The Greatest Show on Earth Now Available in Paperback

August 24, 2010

In case you haven’t bought it yet — and if so, what the deuce is wrong with you? — Richard Dawkins‘ The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution is now out in paperback!

It’s a fantastic introduction to evolution if you’re looking for a gateway into the subject.

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What Are Your Thoughts?leave a comment

Andrew

As good as this book is, I prefer Why Evolution Is True by Jerry Coyne. Anyone interested in the subject should definitely give it a read.
Duo

Got mine in hardback on day 1. Got it signed a few weeks later. 😀
Joé McKen

Thanks for the reminder – just went on eBay and bought myself a hardcover copy instead. Finally gonna know what all that fuss about evolushun is about. Time to get edumacated!
keddaw

Interesting new study that suggests living space is the driver of evolution rather than competition and natural selection. Seems to have stirred up a little bit of controversy but it makes complete sense to me.

When life is given a whole new arena to populate with little competition, initially, it allows all kinds of evolutionary dead ends to be gone down before selective pressure thins the field. It also, and this is the key point, allows for some features to evolve that might be initially detrimental to a species but with no strong selective pressure these features can evolve and perhaps with some modification become useful. Then, when living space is more limited and/or predators come along the useful adaptations become prevalent in the population.

This would answer any ID person that found an evolutionary adaptation that had a non-useful intermediary step that could be difficult to explain by natural selection. Not that I know of a single one that anyone has come up with, but if they ever did this could be the explanation.
Alan E.

And it has fantastic pictures! I have used this book many times, especially at the zoo to demonstrate the incredibly long vagus nerve in giraffes and how it is similarly situated in humans. It is number one on my referred list for evolution denyers.
ManaCostly

Welcome to last year.
ckitching

The worst part of Richard Dawkin’s books is that most critics don’t bother to read them before panning them. I can’t count how many reviews I read of his book that complained, at length, about his atheism and about how he thinks all believers are idiots. Of course, none of this is in the book, and I’m not sure his atheism is even mentioned.
Heidi

I got the hardcover last yer on pre-order from Amazon. Excellent book. And I disagree that the Coyne book is better. I’m reading it now, and I like it, but Dawkins is more accessible.

Granted, Coyne doesn’t come with the Ebil Baby-Eating Atheist baggage so reality deniers might be more likely to read him.
Vanessa

The book is definitely a good intro to evolution and debunks all of the arguments against it, but I really don’t like Dawkins’ writing style. He’s too condescending. If he wants the other side to read his books and understand, it’s not going to work, it will just come off as offensive.
Greg

I’m with Alex. I have the hardcover of Dawkin’s book and have read it 3 times. It is absolutely an excellent book and has launched me down the path of reading all of his others.

However, I also just finished the paperback of Coyne’s “Why Evolution Is True”, and as an ‘introduction’ to evolution I believe it is more accessible. Much less flowery and wordy, but to the point and lays out the case clearly and concisely.

If I were recommending to somebody (like me!) I would suggest Coyne first, followed by Dawkins.
reparker

And it has fantastic pictures!

Yup. One of these days I’m going to get the Hillis plot printed out and I’m going to put it on my wall. And maybe give copies out as gifts for every holiday.