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Flights of Fancy
- Defying Gravity by Design and Evolution
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
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Flights of Fancy
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Summary
The wonder of flight. The science of evolution. From both, Richard Dawkins weaves a fascinating account of how nature and humans have learned to overcome the pull of gravity and take to the skies.
Have you ever dreamt you could fly? Or imagined what it would be like to glide and swoop through the sky like a bird? Do you let your mind soar to unknown, magical spaces?
In Flights of Fancy, Richard Dawkins explains how nature and humans have learned to overcome the pull of gravity and take to the skies. From the mythical Icarus, to the sadly extinct but spectacular bird Argentavis magnificens, from the Wright flyer and the 747, to the Tinkerbella fairyfly and the Peregrine falcon. But it is also about flights of the mind, about escaping the everyday - through science, ideas and imagination.
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What listeners say about Flights of Fancy
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- michael lavin
- 25-05-23
The Master
Dawkins is the eloquent master of science and discovery.
If only our leaders had the courage and imagination to understand the world around them on any meaningful level.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-06-22
Flights of Fancy
RD. does an excellent delivery of this , I am extremely biased with his way of thinking and I think he has so many proper answers for this topic he talks about ,
Hope to listen again ,
Martin T
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- petitbilbo
- 01-04-23
Flying high, but not too high
Making complex mechanisms easily understandable in a compelling way.
Ruchard Dawkins at his best and without too much of his signature atheism.
Lovely.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Daniel
- 30-12-22
An excellent bit Dawkins
An excellent bit Dawkins. Excellent narration. Fascinating insight and easily accessible for non scientist like me.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Allan Hviid Jensen
- 29-06-22
Delightful story
Dawkins as always an eloquent storyteller, connecting dots in thought provoking fashion. Nothing much new here but very much worth the time in Dawkins company.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- aaron
- 19-12-21
Thank God for Richard Dawkins!
Dawkins excels at popular science books, and this is quite possibly his best effort to date. He explains very complex systems in ways that even an idiot like me can understand. He is truly a gift from God.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jan Valencia
- 17-12-21
5 Stars For a reason
I thought I was pretty well informed about flying but every few minute of listening I learned something new, we’ll written, well read by the author, I listened to it in one sitting and I’m starting over to absorb even more.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jeff Koeppen
- 11-11-22
Fascinating History of Animal Flight
Flights of Fancy would be an excellent introduction to Dawkins to a first time reader. It's an excellent, succinct, and to-the-point book about the history of flight (and gliding) in the animal kingdom, including the relatively short history of human flight.
While relatively short by Dawkins' standards, less than five hours in audio divided in to short chapters, the book is packed with a ton of great biological information and interesting observations, all read to you by the world's preeminent evolutionary biologist. As always his prose is smooth and satisfying, and he manages to sprinkle some humor in here and there for good measure. When it comes right down to it, it's really amazing that animals can fly so efficiently considering the amount of energy required and physical traits needed to overcome the Earth's gravity.
After looking at the previews of the Kindle and print additions I regret not buying the physical version of the book. The illustrations are fantastic and numerous. I'll have to spend a lunch hour at Barnes and Noble with it to take them all in.
Richard is 81 now and I hope he has some more books in him. I've seen him speak in person twice, in Rochester MN and Dallas. My wife and I flew to Dallas in 2018 and bought the meet and greet passes for his appearance with the great Carolyn Porco. It was a thrill for me to chat with him and get a picture of the two of us. He is one of humanity's brightest minds.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rebekah Hull
- 04-02-22
What a wonderful book
I'm well above the target age group, but was looking for something to listen to at work. This is exactly the type of book I would have LOVED to own as a young person. It explores the questions of how flight works, what it's for, and how it originates, giving just enough information on each topic to spark fascination without getting bogged down. Analogies and examples simplify complex topics and make them easy to understand. Dawkins is an exuberant narrator whose love of nature and science is clear and infectious. this is a great book and I will probably end up sending it as a gift to a few people.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jennifer S. Leblanc
- 23-12-21
Dawkins best book yet
I’ve read most everything Richard Dawkins has written and I think this is his finest work yet. The audiobook is wonderful and I love the conversational tone and his unparalleled ability to make science easily understood. This is a master work.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Seth
- 20-03-23
Sparks interest and curiosity
Dawkins yet again, never fails to educate his topics so articulately to his readers. I also recommend reading along with the physical book to enjoy the amazing artwork along the way.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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- Martin S
- 03-01-23
Bad audio quality
Bad audio quality on all audible books and they won't acknowledge it despite the feedback.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Daniel Lachance
- 23-12-22
Progress on into a new realm
Change can be bigger than we expect. Millions fly this year to the other side of the planet no less. Thank you Dawkins and Elon Musk.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Sam
- 15-09-22
Could Have Been Better
Seemed like most are from 'The Ancestors' Tale'. But a good combination of basic Physics of flight and evolution. But could have been better if it contained little more advanced topics and contents.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Brent Dilger
- 14-09-22
Now my favorite Dawkins book
Richard Dawkins writes and speaks eloquently comparable to Carl Sagan. He’s able to convey complicated ideas in a way palpable to the average listener.
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