Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
In this hugely entertaining sequel to the New York Times bestselling memoir An Appetite for Wonder, Richard Dawkins delves deeply into his intellectual life spent kick-starting new conversations about science, culture, and religion and writing yet another of the most audacious and widely read books of the twentieth century--The God Delusion.
Called "one of the best nonfiction writers alive today" (Stephen Pinker) and a "prize-fighter" (Nature), Richard Dawkins cheerfully, mischievously, looks back on a lifetime of tireless intellectual adventure and engagement. Exploring the halls of intellectual inquiry and stardom he encountered after the publication of his seminal work, The Selfish Gene; affectionately lampooning the world of academia, publishing, and television; and studding the pages with funny stories about the great men and women he's known, Dawkins offers a candid look at the events and ideas that encouraged him to shift his attention to the intersection of culture, religion, and science. He also invites the reader to look more closely at the brilliant succession of ten influential books that grew naturally out of his busy life, highlighting the ideas that connect them and excavating their origins.
On the publication of his tenth book, the smash hit, The God Delusion, a "resounding trumpet blast for truth" (Matt Ridley), Richard Dawkins was catapulted from mere intellectual stardom into a circle of celebrity thinkers dubbed, "The New Atheists"--including Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett.
Throughout A Brief Candle in the Dark, Dawkins shares with us his infectious sense of wonder at the natural world, his enjoyment of the absurdities of human interaction, and his bracing awareness of life's brevity: all of which have made a deep imprint on our culture.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
"Dawkins shares with us his infectious sense of wonder at the natural world, his enjoyment of the absurdities of human interaction, and his bracing awareness of life's brevity: all of which have made a deep imprint on our culture" -- provided by publisher.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Internationally acclaimed scientist, writer, and professor Dawkins returns to the subject of himself in this second autobiographical work following 2013's well-received An Appetite for Wonder, which chronicled his childhood and early academic work. In this new title, he charmingly relates stories concerning conferences, publishers, awards, and television productions-extolling the public spaces that allow scientists to share their work and ideas. Dawkins saves his highest praise for his colleagues and collaborators, reiterating the point that the most successful and respected teachers are those who keep learning. The book's last section is saved for an explanation of the major ideas put forth in the author's 12 published works. -VERDICT Dawkins, a convincing speaker and writer, is in some circles considered controversial for challenging religious viewpoints. This work provides a welcome companion to his previous books. New readers looking to acquaint themselves with Dawkins's research on religion and evolutionary biology should start with his prize-winning works The God Delusion or The Selfish Gene.-Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
Following the first volume of his memoirs, An Appetite for Wonder, Dawkins reminisces about his life from the 1976 publication of his bestselling The Selfish Gene to the present. The text is fascinating, thoroughly readable, and joyful even as it is wildly eclectic and rambling. Dawkins describes the book as "a series of flashbacks divided into themes, with digressive anecdotes." Whether he is relating his experiences popularizing science or summarizing his travels to the Galápagos Islands, Dawkins tells a good tale as he expounds upon the value in broadly promoting science literacy. In his last full chapter, which takes up a full third of the book, he revisits the scientific ideas for which he is best known in professional, if not popular, circles. Not surprisingly, Dawkins lives up to his reputation as one who attacks his opponents mercilessly, whether the attacks are warranted or not. He once again targets the Templeton Foundation, with its mission to reconcile science and religion, and dismisses the burgeoning field of epigenetics as a "fad, enjoying its 15 minutes of pop science voguery." Despite these flaws, Dawkins offers great insight into the nature of science and introduces readers to many of the major players responsible for creating the field of evolutionary biology. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
CHOICE Review
The title of this book is drawn from quotations from Carl Sagan, Shakespeare, and an anonymous author. Many readers might learn more about Richard Dawkins than they wanted to from this second autobiography, a follow-up to An Appetite for Wonder (CH, Apr'14, 51-4409). But for those really interested in Dawkins, the celebrity, the writer, and the communicator, it will be indispensable. Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene (CH, May'77), The God Delusion (CH, May'07, 44-4994), and several other important books, is an influential scientist, an important communicator of science to the public, and, also, a promoter of atheism. The book is a series of longish anecdotes, not organized chronologically but topically, e.g., conferences, books, TV programs, debates, his Simonyi professorship. Readers learn much about how he came to write and speak as he did. The book is supported by footnotes, a few diagrams, and several photos, although some are too small. The index is good, but it does not cover all the names included in the book. An associated online appendix, available to anyone, gives access to a few important publications. The book is well edited and appears to be accurate, although Duke University somehow ends up in South Carolina. Summing Up: Recommended. All library collections. --Martin LaBar, Southern Wesleyan University
Booklist Review
Respected, if controversial, scientist and outspoken atheist Dawkins continues the memoirs begun in An Appetite for Wonder (2013), which covered the first 35 years of his life. This, although not a straight chronological narrative, picks up his life at that point. Much of it centers around New College, Oxford, and it is both very British and very much an inside-academia story. Dawkins writes well, often beautifully, but some of the science (his specialty is animal behavior) he discusses is nearly impenetrable for general readers, despite his having been the inaugural holder of Oxford's chair in the Public Understanding of Science. Thus, though some American readers familiar with Dawkins' work and areas of interest will likely find this memoir fascinating, others may be baffled. More accessible is the discussion of his very civilized dealings with his agents, editors, and publishers and his public and widely televised debates, largely on issues of evolution versus creationism. He oddly includes virtually nothing about the writing process itself a shame, because he is a prolific and popular author who is, except at his most abstruse, capable of explaining complex concepts with intelligence, clarity, and wit.--Levine, Mark Copyright 2015 Booklist
Kirkus Book Review
The second volume of the acclaimed evolutionary biologist's autobiography. Dawkins (An Appetite for Wonder: The Making of a Scientist, 2013, etc.) begins this installment with the bewildering experience of attending a celebration of his 70th birthday when he still felt, at least spiritually, like a 25-year-old. At the close of the first volume, he had just published his groundbreaking book The Selfish Gene (1976). His metaphorical personification of the gene as the agent of natural selection raised a furor at the time and is still controversial. As Dawkins is at pains to explain, he intended to compare economic-utility functions that maximize profitability with the successful reproduction of genes over generations. Despite widespread misunderstanding, his intention was not to suggest that they replace the function of individual, decision-making organisms but rather to apply the method of cost-benefit analysis used in economics to the process of natural selection. The author also explicitly distances himself from genetic determinists who attempt to explain human behavior mechanisticallye.g., attributing a specific behavior to a genetic predisposition, as might be the case with a putative aggressive gene. Dawkins refers readers to his 2004 book The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution, in which he discussed his recent views about higher-level genetic cooperation. The Selfish Gene and his spirited defense of atheism, The God Delusion (2006), are his most controversial works, and many readers will welcome his belated attempts to heed criticisms of his unnecessarily abrasive style when debating religious opponents. However, Dawkins justifiably boasts about his publishing success: "through nearly 40 years, not one of my twelve books has ever been allowed to go out of print in English." Though the narrative could have used some pruning, the author provides an entertaining portrait of his life and times, including the quaint customs still in practice at Oxford. An impressive overview of Dawkins' life's work, written with the freshness of youthful vigor. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
TextPublication details: New York : HarperCollins, [2015].Description: 455 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations (some color) ; 24 cmISBN: