth and claw" and the harshness of the lives of most living creatures - Would you as a benign creator be this cruel?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Well written book...I enjoyed this book as it walks you through the concepts that most creationists fail to acknowledge or if they do, completely dismiss. Dawkins makes the argument simple by using common facts to get his point across but then takes the time to walk through much of the detail to back the points up.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lots of fun with popular science, covering several of the main lines of evidence for evolution. It's a nice commemoration of Darwin's centenary year. Dawkins writes very clear and readable prose. It's a very enjoyable read - and comes with some very cool colour picture inserts in this trade paperback edition.I'm oscillating between mildly amused and mildly annoyed by his humorously pedantic footnotes, and his love of coining new words. Memes, concestors, and this time it's theorums. erk.And if you do keep up with popular biological science, through science blogs or panda's thumb or the like, you won't really learn anything new. I suppose I'm not really the target audience, though. I'd definitely recommend it for newbies.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved this book. Richard Dawkins explains evolution and the available evidence for it in his characteristic clear and beguiling manner. as always he is funny and yet quite to the point. Without a doubt he provides so much evidence for evolution that no one can doubt Darwins Theory after reading this book. The only chapter I found to be a little boring was Chapter 8, You did it yourself in nine months.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent book which shows that evolution is a fact, not fiction, and not a theory. I will use arguments from this book to naysay people who spout creationism.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautifully written. More poetry than polemic. Intricately educational without being lecturing. One of Dawkins best and all the better for being accessible to all. Hardback version also has tremendous illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography. Basic coverage of some of the fields of evidence that support modern biology. Creationists have nowhere left to hide, which anyway won't stop them of course.