Dawkins' "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution"

Questioninggeller · 6th September 2009, 10:18 AM

Richard Dawkins' latest book, "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution," was released last week in the United Kingdom. You can read some excerpts at his website. But here's some reviews:

Quote:

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
The Sunday Times
Review by James McConnachie
September 6, 2009

Richard Dawkins is angry, and a little scared. Some 40% of Americans believe that God created human beings “pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years”, while in Britain the situation is “slightly less extreme, but not much more encouraging”. The “infectious” idea of creationism, Dawkins fears, is on the rise. With this book, he wants to arm people who know such “history deniers” but who “find *themselves inadequately prepared to argue the case”.
...

Full: The Sunday Times

Quote:

The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins
Review by Richard Fortey
The Guardian
September 5, 2009

If Thomas Henry Huxley was famously "Darwin's bulldog", then Richard Dawkins is probably best described as "Darwin's pit bull". He gets his teeth into an argument, locks on and shakes it until submission is the only option. There's a certain glee when he admits to being "the devil's disciple" or the high priest of "ultradarwinism", and his admission has an undeniably macho swagger about it. Real men (and women) take the toughest line on natural selection. Suffering and pain in nature and humanity are merely there to service the genes. Anything else is "Sentimental, human nonsense. Natural selection is all futile." There is something bracing about belonging to this most astringent and clear-sighted set. Deluded theists! Wishy-washy agnostics! Welcome to the Fight Club. One is reminded of lines by Dawkins's favourite poet, WB Yeats: "Cast a cold eye / On life, on death. / Horseman, pass by."
...

Full: The Guardian

Quote:

Anjana Ahuja reviews 'The Greatest Show on Earth' by Richard Dawkins
The Times
August 29, 2009

Thank the Lord for creationists. Without their blinkered belief in the biblical account of how life came to be, Richard Dawkins would never have felt the need to give us The Greatest Show on Earth. And what a fine, lucid and convincing exhibition he puts on, walking us through the natural world to demonstrate that evolution by natural selection is everywhere.
...

Full: The Times

Quote:

It's all there: Book Review
The Economist
Sep 3rd 2009

A SCIENTIST on a flight across America falls into conversation with his neighbour, who turns out to be gratifyingly interested in his research on wild guppy populations in Trinidad. He probes deeply the scientist’s methods, his findings and setbacks. Then comes the big question: what is the theory underlying the work? Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, replies the scientist. The rest of the journey passes in chilly silence.

This anecdote was related by the biologist in question to Richard Dawkins, one of the ablest and certainly the most high-profile of the many scientists trying to dispel the belief that man, rather than descending from other animals, was created in his current form by some divinity. In his previous books the British biologist has presented new ways of looking at evolution, demolished barriers to understanding it and traced the family tree of all life back through its branching points to a single origin. These books all started with evolution. But in the bicentennial year of Darwin’s birth Mr Dawkins fills a gap in his oeuvre by setting out the evidence that the “theory” of evolution is a fact—“as incontrovertible a fact as any in science”.
...

Full: The Economist

Undesired Walrus · 6th September 2009, 10:48 AM

Pfff. Nobody replied to an almost identical thread I started on this a few days ago.

bokonon · 6th September 2009, 11:18 AM

I love that there's an option to watch his pitch with Turkish subtitles. Take that, Harun Yahya!

rjh01 · 6th September 2009, 03:57 PM

You left his youtube out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-QWv_0Mjq0

YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the JREF. The JREF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.

I AGREE

both links are the same.

UnrepentantSinner · 6th September 2009, 06:36 PM

Ooooo! I can't wait to see some Creationist reviews of this.

dropzone · 6th September 2009, 09:31 PM

Dawkins is usually right.

He can also be a jerk.

I wish to steal his wife from him.

Therefore, my opinion should not count, unless it manages to pry Lalla Ward from his arms, which is unlikely. In my defense, my infatuation began (slightly) before she became Romana II. It was when she was Princess Astra.

Questioninggeller · 14th September 2009, 05:51 PM

It's #1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list right now.

Also in the book he included a transcript of his interview with Wendy Wright, which a reviewer wrote was "... like a cartoon character standing in front of a hail of bullets taunting, 'You missed me'."

Questioninggeller · 22nd September 2009, 05:49 PM

I got my copy and am past chapter seven. It is very good. Dawkins has a great discussion of radio-metric dating, which I didn't know much about. He even pokes fun of Andrew Schlafly for his failed attack on Dr. Lenski's work. However, the book (at least what I've read so far) is not much of an attack on creationism. It deals with facts of evolution and how scientists know what they know. The introduction does include his disappointment that biologists (and other related scientists in general) even have to waste time with creationist lunacy, rather than pursue their scientific work.

In sum, Dawkins has a very positive message about life and how evolution informs who we are as well as how we are related to other life forms. I can easily picture the book being assigned by college professors, and maybe even convert a fence sitting creationist (who is honest about evidence).

