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| The Blind Watchmaker | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Penguin
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £6.49
You Save: £2.50 (28%)
New (27) from £4.15
Avg. Customer Rating:  77 reviews
Sales Rank: 1300
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 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Wonderfully written exploration of life and its origins November 3, 2006
100 out of 113 found this review helpful
If you're a dyed-in-the-wool creationist this book probably won't make you throw out all your beliefs, though there is still plenty here to inspire awe in the astonishing complexity of nature. In this book Dawkins doesn't (in my view) attack religion in any particularly venomous way, but he does aim to show it to be unnecessary in the story of life - so it would be fine to buy this for someone who is religious without offending them.
I loved the book because like most people I know I don't believe God or gods spontaneously created the universe, I have a basic understanding of evolution, plus I'm interested in nature and natural history and I wanted to know a bit more. You may think you understand Darwinism and its implications, but reading this book really gives you more understanding of the finer points, as well as raising questions you hadn't thought about.
As Dawkins admits, it's not written like an academic paper, taking into account every possible perspective and objection even-handedly. The book is a piece of passionate advocacy, but it is always rational and often funny.
If I had one criticism of how Dawkins structures the book, it would be how early he goes into his 'biomorph' computer modelling of complex adaptation, and how long he spends on it. A lot of people have an aversion to computer-geekery, and I thought a lot of this could have been consigned to the Appendix. Much of the best of the book lies after this part, and it would be a tragedy if someone put the book down at this point. I'm sure a lot of the religious reviewers on here have done this, because Dawkins addresses many of their questions after the 'biomorph' section (like if basic DNA etc is self-replicating, where did it come from itself?).
Having said that the book is very accessible even to a non-scientific arts-grad like me, though it will certainly get the grey matter working. To apply reason to big questions like 'Where did we come from?' and 'Why are we here?' is challenging stuff.
Sadly we live in a world where rational people do just prefer to be lazy and non-confrontational - so woolly spiritualism and bible/koran-thumping fundamentalism grow in power while books like this are labelled difficult or offensive.
Little Doubt About Evolution October 21, 2006
33 out of 51 found this review helpful
I must admit that I didn't really like 'The Ancestors Tale' as it was a little boring. This book however quickly became one of my favourites. It not jam packed with scientific mumbo jumbo but clear and easy to understand.
Evolution becomes common sense, whilst remaining a beautiful act of nature.
There's clearly no need for supernatural intervention.
This book ought to be compulsory reading in schools October 21, 2006
50 out of 59 found this review helpful
This is probably the most accessible book that Richard Dawkins has written. It is a superb explanation of evolution by natural selection in terms that anyone should be able to understand. I read this book a few years ago and was inspired enough to enter higher education at the age of 29 to read Genetics.
The central theme of the book is to explain evolution in terms to vilify those whose objection to Darwinism is on the basis of complexity. Such people suggest that complexity in organisms is such that they could only have been designed by a higher intellect, i.e. God. What dawkins achieves is to explain how natural selection can easily construct the complex from the simple such is its power.
This book ought to be compulsory reading in schools today. in a world where religious fundamentalists seem to be gaining ever more ground, Dawkins gives us a rallying cry in this book. Read it and pass it on to others who have not yet seen the light!
The science of evolution explained and expanded October 11, 2006
53 out of 63 found this review helpful
I read this book when it was first published, soon after The Selfish Gene. As a 'non-believer' and firm convert to the idea of natural selection I found them both riviting. Richard Dawkins has a way of writing that seems, to me anyway, to clarify issues and to explain science in a clear and interesting manner. Much has been written about his anti religionist stance and, perhaps, he might have gone just a bit too far (not sure myself - will comment after reading his latest) but, in his earlier books his stance seems more sceptic than antagonistic. His language is clear and his examples succinct. One word of warning, and it is a serious one that many have found it impossible to heed, be aware that his use of language needs to be understood in the context of his subject. The classic example is from his first popular work, The Selfish Gene. As he clearly states, and as surely must be obvious to the reader, genes can't be 'selfish' in the way we are 'selfish'. So beware and understand that words used to describe how non-sentient (in the sense of being able to make a choice) entities act have to be seen in that context.
If you read The Selfish Gene this is almost required reading. If you haven't read either then do. If you do 'believe' then you might find some aspects negative but as a 'primer' in the science of evolution both are a must.
An explanation for life, if not its meaning July 10, 2006
52 out of 60 found this review helpful
This must be one of the classic books explaining modern evolutionary theory to a popular audience. What Dawkins offers is an ability to articulate his impeccable logic in ways that render often slightly subtle concepts easy to understand.
"The Blind Watchmaker" is very much a companion to "Climbing Mount Improbable". Both seek to explain how Darwin's theory of natural selection can explain what appears to highly improbably complexity in nature. "Watchmaker" is particularly insistent that not only does natural selection explain it, it's the only explanation that we have.
In the current climate, with opponents of science becoming ever more-vocal, the book retains its power in explaining key parts of evolutionary theory, and simultaneously debunking any alternatives and refuting common criticisms.
It starts by demonstrating quite what is improbable and complex about nature, using the sonar of bats as an example of a system that appears so well-refined as to be the product of design. Chapters go on to discuss the accumulation and selection of small changes in the genome, the role of DNA in replication, the possible origins of life and sexual selection.
Attacks on alternative theories include a detailed commentary on Eldredge and Gould's "punctuationism", disputes in taxonomy, and everything from Lamarckism to creationism. Sometimes there's a sense that Dawkins is fighting battles with scientific colleagues that would be better left to the specialist reader, but personally I found these squabbles helped illuminate the wider subject.
There's very little here on the evidence that evolution has occurred, whether from genetics or palaeontology. "Watchmaker's" territory is to explain how it has occurred, and why only natural selection can explain the complexity of life.
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