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A review by fipah
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins
4.0
4 stars = I think it is really good for 13+ olds
For an adult the book does not contain much novelty, yet the book is fantastic for children or YA - Dawkins succinctly explains the concepts of evolution, stars and space, galaxies, light, earthquakes, the scientific method and, above all, the importance of critical thinking. I think a refreshing read for a young adult on the brink of reading more books on science in their future!
I sometimes found Dawkins to be a bit preachy when he addressed religion and said its stories of miracles were fakes - it is like we got it, no need to spend such a long time on this topic. Maybe it all boils down to his history with religious people wherein he may feel the need to explain the topic in depth and counter-argument everything. Also, I found he stressed maybe a bit too strongly that we should not "invent miracles and fairies" and indulge in the creation of such stories because "the reality is magical as it is" - I get the point, it is the central theme of the book after all, yet sometimes I felt it got blown into different proportions, maybe into ones he himself did not want. Stories and "mystical fairytale-ish" magic is fine and fun, or am I mistaken? Should we stop writing literature altogether?
Dave McKean's illustrations - ineffable, as always <3.
Anyway, highly recommended for YA.
For an adult the book does not contain much novelty, yet the book is fantastic for children or YA - Dawkins succinctly explains the concepts of evolution, stars and space, galaxies, light, earthquakes, the scientific method and, above all, the importance of critical thinking. I think a refreshing read for a young adult on the brink of reading more books on science in their future!
I sometimes found Dawkins to be a bit preachy when he addressed religion and said its stories of miracles were fakes - it is like we got it, no need to spend such a long time on this topic. Maybe it all boils down to his history with religious people wherein he may feel the need to explain the topic in depth and counter-argument everything. Also, I found he stressed maybe a bit too strongly that we should not "invent miracles and fairies" and indulge in the creation of such stories because "the reality is magical as it is" - I get the point, it is the central theme of the book after all, yet sometimes I felt it got blown into different proportions, maybe into ones he himself did not want. Stories and "mystical fairytale-ish" magic is fine and fun, or am I mistaken? Should we stop writing literature altogether?
Dave McKean's illustrations - ineffable, as always <3.
Anyway, highly recommended for YA.