false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170591447m/61536.jpg 61536 7 Richard Dawkins has an opinion on everything biological, it seems, and in <I>A Devil's Chaplain</I>, everything is biological. Dawkins weighs in on topics as diverse as ape rights, jury trials, religion, and education, all examined through the lens of natural selection and evolution. Although many of these essays have been published elsewhere, this book is something of a greatest-hits compilation, reprinting many of Dawkins' most famous recent compositions. They are well worth re-reading. His 1998 review of Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont's <I>Fashionable Nonsense</I> is as bracing an indictment of academic obscurantism as the book it covered, although the review reveals some of Dawkins' personal biases as well. Several essays are devoted to skillfully debunking religion and mysticism, and these are likely to raise the hackles of even casual believers. Science, and more specifically evolutionary science, underlies each essay, giving readers a glimpse into the last several years' debates about the minutiae of natural selection. In one moving piece, Dawkins reflects on his late rival Stephen Jay Gould's <I>magnum opus</I>, <I>The Structure of Evolutionary Theory</I>, and clarifies what it was the two Darwinist heavyweights actually disagreed about. While the collection showcases Dawkins' brilliance and intellectual sparkle, it brings up as many questions as it answers. As an ever-ardent champion of science, honest discourse, and rational debate, Dawkins will obviously relish the challenge of answering them. <I>--Therese Littleton</I> 31340 2002 A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love total:382|5:105|4:162|3:101|2:13|1:1| 382 1503 652 31 5 0 false false Fri Sep 19 07:24:03 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 19 07:24:09 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 24 17:30:12 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 18 13:04:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jun 12 04:19:31 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 12 04:42:15 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Feb 25 08:32:37 -0800 2007 Thu Mar 22 01:03:07 -0700 2007
There are numer...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Sat Dec 20 16:36:42 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 20 16:37:18 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Jul 05 08:33:24 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 20 07:51:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Mar 13 21:23:24 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 21:25:48 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 11 20:37:48 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 12:26:22 -0700 2007 Stephen Jay Gould, which was quite interesting. As this book was published shortly after Gould's death, Dawkins included a touching eulogy to the man with whom he clashed aca...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Mar 02 09:34:58 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 09:34:58 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 02 13:38:57 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 03 02:07:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 15:54:48 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 15:28:04 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Sep 13 17:45:38 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 17:48:52 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Aug 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 19:52:43 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 07:50:30 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Sep 10 21:07:15 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 12 20:43:47 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 10 03:29:18 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 10 03:32:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 22 11:28:25 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 22 11:32:34 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Apr 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 09 18:49:40 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 20:18:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Thu May 10 08:09:11 -0700 2007 Thu May 10 09:31:58 -0700 2007
If you've read his other books, there really isn't much new information here.]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 19 11:01:55 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 19 11:01:55 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Wed Mar 26 23:05:09 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 26 23:08:45 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=61536