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	The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author by Richard Dawkins
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Product Details Binding Paperback Dewey Decimal Number 576.5 EAN 9780199291151 ISBN 0199291152 Manufacturer Oxford University Press, USA Number Of Items 1 Number Of Pages 384 Publication Date May 25, 2006 Publisher Oxford University Press, USA Availability Usually ships in 24 hours 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. 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 'Dawkins first book, The Selfish Gene, was a smash hit...Best of all, Dawkins laid out this biology-some of it truly subtle-in stunningly lucid prose. (It is, in my view, the best work of popular science ever written.)'--New York Review of Books 'This important book could hardly be more exciting.'--The Economist 'The sort of popular science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius.'--New York Times 'Who should read this book? Everyone interested in the universe and their place in it.'--Jeffrey R. Baylis, Animal Behaviour '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 'The presentations are remarkable for their clarity and simplicity, intelligible to any schoolchild, yet so little condescending as to be a pleasure to the professional.'--American Scientist 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. Richard Dawkins is the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Society of Literature, and an international lecturer. His acclaimed books include The Extended Phenotype, a more technical sequel to The Selfish Gene, and The Blind Watchmaker, which won the Royal Society of Literature Award and the Los Angeles Times Prize, both in 1987. His other bestsellers include River out of Eden, Climbing Mount Impossible, Unweaving the Rainbow, and the A Devil's Chaplain. His most recent book is The Ancestor's Tale. Professor Dawkins is the recipient of many prizes and honors, including the Shakespeare Prize, the Silver Medal of the Zoological Society of London, the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Award, the Nakayama Prize for Achievement in Human Science, The International Cosmos Prize, and the Kistler Prize. Customers who bought this item also bought The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene (Popular Science) Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder Customer Reviews for: The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author Rating - If you read one book on evolution... If you want to learn about evolution, this is the first book you should read. If you think you know evolution, this is the book you need to read. Rating - Why take an interest in science? Why should we care about Darwin's Theory of Evolution? Is it a bad thing that around half of the American population doesn't accept it? Simply put, evolution is arguably the greatest attempt to answer some of the eternal epistemological questions such as why are we, the nature of morality, and what we are. From a biological perspective, it actually answers what we are and explains how all this beautiful and complex life arouse in a very simple and gradual process. The Selfish Gene is a work of ... Read More Rating - We have a genetic predisposition to act self interestedly? Who woulda thunk it? Perhaps when this book first dropped 30 years ago as the blueprint for evolution it was considered radical. Today it's taken as a given that the primary motivating force for behavior has a genetic basis. This shift in attitude may be a direct result of the widespread influence of The Selfish Gene, but I wouldn't know. I wasn't around then. But this is a fine work to help everyone understand the core essence of human nature, and how we can use our superior capacity for reason to create a society of compassion that compliments ... Read More Rating - Shockingly Good Very well written book. Anyone with no background in Biology will be able to understand this book without any trouble. Richard Dawkins also provides good evidences and detailed explanations throughout the book. If you are a religious person, beware that this book might shock you in several ways. Rating - The Selfish Gene A mind blowing book. I read it 30 years ago and just re-read the slightly enhanced newer edition. Chapter 2, which introduces the idea that genes, not organisms, are the focus of evolution always gives me a feeling of awe, the closest I can come to a religious experience -- but, of course, Dawkins would not approve of that. Some of the chapters could be heavy going to a casual reader, demanding quite a bit of thought to follow the arguments. Along the way there are some nice descriptions of weird animal behavior. ... Read More see more reviews See all books by author Richard Dawkins

Books : The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author