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_bookmoth's review against another edition
4.0
This book came on my radar thanks to Nightwish's Endless Forms Most Beautiful. Although I needn't to be convinced of evolution, I enjoyed the book as it had some interesting information I was not familiar with. It was also wonderful to listen to the audio book, read by Richard Dawkins himself to get the right intonation and tone at the various ironic and humorist sneers at creationists.
acrigger's review against another edition
5.0
I love, love, love Richard Dawkins. This book is a basic look at the evidence for evolution. I found that many of the examples used in this book are examples I use in my class. I don't go into any book expecting to get a giggle, but this one had me laughing out loud a few times.
readacorn's review against another edition
4.0
Für dieses Buch habe ich mehr als vier Monate gebraucht. Ich bin ein Riesenfan von Dawkins (sein "Der Gotteswahn" gehört zu meinen Lebens-Lesehighlights). Aber der vorliegende Titel war mir einfach zu detailliert. Alles richtig, alles wichtig aber soooo genau hätte ich es nicht wissen müssen, zumal ich auch gar nicht überzeugt werden muss.
beecycling's review against another edition
4.0
This is sometimes a bit repetitive, but as always I enjoyed Dawkins's writing style and his arguments. I especially enjoyed the History Written All Over Us chapter, which to me really demolishes the notion of Intelligent Design, discussing what a general bodge job living creatures are, as we'd expect if they've evolved rather than been designed.
Some beautiful colour plates too, which make the book even more of a pleasure.
Some beautiful colour plates too, which make the book even more of a pleasure.
rubiscodisco's review against another edition
5.0
Though he can be quite vicious, Dawkins shows himself here to be a very witty and engaging author. His choice of examples and his neat ordering of facts to build the indesputable case for evolution would be quite useful if I ever run into a few creationists.
bigbookslilreads's review against another edition
3.0
I have noticed Dawkins' books fail to reach me, somewhat. I believe it to be mostly because of his writing style, and the at times more sardonic tone he employs (namely towards creationists and/or religion) that I don't think aids him in his objective of enlightening his target audience. Related, I don't think I am his target audience. I am already quite convinced by evolution, but I decided to pick this up as I would like a more current view on the matter. As such, I found this book to be quite informative, providing plenty of proof and arguments for evolution, but at the same time a bit basic in its depiction of the subject. This is clearly intentional, to make the book more accessible to a lay audience. Most of his books are like this, which unfortunately, I tend not to jive with. And as I said, his tone doesn't really help the matter.
I would also not recommend this as an audiobook. That's how I tend to explore my non-fiction TBR list, but since this book is apparently filled with figures supporting his points, I lost some of the charm just by listening.
Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to anyone seeking a more foundational read on evolution. It's informative and accessible, and albeit suffering (in my opinion) from some cheesy or sardonic remarks by Dawkins, it definitely is not too cluttered with theoretical and scholarly terms that would be too difficult to follow.
I would also not recommend this as an audiobook. That's how I tend to explore my non-fiction TBR list, but since this book is apparently filled with figures supporting his points, I lost some of the charm just by listening.
Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to anyone seeking a more foundational read on evolution. It's informative and accessible, and albeit suffering (in my opinion) from some cheesy or sardonic remarks by Dawkins, it definitely is not too cluttered with theoretical and scholarly terms that would be too difficult to follow.
professor_x's review against another edition
5.0
Another excellent work by Richard Dawkins.
I learned so much from this book. I’ve been wanting to read something that would help me understand how evolution works, and how we came to know and understand the process. Dawkins methodically covers all ground here, as to not leave any gaps in his presentation. Scientific jargon is given proper definition, to avoid confusion. Thought experiments and metaphorical examples abound, generating a clear and vivid picture of the process that underscores all life on earth.
My appreciation for all life has increased exponentially since my reading. Flowers, bees, ants, trees, fungi, birds – all distant relatives. We are all connected! It is truly a wonderful feeling to be able to know this and understand. The thought reminds me of Vonnegut and his great work Cat’s Cradle:
“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder ‘why, why, why?’
Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.”
I learned so much from this book. I’ve been wanting to read something that would help me understand how evolution works, and how we came to know and understand the process. Dawkins methodically covers all ground here, as to not leave any gaps in his presentation. Scientific jargon is given proper definition, to avoid confusion. Thought experiments and metaphorical examples abound, generating a clear and vivid picture of the process that underscores all life on earth.
My appreciation for all life has increased exponentially since my reading. Flowers, bees, ants, trees, fungi, birds – all distant relatives. We are all connected! It is truly a wonderful feeling to be able to know this and understand. The thought reminds me of Vonnegut and his great work Cat’s Cradle:
“Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder ‘why, why, why?’
Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand.”
randomprogrammer's review against another edition
3.0
these get pretty repetitive after a while. just read Selfish Gene, it's the true powerhouse
the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy Richard Dawkins books, of course with me he is sort of preaching to the choir. LOL I found this latest novel about evolution quite engaging and well written and would definitely recommend it!