Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Origin of Humankind

  • By: Richard Leakey
  • Narrated by: John Curless
  • Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

$0.00 for first 30 days

Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Origin of Humankind cover art

The Origin of Humankind

By: Richard Leakey
Narrated by: John Curless
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

First Peoples in a New World cover art
The Denisovans cover art
Anthropology for Dummies, 2nd Edition cover art
Lucy cover art
The Human Instinct cover art
How Evolution Explains Everything About Life cover art
The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex cover art
Fossil Men cover art
Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods cover art
Endless Forms Most Beautiful cover art
Human Evolution, 2nd Edition cover art
African Genesis cover art
Ever Since Darwin cover art
The Panda's Thumb cover art
Close Encounters with Humankind cover art
Neanderthal Man cover art

Summary

"The name Leakey is synonymous with the study of human origins", wrote The New York Times. The renowned family of paleontologists - Louis Leakey, Mary Leakey, and their son Richard Leakey - has vastly expanded our understanding of human evolution.  

The Origin of Humankind is Richard Leakey's personal view of the development of Homo sapiens. At the heart of his new picture of evolution is the introduction of a heretical notion: Once the first apes walked upright, the evolution of modern humans became possible and perhaps inevitable. From this one evolutionary step comes all the other evolutionary refinements and distinctions that set the human race apart from the apes.  

In fascinating sections on how and why modern humans developed a social organization, culture, and personal behavior, Leakey has much of interest to say about the development of art, language, and human consciousness.  

©1994 Sherma, B.V. (P)2018 Recorded Books

More from the same

Love Books? You'll Love Audible.

Transform your day

Transform your day

Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.

Listen everywhere

Listen everywhere

You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.

Carry your entire Library

Carry your entire Library

Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.

Listen and learn

Listen and learn

Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.

Reach your reading goals

Reach your reading goals

Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.

Find your niche

Find your niche

WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.

Try for £0.00 £7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

What listeners say about The Origin of Humankind

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Still the best book on human origins. Excellent narration.

Yes, the book is somewhat outdated, but it still the best we have (to my knowledge). Being from 90s is also a plus: it is fantastic to realise just how recently the Out of Africa -theory became mainstream. Leaky’s humble guesses around the intermixing of Sapiens w Neanderthals are also eerily correct, in the light of aDNA evidence.

Overall, this is a great book which explores all the major questions in the field. It is easy to follow, despite heavy inclusion of the names of fellow academics. The narrator is excellent, too, though I preferred his voice at x1.1.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful book

I tend to keep up to date regarding human evolution and I feared the many discoveries found in the last 30 years would render this book out of date. It really doesn't. Leakey's work is as relevant today as it was almost 30 years ago when first published.

I'd consider the book to be accessible for all readers. Jargon is limited and the writing style is always interesting.

I look forward to locating a hard copy to read and enjoy a place on my shelf.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!