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A Brief History of Creation
- Science and the Search for the Origin of Life
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
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A Brief History of Creation
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Summary
How did life begin? It is perhaps the most important question science has ever asked. Over the centuries, the search for an answer has been entwined with some of science's most revolutionary advances, including van Leeuwenhoek's microscope, Darwin's theory of evolution, and Crick and Watson's unveiling of DNA.
Now, in an age of genetic engineering and space exploration, some scientists believe they are on the verge of creating life from nonliving elements and that our knowledge of the potential for life on other planets is ever expanding. In the midst of these exciting developments, A Brief History of Creation provides an essential and illuminating history of Western science, tracing the trials and triumphs of the iconoclastic scientists who have sought to uncover the mystery of how life first came to be. Authors Bill Mesler and H. James Cleaves II examine historical discoveries in the context of philosophical debates, political change, and our evolving understanding of the complexity of biology. The story they tell is rooted in metaphysical arguments, in a changing understanding of the age of the Earth, and even in the politics of the Cold War. It has involved exploration into the inner recesses of our cells and scientific journeys to the farthest reaches of outer space.
This elegantly written narrative culminates in an analysis of modern models for life's genesis, such as the possibility that some of the earliest life was composed of little more than RNA and that life arose around deep-sea hydrothermal vents or even on other planets, only to be carried to the Earth on meteorites. Can we ever conclusively prove how life began? A Brief History of Creation is a fascinating exploration not only of the origin-of-life question but of the very nature of scientific objectivity and the process of scientific discovery.
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What listeners say about A Brief History of Creation
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 21-03-22
Brilliant story, slightly misleading title
I thought it was excellent but the title “a brief history of the search of creation” would be more fitting, I didn’t expect it to mainly be about the history of searching for answers
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steph
- 15-08-22
extremely interesting.
This book is very interesting and it's astonishing learning about what persecution scientists used to go through. The development of the ideas/theories on how life first emerged is fascinating.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jan Omar
- 08-04-22
Very interesting
If you have a some scientific curiosity the you’ll enjoy this - I did!
An enquiry into how life May have begun is a fascinating topic.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Golightly
- 05-09-21
Fantastic History Book
This is definitely predominantly a history book and not a collection of frontier science. I found the story it tells fascinating. It certainly filled a lot of gaps in my knowledge of some of the most prominent scientists in history.
It's almost frustrating to hear the jumps of 50-100 years go by where religious dogma and fear hampered brilliant minds from discovering and sharing their theories.
Once we get into the realms of microbiology during the final chapters, you'll need to have your attention levels tuned up to max, unless you're hot on your science.
Thoroughly enjoyed listening through this, though!
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P. A. Barrow
- 28-04-22
Awesome!
Another great audiobook. Science explained in an easy format with uncomplicated jargon. I have learnt many great things from this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 15-04-23
Extremely interesting and well researched
This has been a real page-turner! very interesting topic and we'll researched material. At times there are a bit too many tangents and descriptions of the scientists' personal life which personally doesn't interest me, but overall one of my best audible purchases!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- SA-M
- 29-05-23
A Brief History of How Clever We Are
Modern man is really clever at a macro level; we can build stuff and travel off-world, but going back a few hundred years to when we were discovering how things are as they are at the micro level, we can really see our knowledge and understanding develop into what we are today.
The history of science makes one think, what will we discover next?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jeffrey
- 10-10-23
New approach to explaining how we evolved
Not like any other book that tells the story of evolution in s linear fashion. I was confused at first and actually thought i would return it, but hang in there, it all becomes clear and more and more fascinating as the story of life on earth begins to unfold by weaving a myriad of scientific discoveries together
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Johan Badenhorst
- 19-11-21
Narrated to sleep
The text is excellent, but the boring voice kept lulling me to sleep. I couldn’t finish the text.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 26-10-21
Not talking about the topic, casual looks shaming
Book not about the history of creation but about overall history of science. Gives credit to almost the right people about inventions but not quite (Since there's little mentions of i.e. asian or native american science discoveries). Casually shames randomly a person for being fat and unpleasant looking.
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