Reviews

The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution by Richard Dawkins

ellie_elizabeth's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

hooman_rostami's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

3.5

docpacey's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

The sheer amount of information packed into this book would have to be daunting to a reader not initiated into the language of biology, but any fan of Darwin, Stephen Jay Gould or E.O. Wilson (to name a few) will revel in the way that Dawkins journeys from the tip of the branch (modern man) to the trunk of the tree at the beginning of all life on earth.
Each waypoint in the journey is a junction at which another branch of life rejoins ours on the way to the trunk at life's earliest moment, and is an opportunity for Dawkins to explore nearly every aspect of the way science has categorized, discovered, studied and theorized upon the vast diversity of beings that do and have inhabited our planet.
It's an amazing contrast to The Sixth Extinction that I finished just prior.

grzesiek's review

Go to review page

informative

2.5

emiann2023's review

Go to review page

4.0

I always learn a lot, and I know he goes to great lengths to make these digestible to a more layman mind, but I do still find myself getting lost at times. Still, really enjoyed the thoughtful commentary and analysis of our genetic history.

brenana's review

Go to review page

did not actually read the whole thing (skipped around but read probably half of it), but putting it on the shelf until i have time to read the rest. the sections i did read for class are super interesting, though, and i can't wait to get back to it

rey_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

jackybrooke's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative

3.75

dorien_s's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative inspiring slow-paced

4.0

maitrey_d's review

Go to review page

5.0

A great guide to modern evolutionary thinking. Dawkins uses a reverse journey through time to better explain genes, clades, and natural selection.

If you've not read Dawkins before and don't know where to start, this is a good book to begin with.