The Selfish Gene 50th Anniversary Edition

About this book

Among the most influential and enduring science books of all time, The Selfish Gene is a classic in every sense of the word. Originally published in 1976, the book soon galvanised the biology community and fascinated a broad general readership. Professor Dawkins's gene's-eye view of evolution introduced a completely novel way of looking at survival. Fifty years later, The Selfish Gene still sparks fascination and debate among scientists and science-enthusiasts alike, inspiring new directions in research and fresh generations of young life scientists. First-time and returning readers will marvel at the timelessness and universality of this monumental work.

In a new epilogue to the 50th anniversary edition, Professor Dawkins reflects on his signature publication and its enduring relevance and appeal. This edition also contains a new appendix, which sheds historical and personal light on the perpetual relevance of the 'selfish gene'.

Contents

Introduction to 3rd edn
Preface to 1989 2nd edn
Foreword to 1976 1st edn
Preface to 1976 1st edn

1. Why are people?
2. The replicators
3. Immortal coils
4. The gene machine
5. Aggression: stability and the selfish machine
6. Genesmanship
7. Family planning
8. Battle of the generations
9. Battle of the sexes
10. You scratch my back, I'll ride on yours
11. Memes: the new replicators
12. Nice guys finish first
13. The long reach of the gene

Endnotes
Reviews from earlier editions
Updated bibliography
Index and key to bibliography

Customer Reviews

Biography

Professor Richard Dawkins was the first holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position he held from 1995 until 2008, and is now Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford. His bestselling books include The Extended Phenotype (1982) and its sequel The Blind Watchmaker (1986), River Out of Eden (1995), Climbing Mount Improbable (1996), Unweaving the Rainbow (1998), A Devil's Chaplain (2004), The Ancestor's Tale (2004), The God Delusion (2007), The Magic of Reality (2011), and The Genetic Book of the Dead (2024). He has won numerous literary and scientific awards, including the 1987 Royal Society of Literature Award, the 1990 Michael Faraday Award of the Royal Society, the 1994 Nakayama Prize for Human Science, the 1997 International Cosmos Prize, and the Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest in 2009.