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A Series of Fortunate Events

Chance and the Making of the Planet, Life, and You

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A Series of Fortunate Events

By: Sean B. Carroll
Narrated by: Sean B. Carroll
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About this listen

"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 work 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Sean B. Carroll (P)2020 Princeton University Press
Biology Evolution Philosophy Genetics

Critic Reviews

"A Series of Fortunate Events is an engaging blend of science and culture, written in Carroll's usual easygoing style. Highly recommended!" (Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience)

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I loved this book

The narrator was excellent. I was taken on a wonderful journey of discovery. This book is certainly a keeper.
I was amazed to realise how improbable my individual life is.
I will be sharing this book.

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complexity simplified

probability and uncertainty put at the centre of evolution and the sustainability of humanity and our fellow members of complex ecosystems. By stressing the precariousness of human existence, much of it self inflicted, the book offers a way for humans, if we can invoke the rational part of our minds, to reduce our precarity. But historical and current behaviours show that thus far rationality is subordinate to emotions.

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Fantastic! Fantastic! Fantastic!

Beautiful read by Sean himself. An absolute must! Thank you for writing it, Sean B Carroll.

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Wrong Sean Carroll

Was looking for a different Sean Carroll. Kinda cool, but would have loved for the other Sean Carroll to write on this topic 😬

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