New Releases by Richard Dawkins

Essays on morality, mortality, and much more from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion. This early collection of essays from renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is an enthusiastic declaration, a testament to the power of rigorous scientific examination to reveal the wonders of the world. In these essays, Dawkins revisits the meme, the unit of cultural information that he named and wrote about in his groundbreaking work, The Selfish Gene. Here also are moving tributes to friends and colleagues, including a eulogy for novelist Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy; correspondence with fellow biologist Stephen Jay Gould; commentary on the events of 9/11; and visits with the famed paleoanthropologists Richard and Meave Leakey at their African wildlife preserve. Ending with a vivid note to Dawkins''s ten-year-old daughter, reminding her to remain curious, ask questions, and live the examined life, A Devil''s Chaplain is a fascinating read by "a man of firm opinions, which he expresses with clarity and punch" ( Scientific American).

La théorie du gène égoïste, c''est la théorie de Darwin exprimée autrement. Plutôt que de se focaliser sur l''organisme individuel, Dawkins adopte le point de vue du gène sur la nature pour démontrer que nous sommes des robots programmés à l''aveugle pour préserver les molécules égoïstes connues sous le nom de gènes. On dit du Gène égoïste qu''il est " le livre le plus important écrit sur la théorie de l''évolution depuis Darwin ". Le fait est que ce livre est devenu en quelques années un classique dont tous les manuels s''inspirent aujourd''hui. Et la biologie de devenir aussi excitante qu''un roman d''aventures.

Er kroppene våre bare overlevelsesmaskiner for genene? Knapt noen bok innen biologi har, siden Darwins "Om artenes opprinnelse", vakt slik oppsikt og debatt som Dawkins" "The Selfish Gene?. Dette er boken som maktet å gjøre genteori og evolusjonsbiologi til folkelesning. Her kan man leses om livet på jorda sett fra genenes synsvinkel. Genenes eneste mål er å bringe flest mulig kopier av seg videre til nye generasjoner, og til dette trengs et verktøy ? organismen. Enhver organisme, mennesket inkludert , kan derfor betraktes som en genstyrt robot, en marionett under DNA-trådene. Med hvor blir det da av menneskets frie vilje? Fritar et slikt verdensbilde oss fra moralsk ansvar? Nei, hevder Dawkins. Mennesket er ikke totaldeterminert, men kan, som eneste art gjøre opprør mot genenes diktatur. Dette er en svært aktuelle bok når vi nå befinner oss i "genenes tidsalder". Boken har innledning skrevet av professor Dag O. Hessen.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of Science in the Soul. "If any recent writing about science is poetic, it is this" ( The Wall Street Journal). Did Sir Isaac Newton "unweave the rainbow" by reducing it to its prismatic colors, as John Keats contended? Did he, in other words, diminish beauty? Far from it, says acclaimed scientist Richard Dawkins; Newton''s unweaving is the key too much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don''t lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mysteries. With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him a bestselling author, Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder. This is the book Dawkins was meant to write: A brilliant assessment of what science is (and isn''t), a tribute to science not because it is useful but because it is uplifting. "A love letter to science, an attempt to counter the perception that science is cold and devoid of aesthetic sensibility . . . Rich with metaphor, passionate arguments, wry humor, colorful examples, and unexpected connections, Dawkins'' prose can be mesmerizing." — San Francisco Chronicle "Brilliance and wit." — The New Yorker

L''avancée des sciences conduit-elle à " désenchanter le monde " ? Chacun de ses progrès défait-il un peu plus la magie de l''univers ? Si nous sommes aujourd''hui convaincus de l''unité de la science, pensons-nous un instant qu''elle puisse nous faire rêver ? C''est cette intime conviction que Richard Dawkins défend ici en nous montrant comment la science exalte le mystère de la vie. Qu''il s''agisse d''astronomie, de physique, de génétique, de biologie ou de l''évolution des espèces, chaque découverte ouvre selon lui la voie à un nouvel imaginaire. Bien loin de " défaire l''arc-en-ciel ", Newton a libéré de nouvelles sources d''inspiration. " Même muet, l''univers ne nous offre-t-il pas un thème splendide ? Je soutiens que les poètes pourraient faire meilleur usage de l''inspiration que leur offre la science, et que, parallèlement, les scientifiques doivent tenter de convaincre ces électeurs que sont, faute d''un terme plus approprié, les poètes à mes yeux. " Un livre personnel, passionné et plein d''humour.

