The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection: or, The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Robin Field

The Origin of Species sold out on the first day of its publication in 1859. It is the major book of the nineteenth century and one of the most readable and accessible of the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination. Though, in fact, little read, most people know what it says—at least they think they do.

The Origin of Species was the first mature and persuasive work to explain how species change through the process of natural selection. Upon its publication, the book began to transform attitudes about society and religion and was soon used to justify the philosophies of communists, socialists, capitalists, and even Germany’s National Socialists. But the most quoted response came from Thomas Henry Huxley, Darwin’s friend and also a renowned naturalist, who exclaimed, “How extremely stupid not to have thought of that!”

“One of the most important contributions ever made to philosophic science.” —New York Times

“Amazingly, 150 years after the publication of The Origin of Species, Darwin’s seminal work on the theory of evolution remains the authoritative tract on the subject.” —Library Journal

Charles Darwin (1809–1882) a British naturalist, geologist, biologist, and author, revolutionized the science of biology by developing the theory of evolution by natural selection. Among his important works are On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. A journal that he kept during a five-year journey on the HMS Beagle eventually was published as The Voyage of the Beagle.