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The Selfish Gene
List Price: $16.95Price: $7.94 You Save: $9.01 (53%)Prices subject to change.
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 591.5
EAN: 9780192860927
Edition: 2
ISBN: 0192860925
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: October 25, 1990
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editorial 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
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 revised edition of Dawkins' fascinating book contains two new chapters. One, entitled "Nice Guys Finish First," demonstrates how cooperation can evolve even in a basically selfish world. The other new chapter, entitled "The Long Reach of the Gene," which reflects the arguments presented
in Dawkins' The Extended Phenotype, clarifies the startling view that genes may reach outside the bodies in which they dwell and manipulate other individuals and even the world at large. Containing a wealth of remarkable new insights into the biological world, the second edition once again drives
home the fact that truth is stranger than fiction.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great quality, on time, great purchase!
Book is of great quality and I received it on time. Have yet to read through the book itself, but it looks like everything else was perfect. Thanks!
Rating: - If a book can and should change your life, this is that book
I bought this book for my wife, who as a Zoology major had once been told by a Professor that this book was essential reading. While the book lay on the shelf, waiting for her attention, I felt sympathetic and decided to give it a read. This book, quite simply, changed my life like no other piece of literature, music or art (barring perhaps the Beatles) did.
If you have not been exposed to the beauty of biology, or if you are wondering somewhere at the back of your mind why some species ... Read More
Rating: - It could be the most important text you've ever laid eyes on...
The Selfish Gene completely recast my view of the biological world and rightly so. Natural selection on the gene level synthesizes everything we know about biology with more logic and form than other competing evolutionary viewpoints (specie selection, group selection). Dawkins will bedazzle you with systematic application of "selfish gene theory" to actual phenomenon observed in the biological realm. Then, he offers up the explanation provided by opposing theories. But these opposing viewpoints feel ... Read More
Rating:  - The Selfish Gene - Convoluted and dense
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins. This is a treatise on natural selection at the gene or gene set level. I got it because I read his later book "Genome: autobiography of a species" and thought it fabulous - a better introduction to molecular biology /genetics /genomics than any text book available. This book was less. It was a fine academic work and, with some faults, rigorous and philosophically sound - but convoluted and dense. I think he established he knew the field in this book but did not become ... Read More
Rating: - Enriching
Life on earth is a great puzzle which many people are trying to understand and solve. Theology has its own ideas and science has its own. Even if you don't agree 100% with everything in this book, I would recommend reading it to enlarge, provoke, think, contemplate on this great puzzle. May be, while reading it, you will arrive at the ultimate answer yourself and enlighten the rest of humanity.
Any intelligent undertaking at trying to solve this puzzle deserves respect, and this book is one of the ... Read More
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