The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

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More About This Book

Overview

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 master’s vision of life, in all its splendor.

  • Richard Dawkins
    Richard Dawkins

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
"Darwin's Rottweiler" is at it again. Richard Dawkins, the author of The God Delusion, returns with a comprehensive examination of the current state of evidence for evolution. Unlike the aforementioned book, which described religion as a virus of the mind, The Greatest Show on Earth is not primarily about the absence of a supreme being, but rather about the mechanics of species change and diversification. Dawkins draws on his expertise as an evolutionary biologist to describe how the science of the past two centuries has confirmed and refined Darwinian theory. An important scientific work certain to garner major reviews. Now in paperback. (Hand-selling tip: This Dawkins' most affirmative, accessible book.)
Publishers Weekly
Reviewed by Jonah Lehrer

Richard Dawkins begins The Greatest Show on Earth with a short history of his writing career. He explains that all of his previous books have naïvely assumed “the fact of evolution,” which meant that he never got around to laying “out the evidence that it [evolution] is true.” This shouldn't be too surprising: science is an edifice of tested assumptions, and just as physicists must assume the truth of gravity before moving on to quantum mechanics, so do biologists depend on the reality of evolution. It's the theory that makes every other theory possible.

Yet Dawkins also came to realize that a disturbingly large percentage of the American and British public didn't share his enthusiasm for evolution. In fact, they actively abhorred the idea, since it seemed to contradict the Bible and diminish the role of God. So Dawkins decided to write a book for these “history-deniers,” in which he would dispassionately demonstrate the truth of evolution “beyond sane, informed, intelligent doubt.”

After only a few pages of The Greatest Show on Earth, however, it becomes clear that Dawkins doesn't do dispassionate, and that he's not particularly interested in convincing believers to believe in evolution. He repeatedly compares creationists and Holocaust deniers, which is a peculiar way of reaching out to the other side. Elsewhere, Dawkins calls those who don't subscribe to evolution “ignorant,” “fatuously ignorant” and “ridiculous.”

All of which raises the point: who, exactly, is supposed to read this book? Is Dawkins preaching to the choir or trying to convert theuninformed? While The Greatest Show on Earth might fail as a work of persuasive rhetoric—Dawkins is too angry and acerbic to convince his opponents—it succeeds as an encyclopedic summary of evolutionary biology. If Charles Darwin walked into a 21st-century bookstore and wanted to know how his theory had fared, this is the book he should pick up.

Dawkins remains a superb translator of complex scientific concepts. It doesn't matter if he's spinning metaphors for the fossil record (“like a spy camera” in a murder trial) or deftly explaining the method by which scientists measure the genetic difference between distinct species: he has a way of making the drollest details feel like a revelation. Even if one already believes in the survival of the fittest, there is something thrilling about learning that the hoof of a horse is homologous to the fingernail of the human middle finger, or that some dinosaurs had a “second brain” of ganglion cells in their pelvis, which helped compensate for the tiny brain in their head. As Darwin famously noted, “There is grandeur in this view of life.” What Dawkins demonstrates is that this view of life isn't just grand: it's also undeniably true. Color illus. (Sept. 29)

Jonah Lehrer is the author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist.

