The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution [Paperback]

My knowledge of evolution was limited to reading Darwin and to National Geographic. This book made me realize how widespread and important evolutionary based practice is in the scientific community. The book leads the reader carefully and understandably through the latest scientific findings in this field. The odd moment when Dawkins uses this as "evidence" in his personal crusade against religion are brief and do not detract from the book.Unlike Dawkins I cannot say that I am an atheist though I fully understand why he rails against the stupidity, perfidity and propaganda of organized religion. This book did not change my belief in a greater something. It actually served to affirm my belief that whatever the greater something is, scientists are closer to understanding than priests. Whatever your prejudices, put them aside and read this wonderful book.

Whether or not you believe that there is a god (God) guiding evolution, there is no rational argument against its existence and importance. Nor does an understanding of evolution diminish the wonders of the world- in fact, it augments them. Those are Dawkins' main themes in this book, and they are laid out clearly and forcefully.

The first main theme, the evidence for evolution, is the dominant theme of this book. Given his previous work on atheism, this certainly is a topic he believes passionately about. Dawkins is an authority on evolution, and has been ever since his first books on the topic (The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, and to a lesser extent, The Blind Watchmaker, are classics in evolutionary theory). What Dawkins does in this book is recite the mountains of evidence that support evolution. Fossils, development, cross-species similarities, and genetics all add up to make evolution one of the most solid and proven theories in science (perhaps more so than gravity!). He even goes the same route as Darwin in using domesticated animals as an example of evolution (guided by humans, not natural selection) in action. People who believe that the word "theory" means unproven, unsupported guessing really need to read this book to understand just how much evidence there truly is for this "theory". Dawkins even left out some of the more dramatic genetic evidence that has begun to surface recently, and the case is still rock-solid. Dawkins does avoid making direct attacks and comparisons to other "theories" such as Intelligent Design, but his case for evolution is so overwhelming it's hard to imagine a competitive theory that could knock evolution off. As a defense of evolution, this book is a hard to argue against.

The second theme, that evolution doesn't take away mystery, but rather adds to it, is less forcefully presented, but it is omnipresent throughout the book. I suppose a lot of that has to do with one's personal preference. If you like mysteries and not understanding things, then understanding evolution might not be wonderful to you. But if you are curious, then evolution's explanation of life on Earth makes all life that much more fantastic. And certainly, there are still far more questions than answers when it comes to our understanding of all life on Earth. Evolution is the best tool we have for answering those questions, and the many, many, many examples in this book are bound to fill a curious reader with wonder about how and why life has turned out the way it has.

Overall then, I find this to be Dawkins' best book since his first three. I would quibble that at times he is distracted with an antagonistic tone, but I suppose it must be frustrating constantly defending one of the most proven scientific theories ever. Ignoring that, his writing is clear and easy to read. What's more, the subject matter is so fascinating that even those familiar with biology and evolution will enjoy reading it. Dawkins is right on two things- Darwin's theory of evolution is 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999% likely to be true and the story of the evolution of life on Earth is truly The Greatest [Story] on Earth!

This book is not about God or faith or religion at all. Dawkins is not attacking elements of faith. This book is written for believers and secularists alike. It's a scientific look at the concepts and elements of evolution - all of which are well established and proven. He redraws Darwin's grand vision and offers it to us in a well written and readable form that appeals to the lay-person as readily as the biologist.

Dawkins uses this book to exhibit how the arguments against evolution (not arguments against God or the divine in general - that was dealt with in The God Delusion) fall short and fail to address the evedence that is readily available.

Evolutionary science requires no belief - only understanding. I whole heartedly invite people of faith to read this book and really try understand what is being said in its pages. Knowledge and understanding are the keys to the universe.