The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(3.9 stars; 127 reviews)

Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species (publ. 1859) is a pivotal work in scientific literature and arguably the pivotal work in evolutionary biology. The book’s full title is On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. It introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It was controversial because it contradicted religious beliefs which underlay the then current theories of biology. Darwin’s book was the culmination of evidence he had accumulated on the voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s and added to through continuing investigations and experiments since his return. (Summary from Wikipedia) (24 hr 22 min)

Chapters

Variation Under Domestication - Part 1 49:23 Read by Annie Coleman Rothenberg
Variation Under Domestication - Part 2 57:46 Read by Annie Coleman Rothenberg
Variation Under Nature 53:49 Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
Struggle for Existence 38:57 Read by Hugh McGuire
Natural Selection; or the Survival of the Fittest – Part 1 56:30 Read by David Barnes
Natural Selection; or the Survival of the Fittest – Part 2 55:15 Read by David Barnes
Natural Selection; or the Survival of the Fittest – Part 3 58:29 Read by David Barnes
Laws of Variation 1:39:59 Read by Rainer
Difficulties of the Theory – Part 1 47:29 Read by Guntar
Difficulties of the Theory – Part 2 53:51 Read by Guntar
Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection – Part 1 59:42 Read by Chip
Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection – Part 2 1:00:40 Read by Chip
Instinct - Part 1 40:06 Read by Gesine
Instinct - Part 2 33:09 Read by Kurt Wong
Instinct - Part 3 20:34 Read by Anita Roy Dobbs
Hybridism - Part 1 42:44 Read by David Barnes
Hybridism - Part 2 57:10 Read by David Barnes
On the Imperfection of the Geological Record – Part 1 31:48 Read by Julian Jamison
On the Imperfection of the Geological Record – Part 2 41:32 Read by Julian Jamison
On the Geological Succession of Organic Beings – Part 1 43:58 Read by Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
On the Geological Succession of Organic Beings – Part 2 51:13 Read by Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
Geographical Distribution – Part 1 47:40 Read by Chip
Geographical Distribution – Part 2 40:30 Read by Chip
Geographical Distribution – Continued 1:01:16 Read by Chip
Mutual Affinities of Organic beings – Part 1 50:02 Read by Peter Yearsley
Mutual Affinities of Organic beings – Part 2 1:19:33 Read by Peter Yearsley
Recapitulation and Conclusion 1:24:29 Read by Nikolle Doolin
Glossary of Terms 45:03 Read by Betsie Bush

Reviews

Excellent read


(5 stars)

An essential text read by volunteers at a high quality of production. I'm not a fan of Librivox's multi-reader productions, but it works very well for Darwin's rambling and detailed survey of the evidence for natural selection as the cause of the evolution of species over time. The multiplicity of voices (including at least two ESL readers) underlines the universal appeal and essential humanism of Darwin's revolutionary insights. archipelago

must read


(5 stars)

It's best to study the work yourself rather than relying on someone else's opinion. This subject should be common knowledge 150 years on but some people prefer to hide under a rock and shield themselves from the truth. More people should read this especially the doubters... after all you can't argue about something you know nothing about.

Incredible !!!


(5 stars)

I don't know why I put off reading (or listening) to this book for so long in my life. Maybe it was the famous picture of us walking in a straight line right from a monkey. But I really liked and understood this book, maybe it's good I did wait.

great study


(5 stars)

as an archeologist and a geologist I found this book very helpful in my study and work because without this kind of ideas it wouldn't have been things like geology and archeology and biology as we know it today

Quite good


(4 stars)

I enjoyed this recording and most readers were easy to understand. However, there were a few readers who repeatedly mispronounced scientific terms and that would only make this writing harder to understand for unfamiliar readers.

Good Group Recording


(5 stars)

I'm also not a huge fan of group projects but this book is very enjoyable.

This is a classic!


(5 stars)

this helps me reacquaint myself with the book I read so long ago


(5 stars)

Big book for the history of Homo sapiens.