Audiobooks by David Baker

The Shortest History of Sex: Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation

From the first microbial exchanges of DNA to Tinder and sexbots, how did sex begin, and how did it evolve to be so varied and complex in humans? What influence do our genetic ancestors have on our current love lives? And what might sex look like in the future? With acuity, humor, and respect for human diversity, The Shortest History of Sex reveals where the many facets of our sexuality-chemical, anatomical, behavioral, social-come from. Chasing down our evolutionary family tree, from the first aquatic creatures to primate societies, David Baker sheds light on our baffling array of passions, impulses, and fetishes, and guides us toward a clear understanding of one of the deepest, most abiding forces of human nature. The Shortest History of Sex also charts how sex changed for humans across the foraging, agrarian, and modern eras, showing how, even as our biology and sexual instincts have remained the same, the current nature of our sex lives has no historical or evolutionary precedent. The result is a revealing, utterly unique insight into history and human behavior-and the profound forces of nature and nurture compelling our most intimate relationships.

David Baker (Author), Grant Cartwright (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Shortest History of Sex: Two Billion Years of Procreation and Recreation

From the first microbial exchanges of DNA to Tinder and sexbots, how did sex begin, and how did it evolve to be so varied and complex in humans? What influence do our genetic ancestors have on our current love lives? And what might sex look like in the future? With acuity, humor, and respect for human diversity, The Shortest History of Sex reveals where the many facets of our sexuality—chemical, anatomical, behavioral, social—come from. Chasing down our evolutionary family tree, from the first aquatic creatures to primate societies, David Baker sheds light on our baffling array of passions, impulses, and fetishes, and guides us toward a clear understanding of one of the deepest, most abiding forces of human nature. The Shortest History of Sex also charts how sex changed for humans across the foraging, agrarian, and modern eras, showing how, even as our biology and sexual instincts have remained the same, the current nature of our sex lives has no historical or evolutionary precedent. The result is a revealing, utterly unique insight into history and human behavior—and the profound forces of nature and nurture compelling our most intimate relationships.

David Baker (Author), Grant Cartwright (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Shortest History of Our Universe: The Unlikely Journey from the Big Bang to Us

A complete history of the universe, spanning 13.8 billion years in an ultra-accessible, uncommonly illuminating, exhilarating chronicle of key events In this thrilling history, David Baker captures the longest-possible time span-from the Big Bang to the present day-in an astonishingly concise retelling. His impressive timeline includes the 'rise of complexity' in the cosmos and the creation of the first atoms; the origin of all galaxies, stars, and our solar system; and the evolution of life on Earth, from tiny single-celled organisms to human beings. Weaving together insights across the sciences-including chemistry, physics, biology, archaeology, and anthropology-Baker answers the fundamental questions: How did time begin? Why does matter exist? What made life on Earth the way it is? He also argues that never before has life on Earth been forced to adjust to a changing climate so rapidly, nor has one species ever been responsible for such sudden change. Baker's grand view offers the clearest picture of what may come next-and the role we can still play in our planet's fate.

David Baker (Author), Keval Shah (Narrator)

Audiobook

Vintage

Food journalist, wine connoisseur, and onetime bestselling writer Bruno Tannenbaum has long believed these are the elements of a full life. The rest will take care of itself. But lately, nothing's going right for Bruno. His career is floundering, he's separated from his wife and their two daughters and he's drinking his way through a dwindling bank account, certain all that's left of life is a downward slope into obscurity. Then Bruno stumbles on a clue leading to a "lost" wine vintage, one of the many bottles stolen and smuggled out of France during WWII, now worth a small fortune and sought after by wine collectors throughout the world. Bruno realizes that finding this bottle could be the key to restoring his career-maybe even writing his comeback book. But his discovery is not a secret for long; as word of his finding spreads, nefarious characters interested in the bottle start appearing at every turn. Bruno scrapes together his final resources, calls in favors he may ultimately regret, and sets off on a grand adventure. From the rolling hills of Burgundy to a raucous wedding in Moldova, from a Beaune bacchanal to the graying walls of a Russian prison, Vintage is a hilarious food-filled debut about redemption, sacrifices, and making one last effort to follow your dreams.

David Baker (Author), Jeffrey Cummings (Narrator)

Audiobook