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| The Blind Watchmaker | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £4.31
You Save: £4.68 (52%)
New (29) from £4.31
Avg. Customer Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 1557
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0141026162
EAN: 9780141026169
ASIN: 0141026162
Publication Date: April 6, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW - ***Delivery usually * 2 - 3 * working days - From Aphrohead of SOUTHPORT, Lancs, UK *** . Priority Airmail used Worldwide on International orders. Thanks from all at Aphrohead.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Brilliantly argued September 16, 2007
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
Probably Dawsons best effort.
Anyone who reads this book with an open mind should find it challenging, entertaining and invigorating. Unfortunately there will be some who will view any challenge to their faith as blasphemous. How much is your faith worth, and how strong is it, if you cant bear arguements against it? If you are an ardent creationist then a book is hiughly unlikely to change your beliefs.
Dawkins does not attack religion as such, but he does show it to be in contradtictory position to all the known facts about life on earth.
As a scienctist myself, but not of a biological background I found that this book helped me to understand Darwinism and evolution,
Some have queried the veractiy of Dawkins scientific approach, but as he says himself this book is not supposed an academic paper, but rather a piece of a passionate advocacy of his own beliefs.
The book is, as all Dawkins are, an entertaining and easy to read volume which will appeal to scientists and non-scientists alike
Blame It On The Sun August 27, 2007
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
You can sum up the idea at the heart of this book in one sentence: that all life on Earth arose because molecules developed a way of self- replicating, and that life evolved into more sophisticated forms because these replications were subject to random variation and natural selection.
This giant and powerful theory is explained in detail from a number of different angles - mostly attempts to quash rival theories. For the better part, the book is great but I did find some chapters a little tedious. For instance, I now understand that 'taxonomy' is an incredibly important part of the theory but the chapter dedicated to it didn't, for me, lend any weight to the overall argument.
However, there are some brilliant chapters too. The description of how bats 'see' the world using only sound ('echo-location') is fascinating - it underlines the idea that our use of light waves ('vision') is just one of a number of alternative sensory methods that have evolved on Earth. I also liked the parallel Prof. Dawkins draws between DNA and information technology (even going as far as suggesting that since DNA is just a way of passing on information, once machines find a way of self-replicating, computers might out-evolve it). Also fascinating is the discussion of 'positive' and 'negative' feedback loops. Previously, I only understood these in engineering terms. Understanding how they apply to any system (including evolution) is an immensely powerful idea.
There is one idea that this book planted in my mind that is highly depressing. If Darwin was right (and it seems very likely), does it not mean that life as we know it is utterly bereft of meaning? Obviously, we are not here by accident (natural selection is not an accidental process) but, however wonderful and awe-inspiring the idea of evolution is, it essentially means we are here - in this form - because of the random variations of molecular chains. It's not a great feeling.
NOTE TO COMPUTER GAMES PROGRAMMERS: Read chapter 3. There could be a positively useful job for you out there!
A brain-opener, but entertaining August 20, 2007
53 out of 55 found this review helpful
I read this, as many others may have done because I was interested by 'The God Delusion' and wanted to delve a little deeper into Dawkins impressive thought processes. While 'The God Delusion' is much in the limeight and undoubtedly opening up discussion on the issues involved, this book is of an entirely different calibre.
I found 'The God Delusion' well argued but too inclined to go off on tangents. I also thought it was too busy dissecting other arguments to put across its own argument in a clear and coherent fashion.
This book is entirely different in that its cogency and clarity are unfailing throughout. It is much less self-conscious (or media conscious?) and more satisfying and thought provoking as a result. Perhaps it is because I knew less of the subject matter before coming to it, but I found it entertaining, readable and accessible to the lay reader at all times, and yet never condescending or over-simplified in content.
Here is a rare writer who is not only quite obviously an exceptional thinker in his own field but has the communicative skill to make that field understandable, entertaining and fascinating to the general reader.
Forget 'The God Delusion' and read this, as it is to me infinitely better written and more absorbing. I now look forward to reading more of Dawkins work, and understand the intellectual and critical acclaim he has received.
Amazing August 1, 2007
13 out of 19 found this review helpful
I probably only understand a tenth of this book at first reading.... but what a tenth! The science may go over my head but it got me thinking big time and this book provided a great accompaniment to Edward De Bono's writings for that reason. Read "The God Delusion" and this and your understanding of humans and this world will grow amazingly and you will feel frustrated at how your knowledge has been hampered by our forelock tugging to religion. Make this a compulsory read
Life changing July 8, 2007
43 out of 47 found this review helpful
Richard Dawkins's brilliant explanation of the theories of Charles Darwin is must-reading for anyone interested in the origin and diversity of life.
I picked this up after reading that Douglas Adams (author of "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy") credited this book with confirming his atheism and filling out his understanding of Darwinism. There certainly is not much left for a deity to do by the time Dawkins finishes explaining the story of life as we know it.
There are a number of mind-blowing concepts discussed in the book, such as Dawkins's discussion of probability. Dawkins writes that our perception of probablity is necessarily limited by the fact that we only live for a few decades. If we lived for say, half a million years, we would probably avoid crossing streets (if you crossed the street every day for half a million years, you would consider getting struck by a conveyance as a likely outcome.)
I have to agree with some reviewers that the prose was a bit tough to get through in places, but I still had to give this book five stars for its overall impact. I will never look at the world the same again.
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