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A Series of Fortunate Events
Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and YouBy Sean B. CarrollNarrated by Sean B. CarrollLength4h 48m
About this audiobook
"Fascinating and exhilarating—Sean B. Carroll at his very best."—Bill Bryson, author of
The Body: A Guide for Occupants
In this audiobook, acclaimed writer and biologist Sean B. Carroll narrates the rollicking, awe-inspiring story of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world
Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance.
A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world.
Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents' gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death.
This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today's most accomplished science storytellers,
A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.
Audiobook details
GenreScience and Nature
Length4 hrs 48 mins
Narrated bySean B. Carroll
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateOct 6, 2020
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Opening Anno, Dedication, Introduction
6Chapter 5 - Beautiful Mistakes
2Part 1, Stuff Happens - Chapter 1- The Mother of All Accidents
7Part 3, 23 and You, Chapter 6 - The Accident of All Mothers
3Chapter 2 - An Ornery Beast
8Chapter 7 - A Series of Unfortunate Events
4Part 2, A World of Mistakes - Chapter 3, Good Heavens What Animal Can Suck It?
9Afterword
5Chapter 4 - Randum
10Acknowledgements, Closing Anno