The Greatest Show on Earth
2009
- evolution (biology)
- nonfiction
- science
- origin
- life
- human evolution
- religion and science
- philosophy
- biological evolution
- intelligent design (teleology)
The story
Britain's greatest science writer comprehensively rebuts the creationists by pulling together the incontrovertible evidence for evolution. Charles Darwin's masterpiece, _On the Origin of Species_, shook society to its core on publication in 1859. Darwin was only too aware of the storm his theory of evolution would provoke but he would surely 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. In _The Greatest Show on Earth_ Richard Dawkins takes on creationists, including followers of 'Intelligent Design' and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection. Like a detective arriving on the scene of a crime, he sifts through fascinating layers of scientific facts and disciplines to build a cast-iron case: from the living examples of natural selection in birds and insects; the 'time clocks' of trees and radioactive dating that calibrate a timescale for evolution; the fossil record and the traces of our earliest ancestors; to confirmation from molecular biology and genetics. All of this, and much more, bears witness to the truth of evolution. The Greatest Show on Earth comes at a critical time: systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is now flourishing as never before, especially in America. In Britain and elsewhere in the world, teachers witness insidious attempts to undermine the status of science in their classrooms. Richard Dawkins provides unequivocal evidence that boldly and comprehensively rebuts such nonsense. At the same time he shares with us his palpable love of the natural world and the essential role that science plays in its interpretation. Written with elegance, wit and passion, it is hard-hitting, absorbing and totally convincing.
What it’s like
Brisk, lucid prose with the confidence of a lecturer who relishes a good argument: long sentences unspool through vivid natural scenes, then snap into short, pointed lines aimed at opponents. Swallowtail butterflies, tree rings, fossil beds, and the iridescent sheen of birds' plumage are rendered as if the reader stood beside the observer, with a steady sense of wonder at how ordinary the evidence becomes once you look closely. The rhythm is methodical and cumulative, building chapter by chapter like a case assembled exhibit by exhibit, with wit in the asides and flashes of sharp irritation at dishonest claims. The tone is warm toward the living world and combative toward denial, so it reads as passionate rather than soothing. Intensity is low: no violence or sexual content, though suffering, predation, and extinction appear in matter-of-fact passages. It suits a slow weekend afternoon, a long train journey, or a notebook-in-hand reading session, and it rewards readers who enjoy watching an argument get made carefully. It is for curious non-specialists who want the case for evolution laid out with enthusiasm, and for anyone who likes their science with a bit of bite.
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