The Selfish Gene:
30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author (Paperback)
by
Richard Dawkins (Author)
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of
The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since. Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or
memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings.
--Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
`Review from previous edition The sort of popular science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius.' New York Times
This book should be read, can be read, by almost everyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution. W.D. Hamilton, Science
Learned, witty and very well written...Exhilaratingly good. Peter Medawar in The Spectator
The exciting theories and their wide implications are explaned with clarity, wit and enthusiasm. Peter Parker, Sunday Times
Dawkins demonstrates that complex, theoretical or mathematical ideas can be expressed rigorously, in plain English. The book remains an excellent way for those who have not been trained in evolution to understand modern arguments. Trends in Ecology and Evolution
A splendid example of how difficult scientific ideas can be explained by someone who understands them and is willing to take the trouble. The New Yorker
the reader will come away with a clear understanding of kin selection, evolutionary stable strategies, and similar staples of the literature on evolutionary theories of animal behaviour. This is a considerable achievement.' Times Higher Education Supplement
`Buy this book, read it and recommend it to your students...There is still nothing else quite like it. Not only are the new chapters and endnotes worthy additions to the original, but the 1976 text comes up as fresh as a primrose and, in its way, nearly as perfect.' Animal Behaviour
`What is so refreshing about Dawkins is that he has confidence in the scientific method, in the testing of beliefs to destruction, no matter how cherished they may be.' Benjamin Woolley, The Listener
'Scientists give every appearance of being addicts, and science is their vice. That is one reason why progress in science is so rapid. I for one have benefited a great deal from Dawkins's addiction.' David L. Hull, Nature
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (May 25, 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0199291152
- ISBN-13: 978-0199291151
- Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
