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Climbing Mount Improbable Paperback – September 17, 1997

by Richard Dawkins (Author), Lalla Ward (Illustrator)

4.5 325 ratings

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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.

Print length

352 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

September 17, 1997
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches
ISBN-10

0393316823
ISBN-13

978-0393316827
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Editorial Reviews

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How do species evolve? Richard Dawkins, one of the world's most eminent zoologists, likens the process to scaling a huge, Himalaya-size peak, the Mount Improbable of his title. An alpinist does not leap from sea level to the summit; neither does a species utterly change forms overnight, but instead follows a course of "slow, cumulative, one-step-at-a-time, non-random survival of random variants"--a course that Charles Darwin, Dawkins's great hero, called natural selection. Illustrating his arguments with case studies from the natural world, such as the evolution of the eye and the lung, and the coevolution of certain kinds of figs and wasps, Dawkins provides a vigorous, entertaining defense of key Darwinian ideas.

Review

Without question, Richard Dawkins is the most brilliant and compelling propagandist of Darwin today. -- Michael Schrage, Wired magazine

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 8/18/97 edition (September 17, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393316823
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393316827
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #664 in Scientific Reference
- #1,406 in Genetics (Books)
- #8,575 in Medical General Psychology

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4.5 325 ratings

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Richard Dawkins

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Richard Dawkins taught zoology at the University of California at Berkeley and at Oxford University and is now the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position he has held since 1995. Among his previous books are The Ancestor's Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and A Devil's Chaplain. Dawkins lives in Oxford with his wife, the actress and artist Lalla Ward.

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4.5 out of 5

325 global ratings

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Brooklyn Richie

PROFESSOR DAWKINS KNOWS THINGS

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2023

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This guy shares liberally, whether in classroom or through books and lectures, his savvy and discoveries along with his chosen beliefs. He takes a side but does not offend as he balances what he submits for your consideration. His books were so good, that read all of them. I don't subscribe to all his conclusions or stands, but I respect the other guys journey & findings especially when shared correctly. This book does

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Malaina

Good at explaining the evolutionary process

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2017

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Overall this is a good book. I liked the explanations and the metaphor of Mt. Improbable really furthered my understanding of the evolutionary process. It was, in some places, a bit tedious as he seems to over explain, but I cannot fault him for that, for some people’s writings seem to under explain. It is a bit of a heavy read if you haven’t sufficient knowledge of biology, but if you read it carefully, I am sure you will get the gist of what he is saying Andy will love it as much as I do.

2 people found this helpful

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F Sabella

Yes, Evolution Builds Complex Structures!

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2012

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You should read this book if you are interested in learning how complex biological structures could have developed through evolution.

Writing a review of this book is fraught with danger given the strong emotions that surround the concept of evolution. From reading other reviews, it appears that, not surprisingly, reviewers are somewhat polarized in favor of Dawkins (and evolution) or against Dawkins (and likely against or skeptical of evolution). I am impressed by the fervor of some reviews, and so I think Dawkins was successful in getting his points across. A problem with reading a book like this is that it really is impossible to read it without its implicit argument for evolution, and, while this is obvious, such an overriding argument detracts somewhat from the purpose of the book: to demonstrate that an unguided mechanism (evolution) can produce over many years increasingly complex biological structures.

I argue that an emotional response should be put aside in evaluating the value of the ideas in the book. Dawkins is really just saying that it does not take design or any other sort of divine intervention for an evolutionary process to come up with a wing or an eye. He argues that such biological structures can be, and were, developed over a very long time as a result of evolutionary processes, and presents several examples to support his arguments. These examples are very interesting and presented in a more or less topical fashion. Dawkins cannot necessarily go into more extensive detail since that would require a much longer book - his light treatment of the science may be prompting some of the criticism that the book does not have the depth of more serious science writing.

I think this book is important since it builds a foundation for arguing the science behind evolution. Dawkins cannot necessarily write this book (and his other books) without an implicit opposition to myth-based theories of creation, since to support evolution at all necessarily argues against many of the concepts running through religion. Thus, this book is going to annoy a lot of people. Dawkins ideas are valid nonetheless, and his arguments are sound enough to push back against the various ID and other myth-based creationist theories. He might strengthen his arguments if he did not take jabs at creationists and just stuck to the science, but he has his opinions and I find them amusing.