6th September 2009, 10:18 AM	#1
Questioninggeller Master Poster Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,552	Dawkins' "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution" Richard Dawkins' latest book, "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution," was released last week in the United Kingdom. You can read some excerpts at his website. But here's some reviews: Quote: The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins The Sunday Times Review by James McConnachie September 6, 2009 Richard Dawkins is angry, and a little scared. Some 40% of Americans believe that God created human beings “pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years”, while in Britain the situation is “slightly less extreme, but not much more encouraging”. The “infectious” idea of creationism, Dawkins fears, is on the rise. With this book, he wants to arm people who know such “history deniers” but who “find *themselves inadequately prepared to argue the case”. ... Full: The Sunday Times Quote: The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins Review by Richard Fortey The Guardian September 5, 2009 If Thomas Henry Huxley was famously "Darwin's bulldog", then Richard Dawkins is probably best described as "Darwin's pit bull". He gets his teeth into an argument, locks on and shakes it until submission is the only option. There's a certain glee when he admits to being "the devil's disciple" or the high priest of "ultradarwinism", and his admission has an undeniably macho swagger about it. Real men (and women) take the toughest line on natural selection. Suffering and pain in nature and humanity are merely there to service the genes. Anything else is "Sentimental, human nonsense. Natural selection is all futile." There is something bracing about belonging to this most astringent and clear-sighted set. Deluded theists! Wishy-washy agnostics! Welcome to the Fight Club. One is reminded of lines by Dawkins's favourite poet, WB Yeats: "Cast a cold eye / On life, on death. / Horseman, pass by." ... Full: The Guardian Quote: Anjana Ahuja reviews 'The Greatest Show on Earth' by Richard Dawkins The Times August 29, 2009 Thank the Lord for creationists. Without their blinkered belief in the biblical account of how life came to be, Richard Dawkins would never have felt the need to give us The Greatest Show on Earth. And what a fine, lucid and convincing exhibition he puts on, walking us through the natural world to demonstrate that evolution by natural selection is everywhere. ... Full: The Times Quote: It's all there: Book Review The Economist Sep 3rd 2009 A SCIENTIST on a flight across America falls into conversation with his neighbour, who turns out to be gratifyingly interested in his research on wild guppy populations in Trinidad. He probes deeply the scientist’s methods, his findings and setbacks. Then comes the big question: what is the theory underlying the work? Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, replies the scientist. The rest of the journey passes in chilly silence. This anecdote was related by the biologist in question to Richard Dawkins, one of the ablest and certainly the most high-profile of the many scientists trying to dispel the belief that man, rather than descending from other animals, was created in his current form by some divinity. In his previous books the British biologist has presented new ways of looking at evolution, demolished barriers to understanding it and traced the family tree of all life back through its branching points to a single origin. These books all started with evolution. But in the bicentennial year of Darwin’s birth Mr Dawkins fills a gap in his oeuvre by setting out the evidence that the “theory” of evolution is a fact—“as incontrovertible a fact as any in science”. ... Full: The Economist
	__________________ "Paranormal phenomena have a habit of going away whenever they are tested under rigorous conditions. This is why the $740,000 reward of James Randi, offered to anyone who can demonstrate a paranormal effect under proper scientific controls, is safe." --Richard Dawkins

6th September 2009, 10:48 AM	#2
Undesired Walrus Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,139	Pfff. Nobody replied to an almost identical thread I started on this a few days ago.
	__________________ Man's material discoveries have outpaced his moral progress. - Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of Britain, 1945

6th September 2009, 11:18 AM	#3
bokonon Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 3,224	Towel, bath, border. May I see your passport, please? I love that there's an option to watch his pitch with Turkish subtitles. Take that, Harun Yahya!
bokonon Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 3,224	__________________ Laugh while you can, monkey boy.

6th September 2009, 06:36 PM	#5
UnrepentantSinner A post by Alan Smithee Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USAian is not a word Posts: 23,209	Ooooo! I can't wait to see some Creationist reviews of this.
	__________________ "The permanence of the stars was questioned, the justice of slavery was not" - Carl Sagan in Cosmos discussing the content of the Library of Alexandria. a post by Alan Smithee explained. Blutoski's taxonomy of woo Join my The Not Cool Kids Club

6th September 2009, 09:31 PM	#6
dropzone Muse Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 684	Dawkins is usually right. He can also be a jerk. I wish to steal his wife from him. Therefore, my opinion should not count, unless it manages to pry Lalla Ward from his arms, which is unlikely. In my defense, my infatuation began (slightly) before she became Romana II. It was when she was Princess Astra.
dropzone Muse Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 684

14th September 2009, 05:51 PM	#7
Questioninggeller Master Poster Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,552	It's #1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list right now. Also in the book he included a transcript of his interview with Wendy Wright, which a reviewer wrote was "... like a cartoon character standing in front of a hail of bullets taunting, 'You missed me'."
	__________________ "Paranormal phenomena have a habit of going away whenever they are tested under rigorous conditions. This is why the $740,000 reward of James Randi, offered to anyone who can demonstrate a paranormal effect under proper scientific controls, is safe." --Richard Dawkins

22nd September 2009, 05:49 PM	#8
Questioninggeller Master Poster Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,552	I got my copy and am past chapter seven. It is very good. Dawkins has a great discussion of radio-metric dating, which I didn't know much about. He even pokes fun of Andrew Schlafly for his failed attack on Dr. Lenski's work. However, the book (at least what I've read so far) is not much of an attack on creationism. It deals with facts of evolution and how scientists know what they know. The introduction does include his disappointment that biologists (and other related scientists in general) even have to waste time with creationist lunacy, rather than pursue their scientific work. In sum, Dawkins has a very positive message about life and how evolution informs who we are as well as how we are related to other life forms. I can easily picture the book being assigned by college professors, and maybe even convert a fence sitting creationist (who is honest about evidence).
	__________________ "Paranormal phenomena have a habit of going away whenever they are tested under rigorous conditions. This is why the $740,000 reward of James Randi, offered to anyone who can demonstrate a paranormal effect under proper scientific controls, is safe." --Richard Dawkins Last edited by Questioninggeller; 22nd September 2009 at 05:51 PM.