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The Selfish Gene (Paperback)

by Richard Dawkins (Author) "Intelligent life on a planet comes of age when it first works out the reason for its own existence ..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (82 customer reviews)

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Hardcover (3rd Revised edition) £14.99 £9.74 26 used & new from £6.39
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the sort of popular science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius New York Times

New York Times
"the sort of popular science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius"

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Intelligent life on a planet comes of age when it first works out the reason for its own existence. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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82 Reviews
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4.5 out of 5 stars (82 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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63 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Richard Dawkins is a great teacher, 14 Oct 2006
By M. de Boer (Zuidlaren, Drenthe, The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary edition (Hardcover)
As far as evolutionary biology's concerned I'm very interested, but nevertheless a layman. Richard Dawkins has however the rare ability to explain any scientifically difficult subject to practically everybody. His style is easy to read, very understandable, sometimes funny, and he uses very good examples to explain. Anybody having difficulties to understand evolution (and there are many out there) should read Dawkins' The Selfish Gene. A very good book: convincing, informative, readable book.
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78 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, and an utterly compelling read, 28 Jun 2006
This review is from: The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary edition (Hardcover)
While you might expect Dawkins' classic to be terrifically interesting (and you'd be right), you'd probably expect it to be a bit of a slog. In this respect you'd be completely mistaken - it flows beautifully, and is seriously difficult to put down. And the whole way through you have the wonderful sense that you're being educated as well as entertained.

The book starts right from first principles, describing a plausible theory for the origin of life, and explaining how more and more complex molecules could have formed in the 'primaeval soup'. Eventually a molecule arose that could replicate itself, and life has never looked back. Dawkins goes on to define a gene, which turns out to be quite an important step (I thought I knew what the word meant already, but I was wrong), and relates how genes have indirect control over what he calls 'gene machines', i.e. living things. Subsequent chapters then detail various survival strategies, 'altruism' and how it can be explained genetically, tensions between sexes and generations, and a new replicator, the 'meme'.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the way that Dawkins draws on game theory to assess mathematically the most sensible way for a gene machine to act. In particular, the sections on 'the Prisoner's Dilemma' (a specific game theory scenario which crops up all over the place in nature) are, to me at least, a radical new way of thinking of many problems in (human) life, and how we should approach them. It could have ramifications for politics, social policy, economics, and the environment, to name only a few. Like all the difficult concepts in this book, Dawkins explains this simply and thoroughly, and the reader never feels patronised. And if you ever feel a bit stuck, a captivating, and often extremely bizarre, illustration is selected from the animal kingdom to clarify the point. Dawkins is also refreshingly willing to state that certain aspects of this theory are +the truth+, a brave claim in our muddled, PC society.

I would therefore thoroughly recommend this book to the general reader. It's stuffed with hugely stimulating concepts (Dawkins' own 'meme', or replicating idea, is a paricularly rich one), and wonderful snapshots of the animal kingdom. Be warned though, it may take over your life for a while - personally I feel tempted to jack everything in and go and take a bilogy degree!
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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Brilliant, 2 Feb 2006
By O. Arnold (Herts United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a very well written, logical, and important book. Perfectly, understandable to those who have little or no familiarity with biology, yet captivating to those who do. I picked up this book for no other reason than its appealing title. Dawkins does not tie the reader up in jargon or fuzzy logic that makes other scientific books inaccessible to all but the experts. It remains one of my favourite books.

I rarely write book reviews, but I was so impressed with the content (it literally is a gripping read all the way through). I’m only sorry they didn’t make us read this while I was at school.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars See things differently
"The Selfish Gene" is an extremely well researched and written book on evolution. Dawkins looks at the genes as the most basic unit of replication. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Ryopinion

5.0 out of 5 stars Why not re-read this classic?
When I bought this 1989 edition, it was because I wanted to re-read the classic that I'd last seen thirty years ago. Read more
Published 23 days ago by Paul R. Syms

5.0 out of 5 stars An important book.
This is a five star book because of the amount of thought it generates in people, although some of that thought is (to say the least) not all that deep - see the 1 star reviews... Read more
Published 1 month ago by SCM

5.0 out of 5 stars An important book.
This is a five star book because of the amount of thought it generates in people, although some of that thought is (to say the least) not all that deep - see the 1 star reviews... Read more
Published 1 month ago

5.0 out of 5 stars Such an important book, and so well written
So exceptionally well written. If you've read it before, read it again. Then move on to Ridley's Origins of Virtue, Miller's Mating Mind and Kwatz's Conscious Robots.
Published 3 months ago by Ian D. Charles

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading
I read this book 15 years ago and without a doubt it is still the most important book I have ever read. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sukha

5.0 out of 5 stars Brillaint! This updates Dawkins best book
This brings the original book up to date, with a few subtle amendments to make the original text (even) clearer. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Palmer Eldritch

5.0 out of 5 stars Selfishness
This book is a true eye opener to the nature and reasons for selfish behaviour. If you see the world through rose colour spectacles or choose to be blinkered by religious... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. A. Martin

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
The Selfish Gene is in a way rather like the antithesis of Lynn Margulis' & Carl Sagan's Microcosmos. Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. Patterson

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Ingenious.
This is Professor Dawkins' finest piece of work. Not only does he provide his own knowledge and ingenious thinking, but he also ties together the works of Darwin, Hamilton,... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Evolutionary Biologist

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