Description: Fine. 0393315703 NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black ink mark on outside edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Norton
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780393315707ISBN:0393315703
Description: Very Good + Very Good or better, 2006 reprint edition, no creases in spine, no slant, a little light edgewear, tight binding, 468 pages from the evolutionary biologist and all-star atheist. read more
Edition: American ed.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780393022162ISBN:0393022161
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Book is near fine condition. Jacket has just a bit of edgewear, closed tear. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 332 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Date Published: 1996-09-19
ISBN-13:9780393315707ISBN:0393315703
Description: Like New. Different cover art. Book has slight shelf wear from storage and use; otherwise the book is in very good condition. Free tracking information available. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
Date Published: 1996-08-29
ISBN-13:9780393315707ISBN:0393315703
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780393315707. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co. 1986
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780393022162ISBN:0393022161
Description: ISBN 0393022161. Hardback. Bookclub Edition in the same size, format, and quality binding as the First Edition. Very good condition book in a Very good condition dustjacket. Tight sound unmarked copy except for a green felt pen remainder slash to the bottom edge of the book. We have placed dustjacket in a brodart protective cover and it looks much better than described. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc, Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780393315707ISBN:0393315703
Description: New. 0393315703. FLAWLESS COPY, AVOID WEEKS OF DELAY ELSEWHERE. --clean and crisp, tight and bright pages, with no writing or markings to the text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co
Date Published: 1996-09-17
ISBN-13:9780393315707ISBN:0393315703
Description: Fair. Paperback. Book is well read but remains a good reading copy with all of the pages and binding intact. The spine has bends and the cover has wear from reading including rubbing and bends. May have writing or highlighting. Quick response. read more
"Oh, this is a difficult review. I feel as if I need to explain my own view about religion before I can properly review this book, but honestly, I don't care much for discussing religion on the internet, in a book review. So, to make it short, I'm an atheist. In fact, (and to quote Douglas Adams, because it's always good to quote Douglas Adams), I'm a radical atheist.
Which makes reading this book kinda like preaching to the choir.
That's probably the reason why I didn't really enjoy it. That, and the pseudo-scientific approach. The author is so eagerly trying to convince me of his views on evolution, he goes into great detail explaining evolution to me (unfortunately, he assumes that I know nothing about evolution, thus explaining it in tiny little baby steps that leave out the interesting "real" science). He says, look, evolution, it works! It's right! This is what happened! BELIEVE ME!
And yes, sure, I believe him. No wait, I don't believe him. I know for a fact that what he says, well, not particularly what he says, but I know for a fact that evolution is true.
See, where I'm from, nobody doubts that evolution isn't true. nobody would even suggest that "creation" is a real, scientific alternative to evolution. In 31 years and with a post-grad degree, I have never met anyone who would have doubted evolution.
So the whole purpose of this book is completely baffling to me.
It's not enough of a science book to really teach about evolution. And it's not combative enough to actually come right out and say "there is no creation." The only thing the author does is show that evolution works - the important step, the step that says "and not only does it work, but here, let me show you why there is no god involved in it either", he leaves out.
I know I'm so disappointed with this book because that last thing was what I expected. I expected someone to write about why creation doesn't work, not why evolution does. That's not the authors fault.
I might give another one of his books a try, but it'll probably have the same effect - we already have the same opinion (or close enough, I guess), for me to find his books interesting, provocative or even thought-provoking. I feel as if the book only deserves two stars ("it was okay"), but I'll add another one for the effort.
they may have an entirely different effect on you, though, so I still recommend you read one. And if you do, "The Blind Watchmaker" would certainly not be a bad choice."
"The first time I read this book I read it fairly quickly, enjoying that it was well-written and fairly accessible to an every-day reader. However by the end of it, I wasn't able to recount anything from it! All-in-all the subject matter was very scientific, and although Richard Dawkins is a highly talented writer and can speak to an every-day audience, he still is a biologist and the topic of the book made for very dense reading. I'm glad to be reading it a second time, with highlighter in hand!"
"Dawkins is one of my top picks for the most articulate, engaging and proficient scientists I've read to date. The Blind Watchmaker turned out to be a very prolific piece. I was baffled by his logical analogies, most excellent examples and extremely engaging vernacular. In this work, one learns much about the evolutionary adaptations of numerous species, of which the sonar technology of baths, dolphins and other mammals seemed most shocking. His reasoning of what constitutes miracles, probability theory and reasoning behind the drawback of the Lamark's theory of acquired characteristics is exceptionally enticing. The book should be a required high-school reading.
"I enjoyed reading this book. It was written in the late 80's by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. It is a detailed description of how evolution works with many examples. It also goes into various 1980's computer models of evolution, which is kind of entertaining to read in 2009. There are some direct refutations of creationist counter arguments that are very much old news to anyone who has read anything about this debate.
Evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology. Its fundamental premises are not really even questioned anymore by biologists that are doing scientifically sound and rigorous research. Sure there are still points of disagreement and areas that still need to be researched, but that is the way science works. It works by pushing back the darkness and sorting out what we see. As the evidence comes in, we change our theories and premises. This is what is cool about science. It thrives on the complex and the unknown.
The religious arguments against evolution are such a distraction. As new evidence comes to light that refutes the written word of a bronze-age civilization, the religiously dogmatic scramble to either retrofit it into their belief system or to outright refute it. This is so far outside of the way I see the world that it is hard for me to understand how someone can feel comfortable doing this. It truly blows my mind.
Anyway, this was a good book, but there are other, more contemporary books on the topic."
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