 Easily one of the best books I have ever read, 2010-02-14
Wow, I got this book with some sceptism after starting to read the Origin of Species, due to the content being fairly traditional and me being a kipper undergraduate in Biology, which I confess does not bode well for the future. However I quickly realised the true genius of Richard Dawkins and the simple logic that his work conveys. The fact that this book itself is a generation old but still very applicable in the fastest changing science is a testament to the quality of his research and logic thinking. However, what I find most effective in this book is his use of similes and everyday comparisons as a method to describe genes and survival machines and I certainly feel that the content, while easily read, is of high quality and certainly at University level. I have found it useful as a reference tool or as a way of getting clearer information than my lecture notes.
Highly recommend it, it is, quite seriously a high opener, I have learned a new way of thinking. In a way, I may not read the God Delusion, in the simple fact that he is such a convincing writer, I would be quite worried he would convince there is no god. which I don't really want to have , since I feel that everybody needs something to hang on to in the unknown.
Fantastic book, should be introduced in school.
Stay classy,
JL
just about the hardback edition, 2010-01-16
this is just some info if you are thinking to get the hardback edition - it is awful !
they have made a large book into a small one at the expense of readability. Very small font, very small line spacing; and to make matters worse, nearly 100 pages of end notes are in a font smaller still! An absolute nightmare to read, the tiny condensed print will hurt your eyes and give you a headache; also the binding is so tight I practically had to wrestle the book open. I have uploaded a couple of pictures of this book next to another Dawkins hardcover (The Greatest Show on Earth) just to show how comparatively small and small-printed The Selfish Gene is. I was hoping for the same big a-joy-to-behold kind of book like all the other Dawkins hardbacks I have. What a disappointment.
as to the contents themselves... well, pure genius. Richard Dawkins should be taught in school - and not just in Britain, everywhere in the world, right after Darwin.
 "Scientific Myth", 2009-12-19
This book is very good, i found it helpfull when studying behavioural ecology at college
and tho it is factual inside it should be read as if it was "Scientific Myth"
A ground breaking popular Science book, 2010-02-14
This book hardly needs further introduction. It ranks in the central canon of popular Science writing, certainly in the same league as 'A Brief History of Time'. It is unsual in one respect in that it actually describes original thinking. Its central thesis is that the gene is the basic unit of natural selection, almost to the extent that bodies or cells are merely vehicles to perpetuate the continued existence of the genes themselves. A weakness here is that the book does not define a gene well. A single gene for example may encode for more than one protein; a protein may be the product of several individual genes. Dawkins goes onto explain how altruism may have evolved and that, rather than being paradoxical, is fully consistent with natural selection as outlined by Darwin. In this, Dawkins does provide arguments and evidence to support this. Overall, he is reasonably successful. We learn that group selection as such does not exist, but that through cooperation, it is possible for individuals to increase their own chances of survival and reproduction. We also learn that kin selection arises primarily through the sharing of the same genes: since my brother has a relatedness of 1/2, it may be worth sacrificing myself since my brother has half of my genes. There is, in my opinion, a very good description of the Prisoner's Dilemma, developed from game theory and how this can be applied to model the development of cooperation (or non-cooperation) strategies and to assess whether these may become so-called 'evolutionary stable strategies'. Clealy, this must be seen as an over-simplification. The complexities of molecular biology and neurobiology are great. The book ends with an introduction to Dawkins's next work, 'The Extended Phenotype'.
It is worth noting that the title of the book has led people to assume that Dawkins is a pure genetic determinist. Dawkins stresses that this is not the case, and that we may easily overcome the 'rule' of our genes. Indeed this is essential for living in a sustainable and peaceble manner. In the introduction to this anniversary edition, Dawkins even mentions some regret in the title of the work, since it causes many to make assumption about his beliefs and motives.
Overall, this is a ground-breaking and well written work that makes an excellent read.
Strikingly intelligent, eye-opening book on the role of genes, 2010-01-11
According to the popular belief, evolution is a struggle between species for survival. We are supposed to be genetically programmed to ensure the survival of the species. However, the scientists have discovered examples where organisms act in a way that doesn't seem to be beneficial from the survival-of-the-species point of view. There are entire books exploring such occurrences and discussing how that apparently harmful behaviour could be beneficial for the survival of the species after all. Some others try to use those examples to discredit the very theory of evolution.
This remarkable book makes it clear that that confusion is illusory and the above-described discussions are off the point. Natural selection is not between species. It's not even between individuals. It's between genes. The genes compete against each other for survival. They use individual organisms as vehicles for reproduction. A gene doesn't care if it survives inside one species or another. So an individual might well be programmed to act in a way that is harmful to its species or itself, as long as its beneficial to the reproduction of its genes.
This book explains in detail how it works. It's very technical, not always an easy read. But it's logical and makes perfect sense. Mr. Dawkins is remarkably intelligent. In particular, the way how he calmly encounters criticism (which is sometimes very stupid) and rips it apart without getting emotional, is fascinating.
It's unbelievable that this book was published 30+ years ago, and the selfish gene theory which is so obviously true isn't still the ruling paradigm. How is it possible that it's still being referred to as a curious theory of an obscure British author, not to be taken too seriously? I can't understand what kind of a person could read this book and not be convinced. (All right, "Power, Sex, Suicide" explains that the selfish gene theory doesn't apply to bacteria, but I don't care too much about them, do I?)
This is a book you absolutely have to read if you want life to make sense.
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