The Selfish Gene (50th Anniversary Edition)

By (author) Dawkins, Richard
Short description/annotation:
As relevant and influential today as when it was first published, this classic exposition of evolutionary thought stimulated whole new areas of research. This 50th anniversary edition includes a new epilogue by the author and a new appendix on the work of British zoologist A.G. Lowndes in the 1930s.
Description:
Celebrating 50 years with a new anniversary edition, this critically acclaimed international bestseller has sold millions of copies and been translated into over 30 languages. Among the most influential and enduring science books of all time, The Selfish Gene is a classic in every sense of the word. Originally published in 1976, the book soon galvanized the biology community and fascinated a broad general readership. Professor Dawkins''s gene''s-eye view of evolution introduced a completely novel way of looking at survival. Fifty years later, The Selfish Gene still sparks fascination and debate among scientists and science-enthusiasts alike, inspiring new directions in research and fresh generations of young life scientists. First-time and returning readers will marvel at the timelessness and universality of this monumental work. In a new epilogue to the 50th anniversary edition, Professor Dawkins reflects on his signature publication and its enduring relevance and appeal. This edition also contains a new appendix, which sheds historical and personal light on the perpetual relevance of the ''selfish gene''. Oxford Landmark Science books are ''must-read'' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.
Table of contents:
Introduction to 30th anniversary edition Preface to 1989 2nd edition Foreword to 1976 1st edition Preface to 1976 1st edition 1: Why are people? 2: The replicators 3: Immortal coils 4: The gene machine 5: Aggression: stability and the selfish machine 6: Genesmanship 7: Family planning 8: Battle of the generations 9: Battle of the sexes 10: You scratch my back, I''ll ride on yours 11: Memes: the new replicators 12: Nice guys finish first 13: The long reach of the gene Epilogue to 40th Anniversary Edition Epilogue to 50th Anniversary Edition Appendix Endnotes Updated bibliography Index and key to bibliography
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Dawkins''s prose is lucid and powerful, his argument difficult to contend ... The Selfish Gene has attained its own literary and scientific immortality: as long as we study life, it will be read.
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highly readable and entertaining ... exhilarating gene''s-eye-view of life
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Books about science tend to fall into two categories: those that explain it to lay people in the hope of cultivating a wide readership, and those that try to persuade fellow scientists to support a new theory, usually with equations. Books that achieve both changing science and reaching the public are rare. Charles Darwin''s On the Origin of Species (1859) was one. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is another. From the moment of its publication 40 years ago, it has been a sparkling best-seller and a scientific game-changer
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Richard Dawkins'' magnificent introduction to the world of popular science writing ... Punchy, elegant, self-righteous, devotional (at least in a Darwinian way), it showed that genetics was absorbing, challenging and important
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A genuine cultural landmark of our time.
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This book should be read, can be read, by almost everyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.
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Learned, witty, and very well written ... exhilaratingly good.
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The sort of popular science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius.
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The elegantly written The Selfish Gene has inspir