More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
Library Journal
In books such as The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and Climbing Mount Improbable, Dawkins has contributed significantly to the public understanding of evolutionary theory. Here, he backtracks, offering not a discussion of the magnificence of the evolutionary view of life but several basic proofs of its validity. He argues that this is necessary because of recent assaults from creationists upon the very concept of evolution by natural selection. There are many books that address the need of better informing the public about why the theory is essential, e.g., David Sloan Wilson's Evolution for Everyone and Jerry A Coyne's Why Evolution Is True. Dawkins has an influential voice in the debate, so the broadsides that he launches against creationists in this book will certainly cheer his many fans. However, he seems to be primarily preaching to the choir and probably won't win converts (a metaphor that Dawkins, an atheist and author of The God Delusion, might find objectionable). VERDICT The author's name will guarantee a readership, but the sincerely curious and undecided would benefit more from other recent titles.—Gregg Sapp, Evergreen State Coll. Lib., Olympia, WA
Kirkus Reviews
Look out, creationists. There's a new sheriff in town, and he talks like an Oxford don. In fact, Dawkins (The God Delusion, 2007, etc.) gave up the Oxford chair in the Public Understanding of Science in order to write full-time, and to spend more time agitating against antiscience and pseudoscience. The author opens with guns a-blazing, demanding what we might think of a Latin teacher's being forced to prove that the Romans ever existed and, more provocatively, a history teacher's having to give equal time to Holocaust deniers: "Fashionably relativist intellectuals chime in to insist that there is no absolute truth: whether the Holocaust happened is a matter of personal belief; all points of view are equally valid and should be equally ‘respected.' " Nonsense and balderdash, cries Dawkins, adding, against those who deny the factuality of evolution, "Evolution is a fact in the same sense as it is a fact that Paris is in the Northern Hemisphere." As such, it would seem that the battle for evolution should have long been over, but there are still deniers aplenty. For them, Dawkins provides careful explication of selection-natural, adaptive, human-induced et al.-and of evolutionary notions such as the (much misquoted) survival of the fittest. The author writes with terrific wit ("Cabbages are a vegetable affront to essentialism and the immutability of species") and considerable learning, but what is interesting here is his fire. Without the strictures of academia, it seems, he relishes the opportunity to light into his opponents. Whether anyone will stand up to refute his notions remains to be seen, but for now Dawkins wins on points. A pleasure in the face of so much scientificignorance-biology rendered accessible and relevant to the utmost degree.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781416594796
  • Publisher: Free Press
  • Publication date: 8/24/2010
  • Pages: 496
  • Sales rank: 34,170
  • Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.30 (h) x 1.40 (d)

Meet the Author

Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins

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.
Customer Reviews
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  • Posted November 15, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    Masterful

    It's about time for Dawkins to write a general account of evolution. He is one of the best science writers ever, marrying great knowledge and deep passion. Even those who know the basics will be enthralled. For those who don't know, and who have never read a book by Dawkins, they have a great treat in store. And for those who think science is a cold, unfeeling enterprise, well, they are about to learn the truth.

    13 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 28, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Dawkin's best yet

    As far as books that try to teach evolution go, most lack the ability to engage and entertain the reader as well as The Greatest Show on Earth. This is nothing less than a expertly organized and compelling adventure that actually manages to grab you and make you want to keep reading much like a suspense novel would. More current than 'What Evolution Is' by Ernst Mayr and more comprehensive than 'Why Evolution is True' by Jerry A. Coyne. For anyone that is curious about the thoery of evolution or just a fan of Richard Dawkins I highly reccommend you pick this up.

    11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 14, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    Richard Dawkins-Evidence For Evolution

    Excellently written by the foremost authority on evolution.

    7 out of 16 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 15, 2009

    Dawkins reaches out to the general public.

    I have read several books by Richard Dawkins. I very much appreciate how he promotes critical thinking and brings evolutionary biology to a wider audience. The rejection of many people of evolution is something which is damaging the prestige and science education in the United States and this book is effective at healing that wound. This book is not as technical as some others he authored but does give an excellent overall view of the overwhelming evidence for evolution. For those worried that the book is promoting atheism, I was Christian before I read the book and remain a Christian now.

    6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 17, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    The Greatest Show on Earth is Dawkins Greatest

    This book not only is about Evolution, it actually gives examples of scientific projects that prove by replication, using actual organisms with short generation spans, how organisms evolved, e.g, 45,000 generations of bacteria which equals the generations of humans for 1,000,000 years. The text is accompanied by illustrations (in color)of pictures of physical specimens, with the exception of the Painting "The Earthly Paradise" by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Each "creationist" belief is proved to be in error especially about the age of th Earth. All the scientific methods used to "date" the age of fossils and other specimens are explained, including nine "elements" used for dating back as far as 49 Billon years as well as the element most familiar to most of us, carbon 14 (dateing).

    4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 19, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    I evolved a long time ago

    Worth a read but I'm smarter then this man...

    3 out of 22 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 15, 2009

    Rich in lucid explanation, detail, and relevance

    This is a book that everyone should read. In fact, it should be required summer reading for high-schoolers entering biology. I think very highly of Richard Dawkins both as a scientist/educator and also as a writer. All of his books that I've read have been challenging but a pleasure to read. One can learn so much from his books.

