On the origin of species

By Charles Darwin
Listen with Sir Michael Caine™ and 1,000+ voices
Length16h 50m

About this audiobook

Of the vast and varied productions of nature, from the hummingbird to the giant redwood, from the beetle's shell to the human hand—what is their origin? In this foundational work that forever altered humanity’s understanding of its place in the natural world, Charles Darwin presents the theory that would become the bedrock of modern biology: evolution by natural selection. Based on decades of meticulous observation, from the famed voyage of the HMS Beagle to his studies of barnacles and pigeons, Darwin marshals an overwhelming array of evidence. He demonstrates how species are not immutable, but are engaged in a constant struggle for existence. In this struggle, individuals with variations better suited to their environment tend to survive and reproduce, passing those advantageous traits to their offspring. Over immense spans of time, this gradual process of "descent with modification" gives rise to the breathtaking diversity of life, all branching from a common ancestor. On the Origin of Species is a masterpiece of lucid argumentation and humble reasoning: it connects the work of the earthworm to the geology of continents, and the instincts of the hive to the extinction of the mammoth. Its revolutionary ideas challenged the scientific and religious orthodoxies of its day, and continue to provoke, inspire, and illuminate. This is the book that answered the question of questions, revealing the grand and simple mechanism that shapes all life on Earth.

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 4.2 (154.5K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreScience and Nature
Length16 hrs 50 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1OPENING QUOTES
2INTRODUCTION.
31. VARIATION UNDER DOMESTICATION.
4ON THE BREEDS OF THE DOMESTIC PIGEON.
5SELECTION.
Mostrar todos os capítulos
62. VARIATION UNDER NATURE.
73. STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE.
84. NATURAL SELECTION.
9SEXUAL SELECTION.
10ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE ACTION OF NATURAL SELECTION.
11ON THE INTERCROSSING OF INDIVIDUALS.
12CIRCUMSTANCES FAVOURABLE TO NATURAL SELECTION.
13EXTINCTION.
14DIVERGENCE OF CHARACTER./
15SUMMARY OF CHAPTER.
165. LAWS OF VARIATION.
17EFFECTS OF USE AND DISUSE.
18ACCLIMATISATION.
19CORRELATION OF GROWTH.
20A PART DEVELOPED IN ANY SPECIES IN AN EXTRAORDINARY DEGREE OR MANNER, IN COMPARISON WITH THE SAME PART IN ALLIED SPECIES, TENDS TO BE HIGHLY VARIABLE.
21DISTINCT SPECIES PRESENT ANALOGOUS VARIATIONS; AND A VARIETY OF ONE SPECIES OFTEN ASSUMES SOME OF THE CHARACTERS OF AN ALLIED SPECIES, OR REVERTS TO SOME OF THE CHARACTERS OF AN EARLY PROGENITOR.
22SUMMARY.
236. DIFFICULTIES ON THEORY.
24ON THE ORIGIN AND TRANSITIONS OF ORGANIC BEINGS WITH PECULIAR HABITS AND STRUCTURE.
25ORGANS OF EXTREME PERFECTION AND COMPLICATION.
26ORGANS OF LITTLE APPARENT IMPORTANCE.
277. INSTINCT.
28SLAVE-MAKING INSTINCT.
29CELL-MAKING INSTINCT OF THE HIVE-BEE.
30SUMMARY.
318. HYBRIDISM.
32LAWS GOVERNING THE STERILITY OF FIRST CROSSES AND OF HYBRIDS.
33CAUSES OF THE STERILITY OF FIRST CROSSES AND OF HYBRIDS.
34FERTILITY OF VARIETIES WHEN CROSSED, AND OF THEIR MONGREL OFFSPRING.
35HYBRIDS AND MONGRELS COMPARED, INDEPENDENTLY OF THEIR FERTILITY.
369. ON THE IMPERFECTION OF THE GEOLOGICAL RECORD.
37ON THE LAPSE OF TIME.
38ON THE POORNESS OF OUR PALAEONTOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS.
39ON THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF GROUPS OF ALLIED SPECIES IN THE LOWEST KNOWN FOSSILIFEROUS STRATA.
40ON EXTINCTION.
41ON THE FORMS OF LIFE CHANGING ALMOST SIMULTANEOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
42ON THE AFFINITIES OF EXTINCT SPECIES TO EACH OTHER, AND TO LIVING FORMS.
43ON THE STATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF ANCIENT FORMS.
44ON THE SUCCESSION OF THE SAME TYPES WITHIN THE SAME AREAS, DURING THE LATER TERTIARY PERIODS.
45SUMMARY OF THE PRECEDING AND PRESENT CHAPTERS.
4611. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.
47MEANS OF DISPERSAL.
48DISPERSAL DURING THE GLACIAL PERIOD.
4912. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION—continued. : SUMMARY OF LAST AND PRESENT CHAPTERS.
5013. MUTUAL AFFINITIES OF ORGANIC BEINGS: MORPHOLOGY:

