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The Kingdom of Speech cover art

The Kingdom of Speech

By: Tom Wolfe
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
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Summary

The maestro storyteller and reporter provocatively argues that what we think we know about speech and human evolution is wrong.

Tom Wolfe, whose legend began in journalism, takes us on an eye-opening journey that is sure to arouse widespread debate. The Kingdom of Speech is a captivating, paradigm-shifting argument that speech - not evolution - is responsible for humanity's complex societies and achievements.

From Alfred Russel Wallace, the Englishman who beat Darwin to the theory of natural selection but later renounced it, through the controversial work of modern-day anthropologist Daniel Everett, who defies the current wisdom that language is hardwired in humans, Wolfe examines the solemn, long-faced, laugh-out-loud zigzags of Darwinism, old and neo, and finds it irrelevant here in the Kingdom of Speech.

©2016 Tom Wolfe (P)2016 Hachette Audio
Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Expeditions & Discoveries Anthropology Political Science Linguistics Sociology Evolution
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Critic reviews

"In this mettlesome, slyly funny takedown, Wolfe spotlights two key scientific rivalries, each pitting a scrappy outsider against the academy.... Wolfe's pithy and stirring play-by-play coverage of compelling lives and demanding science transforms our perception of speech.... As always, white-suited Wolfe will be all over the media...stirring things up and sending readers to the shelves." (Donna Seaman, Booklist)
"A fresh look at an old controversy, as a master provocateur suggests that human language renders the theory of evolution more like a fable than scientific fact.... Wolfe throws a Molotov cocktail at conventional wisdom in a book that won't settle any argument but is sure to start some." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Narrator Robert Petkoff's bright and energetic delivery reflects the author's well-known penetrating intelligence and curiosity." ( AudioFile)

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