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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 576.5
EAN: 9780199291151
Edition: 3
ISBN: 0199291152
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: May 25, 2006
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
Alternate Versions: Click to Display
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
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
Product Description:
Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life.
In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature. Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk.
This 30th anniversary edition of Dawkins' fascinating book retains all original material, including the two enlightening chapters added in the second edition. In a new Introduction the author presents his thoughts thirty years after the publication of his first and most famous book, while the inclusion of the two-page original Foreword by brilliant American scientist Robert Trivers shows the enthusiastic reaction of the scientific community at that time. This edition is a celebration of a remarkable exposition of evolutionary thought, a work that has been widely hailed for its stylistic brilliance and deep scientific insights, and that continues to stimulate whole new areas of research today.
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Rating:  -
This book puts the body of knowledge in evolutionary biology in the right perspective. Because we are macro beings, because we in this society live and deal at organism level, so we tend to believe that everything revolves around this level. What this book does is to encourage you to think form the perspective of molecular level, the gene's level. After all, they came first in the tree of evolutiona nd they also come first in building the organisms...
PLIUS it's a good read.
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The first thing I want to say is how much respect I have for Richard Dawkins as a scientist, as a teacher, as a writer of fascinating prose, and as a person. He is a brilliant and courageous man who works hard to bring his knowledge and insights to all of us. For the record I have read six of his books and reviewed four of them. They are:
The God Delusion (2006)
The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution (2004)
A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love (2003)
The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene (1982; 1999)
The second thing I want to say is that The Selfish Gene is one of the landmark science books of the 20th century, and so I am pleased to see this 30th Anniversary Edition (from 2006) with a new introduction by Dawkins and some new footnotes.
Rather than review the book as a whole, however, as has been done many times, in this review I want to concentrate on the central issue ... Read More
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Richard Dawkins's The Selfish Gene is one of the best books I've read. Its subject matter--evolution of life on earth--is important. Its writing is flawless and its points well-argued. Its conclusions are significant, controversial, and seemingly inescapable.
The Selfish Gene is not for the faint of heart. Just look at the review here titled "Fascinating, but at times I wish I could unread it"--the author thinks that Dawkins's book "presents an appallingly pessimistic view of human nature, and makes life seem utterly pointless." I don't share this reviewer's view, but I'll get to that later. Some background is necessary first.
Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist at Oxford University. The Selfish Gene, his first book, was published in 1976. It has since become a classic of popular science literature. I'm not a scientist and I can't critique the scientific accuracy of Dawkins's book, but I don't need to: The Selfish Gene has been scrutinized for decades, ... Read More
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Richard Dawkins has become famous in the public mind as one of the strongest exponents of contemporary evolutionary theory, as well as an opponent of religion and creationism. THE SELFISH GENE is the book that launched his career as a celebrity scientist.
Ostensibly it is devoted to addressing, and ultimately debunking, the idea of "group selection," or the nearly equivalent "altruism". What does natural selection actually select? The gene. Or more generally, a replicator, of which a gene is the pertinent example, while speculations on the nature of other possible replicators makes for interesting reading at the end of the book. The fact that genes are units of replication and thus selection is the defining principle of "neo-Darwinism," the combination of Darwin's pre-genetic understanding of evolution with Mendelian genetics. Dawkins pursues with logical rigor the implications of this understanding, clearing away a lot of confusions, particularly those centered around explicit ... Read More
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The first thing I will say about The Selfish Gene (TSG) is that it is not the first book on evolution you should read although as a Dawkins book it is not a bad choice but for those unfamiliar with both, then I would suggest Climbing Mount Improbable or The Blind Watchmaker first. Both of those books by Dawkins have a much broader, more generalized, look at natural selection and evolution.
TSG is an entirely different type of book because it is particularly academic and a very complex read on specific lines of reasoning that are even aimed at correcting the misconceptions of big name professional biologists. It assumes that the reader will be somewhat acquainted with Darwinism and evolution. If you are not then I would strongly urge that you pass on TSG until you do. In fact, you will bring much more to TSG and get much more out of it if you spend time on his above mentioned works first. I would also suggest Darwin's own "The Origin of Species" if you can.
The reason for ... Read More
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