    This book in particular gives such good explanations of not just how evolution works but how we know. I think the "how we know" element included in scientific writing puts it leaps and bounds ahead of other books that just give you a bunch of interesting facts. After reading this book, you come away armed with an amazing story AND clear supporting details that show the story's reality.

    Again, everyone should read it.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 30, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Brilliant

    From one of the world's leading Darwinian biologists comes this wonderful summary of the evidence for the theory of evolution. With his usual clarity, frankness, and wit, Dr. Dawkins shines yet again. Should be required reading for any thoughtful person and humanist.

    3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 25, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    he does it again

    OUTSTANDING, well researched( as usual ) clear, intelligent, and ( gasp!) true. Read it, join the club and throw off the yoke of ancient fantasy.

    2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 13, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    hi

    Please respond.Im a Richard Dawkins fan i live in California and i whant Dr Dawkins to sign my book and i just whanted to ask if its possible to send my book to the store and get it signed

    2 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 13, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    Dawkins does it again

    A great read and very authoritative. Perhaps not the best on the subject I've read recently but far more than is needed to combat any of the prominent creationists of today.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 6, 2010

    A missed opportunity

    Dawkins could have included more examples rather than continually stating that evolution was a fact. There were no good examples provided documenting why carbon dating is credible, just a long explanation of what it is. The examples used were often not very interesting and the organization of the chapters did not help with organization.
    There are probably a few better books out there for this topic.

    1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 30, 2010

    Helps give a deeper understanding

    Dawkins did a great job of painting a visual picture in my head with his explanations. I was already a believer in the fact of evolution and studied it in school and had a good basic understanding. But this really helped me understand even more specific concepts. This, along with certain parts of The God Delusion, have really helped me to look at just about everything from an evolutionary viewpoint. It's really made me look at things differently and correctly. He's given me a deeper understanding.

    The photos that are in this book are also great.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 13, 2010

    How great to read a scholarly book so full of human emotion

    A good author knows what the public has already read and comes up with new arguments for his subject. Dawkins does so, wonderfully. He has so many new examples of "nonintelligent design" that he is very convincing. He is also very emotional, admitting to being choked up at the start of operations of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and upset and perplexed at the high numbers of people in both the US and England that don't accept evolution at this late date. He is also emotional at the grandeur of nature in general. You don't often get these things in a book about science. At the same time, he proves his case that evolution is indeed "The Greatest Show on Earth" with well-thought-out examples from today and eons ago, from highly-developed animals to one-celled ones. This is also that rarest of scientific books -- a page-turner that makes you anxious to find out what will happen on the next page.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 12, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    A manual for refuting creationist misinformation.

    Dawkins doesn't cover much in the way of new information, but that isn't his point. Each chapter takes on one aspect of creationist mythology and debunks it with real science. A must read for science teachers and anyone who is appalled by the level of scientific ignorance in this country.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 30, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Another Dawkins' Masterpiece!

    Dawkins delivered! This book is beautifully written, comprehensive to any adult reader, and explains and show the evidence for evolution in a way no one else but Dawkins could. Dawkins' respect, awe, and love for life and its complexities are evident on every page. The pictures were amazing; when I brought this book to work to read on my lunch breaks, everyone passed it around to look at the fascinating photography. The detail he used in his explanations, making certain his book was understandable for his target audience, was astounding. He left no stone unturned. I hope that this book accomplishes what Dawkins was going for: to illustrate that evolution is the proven and ONLY explanation for the diversity of the greatest show on earth...life.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 24, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    A Slam Dunk Authoritative Compilation of the Facts Jack!

    I have read a few of his other books. This book brings out new information and is presented in a way that will make you think "that's it!" It puts it all together for a student of Dawkins and evolution. It is a must read and clarifies to the casual observer why the intelligent designers have no cause. The book again, is one that I couldn't put down. I look forward to his next study.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 19, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Great read

    It has some difficult vocabulary, but it's a good book if you are interested in evolution. I'd also recommend "Evolution for Dummies" if you're new to Evolutionary biology.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 28, 2011

    Superb

    Removes all doubts. A monolith of truth

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 7, 2011

    Reeaally Dumb.

    Charles Darwin himself claimed evolution was impossible. Im not a scientist, but that fact by itself is pretty self explanitory.

    0 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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