River Out Of Eden: A Darwinian View Of Life (Science Masters Series) - Hardcover

Dawkins, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0465016065 ISBN 13: 9780465016068

Publisher: Basic Books, 1995

Synopsis

Expanding on his theory that the gene is the basic unit of evolution, the author of The Selfish Gene explains how genes meet, compete, unite, and separate to form new species. National ad/promo.

About this title

Review:

Nearly a century and a half after Charles Darwin formulated it, the theory of evolution is still the subject of considerable debate. Oxford scientist Richard Dawkins is among Darwin's chief defenders, and an able one indeed-- witty, literate, capable of turning a beautiful phrase. In River Out of Eden he introduces general readers to some fairly abstract problems in evolutionary biology, gently guiding us through the tangles of mitochondrial DNA and the survival-of-the- fittest ethos. (Superheroes need not apply: Dawkins writes, "The genes that survive . . . will be the ones that are good at surviving in the average environment of the species.") Dawkins argues for the essential unity of humanity, noting that "we are much closer cousins of one another than we normally realize, and we have many fewer ancestors than simple calculations suggest."

About the Author:

Richard Dawkins teaches at Oxford University, where he is a Fellow of New College.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0465016065
• ISBN 13: 9780465016068
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192