The Power of Life Audiobook By Jessica Riskin cover art

The Power of Life

The Invention of Biology and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

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The Power of Life

By: Jessica Riskin
Narrated by: Ellen Adair
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“A truly remarkable achievement.” —Jill Lepore

“A gorgeous story of human nature and animal behavior—and of the way science itself evolves.” —Dava Sobel

The tumultuous life and radical science of a revolutionary thinker, and the history of an idea that changed the world

In the early nineteenth century, the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed the first evolutionary theory of life and, with it, a new science: biology. Yet for centuries, evolutionary theorists have endeavored to discredit Lamarck and his theory of self-transforming organisms, rejecting the idea that animals play an active role in shaping their own evolution. In his lifetime, he was mocked by his adversaries and personally insulted by Napoleon. In this virtuosic melding of biography, history, politics, and science, Jessica Riskin sets out to correct the record. Riskin tells the story of Lamarck’s life and work as an intense struggle between rival forces to answer questions that remain foundational to our modern worldview: What is a living being, and what is science?

New findings suggest Lamarck’s basic claim was, in many ways, right, and a reconsideration of his life and work is long overdue. Denying the agency of living beings has informed two centuries of eugenic policies and environmental destruction, allowing people to regard the living world as so much raw material to shape and exploit for economic, industrial, and imperial gain.

Deeply researched, strikingly original, and beautifully written, The Power of Life shines a much-needed light on an underappreciated biologist whose radical ideas offered a more inclusive, collaborative, and enlightened approach to science. Biographies & Memoirs Biological Sciences Biology History History & Philosophy Professionals & Academics Science Science & Technology
All stars
Most relevant
Learned a tremendous amount. Well written. Long read. Epilogue is particularly worthwhile recommend it more words

Exhaustive and exhausting biography

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Cancel culture vs. science. Her arguments didn’t seem to follow from many of her examples, and her criticisms of many scientists of the past were so colored by her own sense of moral superiority that they automatically raise questions about her spin. Of course they were racist and sexist! They were shaped by their societies and cultures, as is she.

Pretty supercilious

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