The Selfish Gene

By: Richard Dawkins

Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward

Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands to rethink their beliefs about life.

In his internationally best-selling, now classic, volume, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature. Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk.

©1989 Richard Dawkins (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Dawkins first book, The Selfish Gene, was a smash hit.... Best of all, Dawkins laid out this biology - some of it truly subtle - in stunningly lucid prose. (It is, in my view, the best work of popular science ever written.)" (H. Allen Orr, Professor of Biology, University of Rochester, in The New York Review of Books)

Enlightening

Must have for anyone interested in biology or medicine to understand the state of life on earth.

Fascinating. Scholarly. Almost too Scholarly

This book was fascinating and very detailed, drawing from a diverse range of research and examples. The topics covered were accurately conveyed, however at times I felt that Dawkins was placing too much emphasis on challenging his contemporaries. Otherwise really interesting.

SUCKERS, CHEATERS, AND GRUDGERS

Charles Darwin is in the pantheon of great intuitive geniuses. Richard Dawkins reinforces Darwin’s beliefs in his 30th anniversary edition of “The Selfish Gene”, originally published in 1976.

“The Selfish Gene” theory fails biology like string theory fails physics. Controlled experiments cannot presently prove or disprove Dawkins’ gene hypothesis. On the other hand, both gene and string theory hypotheses are plausible arguments for the evolution of biological life and the physics of a Planck’ sized world.

Putting aside Dawkins’ gene hypothesis, his game theory analogies for human behavior are terrific and worth knowing, whether one believes in “The Selfish Gene” or not. In this time of government turmoil in the United States, Dawkins explanation of suckers, cheaters, and grudgers is enlightening.

Suckers are all the tax paying Americans that want to be left alone and only pay taxes to comply with the law. Cheaters are Americans that game the system through tax avoidance, exploitation, and political contribution based on self-interest. The remaining Americans are grudgers that fight the cheaters and rally the suckers to preserve human freedom, and equal opportunity. If the grudgers are outweighed by the suckers and cheaters, democracy in America is destined to become as extinct as the Dodo bird.

very cool and clear description of life

such a clear description of how evolution works. it's even more baffling then you think. wonderful book and wonderfully written.

Definitely Enjoyed

I really appreciate and enjoyed the different perspective. Makes me wonder if the brain was a parasite that turned into a symbiotic relationship in the past hahaha.

More informative than I expected going into it.

The book managed to pose and answer questions better than I asked them myself. Dawkins uncluttered intelligence and lack of cultural bias is refreshing after a stint reading philosophy, history and religious text of similar PHD level works. His down to earth way of explaining things is very reminiscent of Neil Degrasse Tyson's own delivery style with an Ivy League twist.

The Lives of Bees and Ants

If you’re fascinated by biology, genetics, and evolution, this book is going to be a fascinating read. I’m far more interested in the human side of all of these topics. Many pages are dedicated to the lives of bees and ants. I tried to pay attention, but I didn’t find those parts very interesting. The main thesis is fascinating, and it’s great to see it expanded in so many ways to explain so many phenomena.

The book is very accessible for a lay person. Towards the beginning of the book, he provides an overview of some of the broad science concepts that you need to know to understand his thesis. He often writes in the first person, and the end-notes are sometimes even better than the main material. He’s clearly a very intelligent person who has thought deeply about both these concepts and how to convey them.

I never quite figured out why there were two narrators. He gives an explanation at the beginning of the book, but I didn’t find it to be satisfactory. Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward are both good narrators, but the text seemed to just randomly switch between them. The narration is not bad, but it’s not good either.

A good gateway to the subject

I know essentially nothing of biology but didn’t find this overwhelming. I got lost a number of times, but most of the explanations were straightforward and done probably as simple as possible without ruining the material. Will require more than one listen to grasp. Those more familiar with the subject matter may not be very challenged, and I worry some of the material is dated

Non-biologist just curious about other things....

Holy cow. I struggled with this one. I listen to books on everything, call it a general curiosity of life. I’m grateful there are folks genuinely interested in the minutia of biology, because I’m clearly not. If you want an uber-detailed book that uses the word “phenotype” and “replicator” 4,725,398 times, this book will make you feel sooooo smart! If you just want to learn a little about new understandings in biology, and don’t give a rats arse re the evolution of changes of ideas/thoughts re said biology, this book is NOT for you. This author prob has other books that get the point across without making it a boring HS science class, but this ain’t it. Having said that, I was too stubborn with my hard-earned money not to finish. I did. All 3,000 hours of it. I did learn tho. For that, I’m grateful. Just...less talk, more to the point is my style. So, if you want a Great Courses type book that you can brag to your friends you’ve slaved through, go for it! As for me, I’m going to balance out my brain with a rock star-autobiography type book next so I don’t fall asleep driving. Thanks!

Great book

Where does The Selfish Gene rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best for anyone wanting to learn about the origins of life and who else better to convey the message than Richard Dawkins.