The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins
I had a Dymocks gift voucher to spend earlier this year and decided that one of the books would be The Greatest show on Earth by Richard Dawkins. I had read his book The Ancestor's Tale in 2019 (see http://timsbestreads.blogspot.com/p/that-means-that-when-you-go-outside-and.html) and was quite happy to add to my collection with this book, published in 2009, principally to refute the many Flat Earth people who don't believe in evolution. Yes, such people exist, a few in Australia but lots in America.
The blurb says it all
Charles Darwin, whose 1859 masterpiece "On the Origin of Species" shook society to its core, would surely have raised an incredulous eyebrow at the controversy over evolution still raging 150 years later.
"The Greatest Show on Earth" is a stunning counter-attack on creationists, followers of "Intelligent Design" and all those who still question evolution as scientific fact. In this brilliant tour de force, Richard Dawkins pulls together the incontrovertible evidence that underpins it: from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics.
"The Greatest Show on Earth" comes at a critical time as systematic opposition to the fact of evolution flourishes as never before in many schools worldwide. Dawkins wields a devastating argument against this ignorance whilst sharing with us his palpable love of science and the natural world. Written with elegance, wit and passion, it is hard-hitting, absorbing and totally convincing.
Like The Greatest Show on Earth, this book is a veritable university courses on biology, anthropology and natural history. Dawkins excels at anticipating counter arguments, probably because he hears them frequently, and he is quick to offer rock solid scientific evidence to bolster his bullet points. He also has a knack for coming at issues from various angles. Just when you think two pages of zoology have sufficiently put a topic to rest, here comes a paragraph of chemistry for good measure.
Dawkins is adamantly opposed to ignorance. This is not a tome for the obtuse or faint of heart. This is a study in academic truth.
But it's a hard read and one that took me a while - I read predominantly once I have gone to bed and it's hard to stay awake when pondering such writings. At 440 pages, it's another monumental work by this master.
When reading it, I was amazed at how quickly evolutionary changes can be triggered. We tend to think of evolution as occurring over long timeframes. He presents so many examples to show that this is not always the case. A mind expanding read and a 5 star book.
