Book Thoughts: "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution" by Richard Dawkins

Another first rate book from Richard Dawkins. Some fans of "The God Delusion" might be a bit taken aback by this book, as Dawkins doesn't plunge into the issue of whether there is a God or not for the most part. However his wit and his pen are as sharp as ever, as he minces no words for advocates of "Intelligent Design" theory. In particular, Dawkins laments the fact that in certain places in the world, the obviously false "theory" on the origins of life is being taught more and more in schools.

To that end, Dawkins seeks to lay out the best evidence he can for the Theory of Evolution, by Natural Selection. He spends the opening of the book defining "theory." In this case, the "theory" of evolution is only a theory in the same sense as the "heliocentric theory of the solar system" or the "germ theory of disease." Nobody really argues with these other "theories."

Throughout the book, Dawkins takes an entire chapter to discuss different types of evidence for evolution. These include, but are not limited to: comparative biology, molecular genetics, the fossil record, geological distribution and barriers, embryology, and anatomy. He also spends a chapter on "evolutionary clocks" explaining and defending how scientists have arrived at the current estimation of the age of the earth at 4.6 billion years, as opposed to six to ten thousand years, as suggested by creationists.

If you actually read through the book, I don't see how you could argue with what much of Dawkins brings up. When there are weak points in his arguments, he generally addresses them to the satisfaction of any reader with as much as a high school science education.

All in all, the book is enjoyable and not dry at all. It has several sections with beautiful color plates that supplement the narrative really well. Dawkins doesn't necessarily assume that the reader has a high school science education, but a rudimentary knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics will greatly enhance the book.

In the end, it's a pretty much unimpeachable case for the validity of Darwinian evolution. Sorry, Kirk Cameron.