River Out Of Eden: A Darwinian View Of Life (Science Masters Series) (Paperback)

I cannot help thinking that Dawkins is at his worst when he does two things: tries to assume a Carl Sagan-like mantle of the scientist who is describing the wonders of Science in general, and; when he issues a book that repeats in pale prose other ideas better introduced in his other works. It is this latter critisism that I would level at him him in this book.

I had the distinct notion that I had either read these essays before, or that they had been gleaned from assorted previously published introductions in other books. I have to say that from what I found in the English Edition of this book, there was no evidence to back up my predjudice --- still the feeling was always there and certainly the thematic details of several of his books were contained within the pages of this book, from the "Selfish Gene" to the "Blind watchmaker" to the importance of memes in the development of language and cultures.

Moreover I had this same uneasyness when I read "Unweaving the Rainbow" --- some parts were great, but some parts were absolutely uninspiring (the hedge sparrows were absolutlely soporific).

This slender volume could not compare with the three classics, really the ones worth reading: "The Selfish Gene" " The Extended Phenotype" and " The Blind Watchmaker."

In a world where a lot of good books compete for our time, R. Dawkins works are important. But I think that one can get more out of concentrating (or even re-reading) the three books above by Dawkins and leaving his lesser works as possible introductions to his ideas (though once again, I think that his main works offer a better introduction to his ideas than these essays).

Well, this is the first book of his I have read, and I found it to be provocative and very interesting. He tends to put down those who believe in 'something larger' besides the theory of evolution, which wasn't really necessary except to bring out loud counterarguments in the reviews from those folks.

The best parts of the book were the clear, logical, and interesting examples of natural selection. It has been said that gaining new perspective is one of the most powerful things you can learn. This book will definitely give you a new perspective on the world around you, and will be a short and interesting read in the process. Enjoy.

Dawkins re-initiated the debate over evolution's mechanics with The Selfish Gene. For his lucid explanation of the gene as the foundation for life's workings, he was dubbed The Great Reductionist by those uncomfortable with the concept that genes tend to override the treasured idea of "free will" overriding Nature. With River Out of Eden, Dawkins proves his ability by presenting an even more comprehensible account of how DNA is the foundation for life's mechanics.

He begins with the idea that all life had ancestors - all of which succeeded in producing offspring. Their success at reproducing overshadows the fact that most life forms ultimately went extinct over the vast span of Earth's time. Extinction is due to failure to produce offspring that survived to further reproduce new generations. The reasons for this failure are uncountable and obscure, but the issue remains success or failure. Tracing the ancestral line allows us to envision rivers of life. The rivers aren't composed of water, but of DNA. DNA over time, acts as a "digital river" with sections turning on or off in the process of making proteins. And proteins are the bricks that build organisms and all their parts.

From an almost purely descriptive beginning, Dawkins moves on to demonstrate how many of those "parts" could evolve over the many millennia available to them. Among the favourite organs used to oppose natural selection is "the eye". How could such a complex part of life work half complete? Well, for starters, better than 49% complete. A statement that can be applied to all the body parts in various organisms when viewed over the long stretch of years available to change gradually. Wings, finding mates, locating food sources, all the "complex functions" we see in today's life came from earlier, simpler beginnings. Dawkins' chapter "God's Utility Function" is a must read and understand for anyone wishing to comprehend how many of these features came into existence. They didn't all arrive in a finished state.

Dawkins is adept at illustrating his points. Among his more clever tricks is the portrayal of a sentence reading clearly even with different typefaces for each word. You can still read and understand the meaning. But the appearance differs in each case. He also gives an excellent account of how genes govern energy expenditure for various types of creatures. Each has its own variant, but an "audit" of how the genes benefit from the arrangement reveals why it's a successful strategy.

The key to all these patterns is the idea that somehow, somewhen, a molecule that later became DNA learned to replicate. He posits Graham Cairns Smith's suggestion that DNA, or more likely its precursor, RNA, learned the trick from clay crystals. This remains the most likely explanation for life's origins, but requires the reader to recognize that the replicating molecule preceded any discernible organism. Cairns Smith's concept removes forever the idea that life's driving force occurred by chance. It was a relatively simple chemical and physical process. It may not appear elegant, but the mechanism has the elegance of plausibility.

This whole book carries the argument against "creation by design" into the camp of Darwin's enemies. Dawkins lists the contentions of the "creationists", then adroitly unravels them through pure logic and good science. Those who feel daunted by arcane biological treatises on life need only take up this excellent summation of why Darwin was right. Those who quail at the idea DNA drives our existence can take heart. It's all part of what's required in achieving a better idea of who we are. A major step in that understanding is in this book.