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The Ancestor's Tale

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The Ancestor's Tale

By: Richard Dawkins
Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
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About this listen

 The Ancestor's Tale is a pilgrimage back through time - a journey on which we meet up with fellow pilgrims as we and they converge on our common ancestors. Chimpanzees join us at about six million years in the past, gorillas at seven million years, orangutans at 14 million years, as we stride on together, a growing band.

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 Ltd Biological Sciences Biology Evolution Evolution & Genetics Genetics Science Natural History Thought-Provoking Paleontology Elephant

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All stars
Most relevant  
Dawkins brings wonder in spades. This is my second journey through this book/the history of life. Incredible

Superb journey through life itself

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Easy to take in and amazing detail but wasn't a fan of the changing readers and i had to keep adjusting the volume. Both great readers but just one would be best

Amazing

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Grateful that there are big brains around to help mine on it's way. I think a 'thank you' is appropriate. 'Live long and prosper' Richard and Lalla.

Awe inspiring (awesome!)

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The first thing that struck me about this audio is that they are different to the book. Not only are they abridged but the language is changed to emphasize different points & to be more palatable to the ear. With reading the book, a lot of the stuff flew over my head (e.g. Cholanoflagellates) & I'm glad such things are abridged here.

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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What a belter. This book literally blew my mind. The narration is breath-taking. Dawkins...I salute you.

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 more

Any additional comments?

Simply must read them all

Understanding the world makes it more wonderful

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Mr Dawkins has made a magnificent effort in evolutionary time travel of life on earth

Life Jim the best we know it

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I loved this book, it told the story of our ancestors in a linier way and going backwards to our very beginnings of life. It was exactly what I wanted. At times it was very detailed and difficult to follow but stick at it as it really is worth it.

Great listen, I learnt so much

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Exploring humanity's evolution backwards through our ancestor species, this book powerfully shows the immense glory, wonder and incredible intricacies of the natural world, explained in a way which is eminently understandable, combining good science (including explaining gaps in knowledge where they currently exist) and genuine passion.

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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loved it. R.D. is fantastic and well capable of describing the evolutionary process for even the lay person

excellent

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