Product Description

In 2008, a Gallup poll showed that 44 percent of Americans believed God had created man in his present form within the last 10,000 years. In a Pew Forum poll in the same year, 42 percent believed that all life on earth has existed in its present form since the beginning of time.

In 1859 Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, shook society to its core. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke. But he surely would have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy still raging a century and a half later. Evolution is accepted as scientific fact by all reputable scientists and indeed theologians, yet millions of people continue to question its veracity. Now the author of the iconic work The God Delusion takes them to task.

The Greatest Show on Earth is a stunning counterattack on advocates of "Intelligent Design," explaining the evidence for evolution while exposing the absurdities of the creationist "argument." 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. Combining these elements and many more, he makes 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."

The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is menacing as never before. In American schools, and in schools around the world, insidious attempts are made to undermine the status of science in the classroom. Dawkins wields a devastating argument against this ignorance, but his unjaded passion for the natural world turns what might have been a negative argument into a positive offering to the reader: nothing less than a master's vision of life, in all its splendor.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 480 pages

Review
"This is a magnificent book of wonderstanding: Richard Dawkins combines an artist's wonder at the virtuosity of nature with a scientist's understanding of how it comes to be.'' -- Matt Ridley, author of Nature via Nurture

"'There is grandeur in this view of life,' said Darwin, speaking of evolution. There is no one better qualified to convey this grandeur than his worthy successor, Richard Dawkins, who writes with passion, clarity, and wit. This may be his best book yet." -- V. S. Ramachandran

"To call this book a defense of evolution utterly misses the point: The Greatest Show on Earth is a celebration of one of the best ideas humans have ever produced. It is hard not to marvel at Richard Dawkins's luminous telling of the story of evolution and the way that it has shaped our world. In reading Dawkins, one is left awed at the beauty of the theory and humbled by the power of science to understand some of the greatest mysteries of life." -- Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish

"Up until now, Richard Dawkins has said everything interesting that there is to say about evolution -- with one exception. In The Greatest Show on Earth, he fills this gap, brilliantly describing the multifarious and massive evidence for evolution -- evidence that gives the lie to the notion that evolution is 'only a theory.' This important and timely book is a must-read for Darwin Year." -- Jerry Coyne, author of Why Evolution Is True

"This is the book Richard Dawkins needed to write and many need to read -- a comprehensive account of evolution that faces the difficulties and questions his critics have raised. In it he draws on his great ability to write about science in a way that is clear, absorbing, and vivid." -- Lord Harries of Pentregarth (formerly Bishop Richard Harries)

"With characteristic flair and passion, Dawkins has put on a stunning exhibition of the evidence for evolution. In his own words, 'Evolution is a fact...and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it.'" -- Dr. Alice Roberts, biological anthropologist, author, and broadcaster

"'...he is an awesome thinker, a superb writer whose explanatory skills I envy, who dismisses his opponents with the thoroughness of a top silk'....A beautifully crafted and intelligible rebuttal of creationism and intelligent design." -- The Times

"Dawkins gathers up the weight of evidence into a huge lump and hurls it at us from the highest heights his rhetoric can scale...his grandness of vision still dazzles."-- The Sunday Telegraph

About the Author
Richard Dawkins is a world-renowned evolutionary biologist and author.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and,until recently, held the Charles Simonyi Chair of Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. His first book, The Selfish Gene, was an instant international bestseller, and has become an established classic work of modern evolutionary biology. He is also the author of The Blind Watchmaker, River Out of Eden, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, A Devil's Chaplain, The Ancestor's Tale, and most recently, The God Delusion.

N.B. The Greatest Show on Earth will be published by Ballantine, a part of Transworld in the UK on September 12th, 2009.

Customer Reviews

Evolution is indeed the greatest show on Earth
Whether or not you believe that there is a god (God) guiding evolution, there is no rational argument against its existence and importance. Nor does an understanding of evolution diminish the wonders of the world- in fact, it augments them. Those are Dawkins' main themes in this book, and they are laid out clearly and forcefully.

The first main theme, the evidence for evolution, is the dominant theme of this book. Given his previous work on atheism, this certainly is a topic he believes passionately about. Dawkins is an authority on evolution, and has been ever since his first books on the topic (The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, and to a lesser extent, The Blind Watchmaker, are classics in evolutionary theory). What Dawkins does in this book is recite the mountains of evidence that support evolution. Fossils, development, cross-species similarities, and genetics all add up to make evolution one of the most solid and proven theories in science (perhaps more so than gravity!). He even goes the same route as Darwin in using domesticated animals as an example of evolution (guided by humans, not natural selection) in action. People who believe that the word "theory" means unproven, unsupported guessing really need to read this book to understand just how much evidence there truly is for this "theory". Dawkins even left out some of the more dramatic genetic evidence that has begun to surface recently, and the case is still rock-solid. Dawkins does avoid making direct attacks and comparisons to other "theories" such as Intelligent Design, but his case for evolution is so overwhelming it's hard to imagine a competitive theory that could knock evolution off. As a defense of evolution, this book is a hard to argue against.

The second theme, that evolution doesn't take away mystery, but rather adds to it, is less forcefully presented, but it is omnipresent throughout the book. I suppose a lot of that has to do with one's personal preference. If you like mysteries and not understanding things, then understanding evolution might not be wonderful to you. But if you are curious, then evolution's explanation of life on Earth makes all life that much more fantastic. And certainly, there are still far more questions than answers when it comes to our understanding of all life on Earth. Evolution is the best tool we have for answering those questions, and the many, many, many examples in this book are bound to fill a curious reader with wonder about how and why life has turned out the way it has.

Overall then, I find this to be Dawkins' best book since his first three. I would quibble that at times he is distracted with an antagonistic tone, but I suppose it must be frustrating constantly defending one of the most proven scientific theories ever. Ignoring that, his writing is clear and easy to read. What's more, the subject matter is so fascinating that even those familiar with biology and evolution will enjoy reading it. Dawkins is right on two things- Darwin's theory of evolution is 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999% likely to be true and the story of the evolution of life on Earth is truly The Greatest [Story] on Earth!

A well written guide to the grandeur and elegance of evolution
This book is not about God or faith or religion at all. Dawkins is not attacking elements of faith. This book is written for believers and secularists alike. It's a scientific look at the concepts and elements of evolution - all of which are well established and proven. He redraws Darwin's grand vision and offers it to us in a well written and readable form that appeals to the lay-person as readily as the biologist.

Dawkins uses this book to exhibit how the arguments against evolution (not arguments against God or the divine in general - that was dealt with in The God Delusion) fall short and fail to address the evedence that is readily available.

Evolutionary science requires no belief - only understanding. I whole heartedly invite people of faith to read this book and really try understand what is being said in its pages. Knowledge and understanding are the keys to the universe.

Aptly titled and beautifully written
Richard Dawkins, author of the excellent 'God Delusion' begins his new book on evolution with a bang "Evolution is a fact, and this book will demonstrate it. No reputable scientist disputes it, and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it." (pp. 8-9). Close-minded people will say 'why write a book on it in the first place'? Well guess what, if there are ignorant vapid and fatuous comments on here from people who haven't read the book and haven't been challenged critically in their life - this book really is necessary. It doesn't matter if you're not familiar with evolution or if you've read Darwin's 'Origin of Species'; 'Greatest Show on Earth' is a phenomenal read and is written layman enough that anyone can appreciate. Dawkins is right - evolution is a fact and it is true; if you deny then you are a history-denier. This book should be mandatory reading for any school kid in America. Can't wait to see what Dawkins does next.