Staff Pick
The Greatest Show on Earth is a fun, engaging, and informative read. You'll find the expertise and passion of Dawkins shining bright on every page as he takes you on a journey of discovery. This is an excellent book both for biology enthusiasts and for those new to this field of science. Simply put, I'd recommend this work to anyone and everyone wanting to know more about the intriguing world of evolutionary biology. Recommended By Nickolas J., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
In 2008, a Gallup poll showed that 44 percent of Americans believed God had created man in his present form within the last 10,000 years. In a Pew Forum poll in the same year, 42 percent believed that all life on earth has existed in its present form since the beginning of time.
In 1859 Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, shook society to its core. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke. But he surely would have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later. Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity. Now the author of the iconic work The God Delusion takes them to task.
The Greatest Show on Earth is a stunning counterattack on advocates of Intelligent Design, explaining the evidence for evolution while exposing the absurdities of the creationist argument. Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence: from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from natural clocks that mark the vast epochs wherein evolution ran its course to the intricacies of developing embryos; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics. Combining these elements and many more, he makes the airtight case that we find ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct consequence of evolution by non-random selection.
The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is menacing as never before. In American schools, and in schools around the world, insidious attempts are made to undermine the status of science in the classroom. Dawkins wields a devastating argument against this ignorance, but his unjaded passion for the natural world turns what might have been a negative argument into a positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a master's vision of life, in all its splendor.
Review
"A pleasure in the face of so much scientific ignorance biology rendered accessible and relevant to the utmost degree." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"[T]he prolific English biology writer Richard Dawkins has devoted his latest book to demonstrating the explanatory power of evolutionary ideas while hammering the creationists at every turn." New York Times Book Review
Review
"Dawkins has an influential voice in the debate.... However, he seems to be primarily preaching to the choir and probably won't win converts." Library Journal
Synopsis
In a brilliant follow-up to his blockbuster The God Delusion, Dawkins lays out the evidence for evolution.
Synopsis
Richard Dawkins transformed our view of God in his blockbuster, The God Delusion, which sold more than 2 million copies in English alone. He revolutionized the way we see natural selection in the seminal bestseller The Selfish Gene. Now, he launches a fierce counterattack against proponents of "Intelligent Design" in his latest New York Times bestseller, The Greatest Show on Earth. "Intelligent Design" is being taught in our schools; educators are being asked to "teach the controversy" behind evolutionary theory. There is no controversy. Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence—from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from natural clocks that mark the vast epochs wherein evolution ran its course to the intricacies of developing embryos; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics—to make the airtight case that "we find ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct consequence of evolution by non-random selection." His unjaded passion for the natural world turns what might have been a negative argument, exposing the absurdities of the creationist position, into a positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a masters vision of life, in all its splendor.
About the Author
RICHARD DAWKINS, is an evolutionary biologist, best selling author and outspoken atheist. He has established himself as a guru of evolution with the publication of books detailing and expanding upon Darwinian theory. Until his retirement this year, he was the Charles Simonyi Professor For The Understanding Of Science at Oxford University. He is the author most recently of
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. His other books include
The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, The Blind Watchmaker, River out of Eden (ScienceMasters Series),
Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, The Devil's Chaplain, The Ancestor's Tale, and
The God Delusion. Dawkins was Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2001.The Galaxy British Book Awards named him Author of the Year in 2006 for The God Delusion, and in 2008 his TV program 'The Genius of Charles Darwin' won Best Documentary Series at the British Broadcast Awards. He was listed as one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2007.
In his role as the Charles Simonyi Professor For The Understanding Of Science at Oxford University, Dawkins regularly talked to the public regarding his views on the wonders of science.