Climbing Mount Improbable 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

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.

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.

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.

Once again Dawkins employs his talent for clear, insightful explanations and examples of evolution at work. This book is a follow-up to The Blind Watchmaker, and Dawkins attempts to answer some of the questions that readers may have had after reading it.

Like The Selfish Gene, this book gets the important thesis stated elegantly in the first few chapters. The rest of the book gives detail issues and nuances that are mainly useful if you want to debate with a creationist. If you want to have a thoughtful discussion with a creationist, get professional help NOW.

I give Mount Improbable 4 stars. The sentences were straightforwardly and honestly written. That's enough to praise any writer. The grammar in the sentences was a pleasure to follow.

The subject matter was not easy. But many tiny metaphors -- alongside the big Mt. Improbable one -- with repeated explanations, and lots of drawings were very helpful.
When Dawkins dropped the big Mt. Improbable metaphor and started using another main one -- the natural history museum with endless corridors of shells, and with other endless meanderings sometimes jutting out from the main corridors' sides -- the reading got really tough. Tough yes, but Dawkins' stories were always fascinating and made exciting.
The evolution of the eye was a wonderful and believable story, but I'm afraid the last one about the fig was too hopelessly complicated for me to follow.
I was surprised that Dawkins ended his book with the big Mt. Improbable metaphor. He had stopped using it halfway through the book.

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!

Excellent as usual with his work.
Well worth reading.
Elegant arguments and explanation.