
The Ancestor's Tale
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Narrated by:
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Richard Dawkins
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Lalla Ward
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By:
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Richard Dawkins
About this listen
The journey provides the setting for a collection of some 40 tales. Each explores an aspect of evolutionary biology through the stories of characters met along the way or glimpsed from afar: the Elephant Bird's Tale, the Marsupial Mole's Tale, the Lungfish's Tale. Together they give a deep understanding of the processes that have shaped life on Earth: convergent evolution, the isolation of populations, continental drift, and the great extinctions.
©2004 Richard Dawkins (P)2004 Orion Publishing Group LtdSuperb journey through life itself
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Amazing
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Awe inspiring (awesome!)
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The second is the presence of Lalla Ward, who seems to cover the large quotations Dawkins often uses in his works & also seems to read the more technical (or rather more mundane) parts of the tales. Having listened to the whole of Origin of Species, I am thankful that the narrator varies a bit as occasionally Dawkins can read things as known that are unknown to his wife (& so read differently).
In terms of content there is still the rich variety of tales (including my favourite: the Duck-billed Platypus) & I can only recall a few interesting Gambits which have been left out (e.g. Eve evolving 40,000 years before Adam & the Paedomorphosis of Man story).
My one criticism is that the Ancestor's tale is very detailed & involves lots of left-brain work. If you are listening to this in a car (or even typing a review!) then it is hard to fully follow the reasoning. Maybe this is because Men can't multi-task, but I'd be bold enough to suggest that even women may find this difficult...
To conclude then, audio books are often overlooked as a medium & it is to this one's credit that it is adapted to the ear, just as the book is adapted to the eye. If you know of anyone who hasn't read the book then I'd suggest giving them this as a starter, and the hard backed version of the book (with its shiny pictures) as a main course. As one of my fellow reviewers says: 1 copy of this book should be given to every member of mankind, to put the doubts about evolution to rest. Whatever you can do to play your part is to your credit.
The same notes but a different symphony
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An absolute cracker
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Definitely. All Dawkins books open your eyes that little bit moreAny additional comments?
Simply must read them allUnderstanding the world makes it more wonderful
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Life Jim the best we know it
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Great listen, I learnt so much
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Here is a mind which revels in the stupendous marvel that is life, and is itching to share his boundless enthusiasm with the world.
It's a shame it is only available abridged - as it is a big book, the reading is missing an awful lot, and whole chapters have been chopped to enable those that remain still to make sense and tell their tale. However, what remains is very well read.
A great story, well told
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excellent
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