A brilliant book celebrating improbability as the engine that drives life, by the acclaimed author of The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker. The human eye is so complex and works so precisely that surely, one might believe, its current shape and function must be the product of design. How could such an intricate object have come about by chance? Tackling this subject—in writing that the New York Times called "a masterpiece"—Richard Dawkins builds a carefully reasoned and lovingly illustrated argument for evolutionary adaptation as the mechanism for life on earth. The metaphor of Mount Improbable represents the combination of perfection and improbability that is epitomized in the seemingly "designed" complexity of living things. Dawkins skillfully guides the reader on a breathtaking journey through the mountain''s passes and up its many peaks to demonstrate that following the improbable path to perfection takes time. Evocative illustrations accompany Dawkins''s eloquent descriptions of extraordinary adaptations such as the teeming populations of figs, the intricate silken world of spiders, and the evolution of wings on the bodies of flightless animals. And through it all runs the thread of DNA, the molecule of life, responsible for its own destiny on an unending pilgrimage through time. Climbing Mount Improbable is a book of great impact and skill, written by the most prominent Darwinian of our age.

Reprint of the 1987 original with a new introduction and preface. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Faut-il postuler un grand horloger à l''origine des formes innombrables et complexes de la vie, ou bien peut-on l''expliquer entièrement comme le proposait Darwin, par la sélection naturelle?

Muhteşem yazım tarzı ile Shakespeare Edebiyat Ödülü kazanmış bir bilim insanı olan Profesör Richard Dawkins, karmaşık bilimsel gerçekleri insanlara basit bir dille anlatmayı kendisine görev edinerek, yaşamın doğa üstü bir yaratıcı olmadan nasıl ortaya çıktığını ateşli bir şekilde anlatıyor. Çağımızın en çok okunan bilim insanları listesinde muhtemelen ilk sırayı alan Dawkins, Gen Bencildir ile sarstığı dünyayı bu kitapla bir kez daha canlandırıyor. Bilimi yanlış anlayan veya anlamak isteyen çeşitli kesimlere çekinmeden dağıttığı eleştirileriyle, uzun yıllar sonra yazacağı Tanrı Yanılgısı kitabının ilk sinyallerini veriyor. Richard Dawkins, bu kitabı ile hem Kraliyet Akademisi Edebiyat Ödülü’nü hem de Los Angeles Times Edebiyat Ödülü’nü kazandı. “Güzel ve mükemmel yazılmış. … Tamamen anlaşılır fakat derin duygularla dolu konuşmanın ritmine sahip. Her sayfa gerçeği çınlatıyor. Bu, şu ana kadar okuduğum en iyi bilim kitaplarından biri (en iyi kitaplardan biri).” —Lee Dembart, Los Angeles Times “Nefis bir kitap, orijinal ve hayat dolu, evrimin ayrıntılarını coşkun bir berraklıkla açıklıyor, her yerinde yaradılışçı mağara adamlarını cevaplıyor.” —Isaac Asimov “İyi bilim edebiyatının sırrı, kişinin fikirleri önce kendisinin anlamasının gerektiği: iyi yazmak net düşünmekle mümkün olur. … Kör Saatçi’yi okurken Dawkins’in problemlere bakışındaki berraklıkla tekrar tekrar hayrete düştüm. … Dawkins’in doğal dünya hakkında bilgisini arttırmışken ona karşı hayranlık duygusunu kaybetmemiş olduğu fazlasıyla açık. … Keşke ben de böyle yazabiliyor olsaydım.” —John Maynard Smith, New Scientist