More from Charles Darwin

A Brief History of IntelligenceMax S. Bennett12h 18m4.6 (6.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Story of BirdsSteve Brusatte11h 49m4.6 (401)$29 · $0.00
Life On Earth 40th Anniversary EditionSir David Attenborough12h 27m4.6 (6.5K)$29 · $0.00
BeyondStephen Walker15h 39m4.6 (3.2K)$33 · $0.00
LiftoffEric Berger9h 4m4.6 (9.5K)$29 · $0.00
Black Earth WisdomLeah Penniman11h 54m4.6 (577)$8 · $0.00
Total Cat MojoJackson Galaxy10h 13m4.5 (8.4K)$23 · $0.00
My Life Among the UnderdogsTia Torres5h 51m4.5 (4K)$24 · $0.00
What It Takes to Save a LifeKwane Stewart6h4.6 (556)$24 · $0.00
Pastoral SongJames Rebanks8h 35m4.5 (12K)$26 · $0.00
How Stella Learned to TalkChristina Hunger7h4.5 (10.9K)$24 · $0.00
Craig & FredCraig Grossi8h 6m4.5 (9.6K)$26 · $0.00
Celebrating BirdsNatalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez6h 47m4.6 (330)$24 · $0.00
Saving JemimaJulie Zickefoose4h 59m4.5 (749)$20 · $0.00
Will's Red CoatTom Ryan8h 23m4.5 (2.3K)$26 · $0.00
Of Time and TurtlesSy Montgomery10h 34m4.5 (5K)$29 · $0.00
Zen and the Art of Saving the PlanetThich Nhat Hanh9h 20m4.5 (3.9K)$29 · $0.00
BLACK BEAUTY (With Original Illustrations)Anna Sewell7h 31m4.5 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Bottle of LiesKatherine Eban14h 25m4.4 (12K)$33 · $0.00
IngrainedCallum Robinson8h 10m4.5 (1.1K)$26 · $0.00

You may also like

Flight PathsRebecca Heisman8h 33m4.2 (1.1K)$6 · $0.00
On the Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin21h 28m4.2 (303K)$21 · $0.00
OriginsFrank Harold Trevor Rhodes10h 6m4.0 (709)$20
Earthquake StormsJohn Dvorak8h 49m4.2 (885)$20
The Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin14h 23m4.2 (163.7K)$9 · $0.00
Microbe HuntersPaul De Kruif13h 30m4.2 (7.9K)$2.40
Nautical ChartsG. R. Putnam2h 50m$2 · $0.00
Earthquakes and Other Earth MovementsJohn Milne13h$2 · $0.00
Prehistoric MenRobert J. Braidwood7h 14m3.5 (58)$2 · $0.00
Natural CuriositiesAlfred Russel Wallace1h 57m4.3 (18)$15 · $0.00
Charles Darwin: On the Origin of Species & On the Tendency of Species to Form VarietiesCharles Darwin23h 33m$2 · $0.00
The Power of Movement in PlantsSir Francis Darwin, Charles Darwin19h 20m3.4 (84)$1 · $0.00
Mesa Verde National ParkOrion C. Valemont2h 47m$2.30 · $0.00
The micro-organisms of the soilRothamsted Experimental Station, Edward J. Russell7h 29m$1 · $0.00
Dinosaurs!Scientific American5h 28m4.0 (266)$17
The Migration of BirdsT. A. Coward1h 39m$2 · $0.00
The Birth of IberiaSantiago Machain4h 11m$19 · $0.00
Insectivorous PlantsCharles Darwin15h 21m3.8 (44)$1 · $0.00
Death Valley National ParkOrion C. Valemont2h 10m$2.30 · $0.00
Native America Before the United StatesSantiago Machain5h 26m$21 · $0.00