I recommend this book because it is written by an intelligent evolutionary biologist who presents some fascinating biology in the course of demonstrating that evolution, in fact, works to develop complex structures.

12 people found this helpful

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Hassan

Another Brilliant Book!!!

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2012

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Dawkins has a beautiful mind and an incredible ability to break down a complex topic into a simpler form.
Evolution does not scale large cliffs, it takes smaller steps along the path of Mount Improbable.
Step by step an eye can be evolved without the need for a Creator.
Step by step any form of life can take the gradual path of Mount Improbable to achieve a mind boggling complexity yet without the need for any God.

"...from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." Charles Darwin

And this book takes you through the complexity of life, step by step, to the top of Mount Improbable without the need for a Designer.

4 people found this helpful

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Ullrich Fischer

Compelling Story, told in an entertaining manner

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2012

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Once again, Richard Dawkins (with the assistance of his talented wife, Lalla Ward) presents complex ideas in a comprehensible and even entertaining manner. His books should be standard textbooks in senior highschool and first year university biology and statistics classes. He demolishes the "life is too complex to arise by accident" canard in a completely compelling and convincing manner. His use of colorful metaphors (starting with the metaphor of Mount Improbable itself) explains with stunning clarity how life has evolved to fill every available ecological niche on the planet. This book is almost as gripping as a good mystery story, something which is very rarely the case for non-fiction books addressing such complex topics.

2 people found this helpful

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Rotinter1941

Climbing Mount Improbable

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2012

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I initially started to read this book on holiday, and had to leave it behind. Fascinated enough to buy my own from Amazon on home return. On many subjects, Richard Dawkins is controversial, but his very careful explanation about how spiders build their webs in the chapter 'Silken Fetters', is brilliant. I was able to follow every part, and was enraptured. I now am constantly looking for spider's webs in order to study the very detail he described. I even filmed two spiders fighting for dominance of a web, just as he describes! Worth buying, just for this chapter alone. With such detailed information, I'll probably now read the rest of the book!

4 people found this helpful

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artgolfer

There's always more...

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2018

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to be learned about evolution. The details of how it has worked and continues to work are astonishing. And Richard Dawkins tells these events wonderfully. It's true you have to "dig in" because this isn't necessarily light reading but, if you're willing to go deep and get involved, the journey is pretty spectacular.

6 people found this helpful

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Kenneth Correa

It Was Okay

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2013

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The only thing that was disappointing about this book was that I bought the book under the condition "New" but the book seemed like it was a little bit used in the past.

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garry pike

good read

Reviewed in Canada on July 9, 2022

Verified Purchase

easy to read

Linda Michaelis

Gutes Buch

Reviewed in Germany on July 14, 2023

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Gutes Buch und gute Qualität:)

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BMM

Extraordinary

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2022

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An absolute joy to read. A thrilling, insightful look at the mechanics of evolution.

Donato

Not as good as "The Blind Watchmaker", but still a great contribution by Richard

Reviewed in Italy on August 20, 2017

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It is not as good as "The Blind Watchmaker", but it is a great book, nonetheless. I expected a different approach in some of the central chapters of the book, where I found too much dissertations about computer models. Apart from their goodness in describing some of the entwined aspects of Nature, computer models (this is true especially for the past computers) have a lot of limits: they can represent just interesting experiments suggesting us part of the truth. I mean, dedicating two entire chapters to them is too much. I appreciated a lot the dissertation about the "Blind Watchmaker" program reported in "The Blind Watchmaker", because it was just an example of how simple is the mechanism that could lead to the biodiversity of our world, but here it is too much overrated and occupies too many pages.
Globally, I would advice this book to those who like the writing of Dawkins, as "Climbing Mount Improbable" could be seen as a "sequel" to "The Blind Watchmaker". Dawkins's prose is, as always, fluent, even in those parts that, thanks to Nature, are incredibly tough to grasp; the good drawings from Lalla Ward help the comprehension; finally, three sets of photos are a boon to the reader.
The book is successful: it transpires biology as few books do. It is another must-read for the layman who wants to deepen his understanding of Natural Selection.

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Great analogy and great explainations of evolution

Reviewed in India on October 23, 2015

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Superb book .Great analogy and great explainations of evolution .how we got from a single cell to a human .

One person found this helpful

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