The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing
by Dawkins, RichardEdition: Reprint
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2009-10-04
Publisher(s): Oxford University Press
Other versions by this Author
List Price: $20.99
Buy New
Usually Ships in 5-7 Business Days
$20.97
Rent Book
Select for Price
Rent Digital
$10.92*
Used Book
We're Sorry
Sold Out
How Marketplace Works:
- This item is offered by an independent seller and not shipped from our warehouse
- Item details like edition and cover design may differ from our description; see seller's comments before ordering.
- Sellers much confirm and ship within two business days; otherwise, the order will be cancelled and refunded.
- Marketplace purchases cannot be returned to eCampus.com. Contact the seller directly for inquiries; if no response within two days, contact customer service.
- Additional shipping costs apply to Marketplace purchases. Review shipping costs at checkout.
Summary
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing is an anthology of fine writing by scientists from the early 20th century to the present day, personally selected and with a commentary by Richard Dawkins.
Author Biography
Richard Dawkins is the first holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, and is a Fellow of New College, Oxford. His bestselling books include The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, River Out of Eden, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and The Ancestor's Tale. Dawkins is a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Literature.
Table of Contents
| Featured Writers and Extracts | p. xi |
| Introduction | p. xvii |
| What Scientists Study | |
| The Mysterious Universe | p. 3 |
| Just Six Numbers | p. 4 |
| Creation Revisited | p. ll |
| The Ant and The Peacock | p. 16 |
| The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection | p. 18 |
| Mankind Evolving | p. 22 |
| Adaptation and Natural Selection | p. 27 |
| Life Itself | p. 30 |
| Genome | p. 35 |
| 'Theoretical Biology in The Third Millennium' | p. 40 |
| The Language of The Genes | p. 48 |
| 'On Being The Right Size' | p. 53 |
| The Explanation of Organic Diversity | p. 59 |
| 'The Importance of The Nervous System In The Evolution Of Animal Flight' | p. 61 |
| Man In The Universe | p. 66 |
| On Growth and Form | p. 69 |
| The Meaning of Evolution | p. 78 |
| Trilobite! | p. 82 |
| The Mind Machine | p. 86 |
| Mirrors In Mind | p. 89 |
| 'One Self: A Meditation on The Unity of Consciousness' | p. 96 |
| The Language Instinct and How The Mind Works | p. 103 |
| The Rise and Fall of The Third Chimpanzee | p. 110 |
| The Life of The Robin | p. 114 |
| Curious Naturalists | p. 115 |
| Social Evolution | p. 123 |
| The Open Sea | p. 127 |
| The Sea Around Us | p. 130 |
| 'How Flowers Changed The World' | p. 138 |
| The Diversity of Life | p. 143 |
| Who Scientists Are | |
| The Expanding Universe | p. 151 |
| The Foreword to C. H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology | p. 152 |
| Disturbing The Universe | p. 157 |
| 'War and The Nations' | p. 161 |
| 'A Passion for Crystals' | p. 168 |
| 'Said Ryle to Hoyle' | p. 172 |
| 'Cancer's A Funny Thing' | p. 174 |
| The Identity of Man | p. 176 |
| 'Science and Literature', 'Darwin's Illness', 'The Phenomenon Of Man', the postscript to 'Lucky Jim', and 'D'Arcy Thompson and Growth and Form' | p. 179 |
| Self-Made Man | p. 188 |
| Origins Reconsidered | p. 190 |
| Lucy | p. 195 |
| 'Worm For A Century, and All Seasons' | p. 200 |
| Life Cycles | p. 211 |
| Uncle Tungsten | p. 214 |
| 'Seven Wonders' | p. 219 |
| Avoid Boring People | p. 226 |
| What Mad Pursuit | p. 229 |
| The Unnatural Nature of Science | p. 232 |
| Essays of a Biologist | p. 234 |
| 'Religion and Science' | p. 235 |
| The Dem On-Haunted World | p. 239 |
| What Scientists Think | |
| The Character of Physical Law | p. 247 |
| What Is Life? | p. 249 |
| Darwin's Dangerous Idea and Consciousness Explained | p. 254 |
| The Growth of Biological Thought | p. 259 |
| 'The Tragedy of The Commons' | p. 263 |
| Geometry For The Selfish Herd and Narrow Roads Of Geneland | p. 266 |
| How Nature Works | p. 273 |
| The Fantastic Combinations of John Conway's New Solitaire Game 'Life' | p. 276 |
| Mathematics For The Million | p. 284 |
| The Miraculous Jar | p. 289 |
| The Mathematical Theory of Communication | p. 297 |
| Computing Machinery and Intelligence | p. 305 |
| 'What Is The Theory of Relativity?' | p. 314 |
| Mr Tompkins | p. 317 |
| The Goldilocks Enigma | p. 323 |
| The Time And Space of Uncle Albert | p. 332 |
| The Elegant Universe | p. 336 |
| A Brief History Of Time | p. 342 |
| What Scientists Delight In | |
| Truth and Beauty | p. 349 |
| A Mathematician's Apology | p. 352 |
| Dreams of A Final Theory | p. 357 |
| The Life of The Cosmos | p. 362 |
| The Emperor's New Mind | p. 367 |
| Gödel, Escher, Bach: The Eternal Golden Braid | p. 371 |
| Geons, Black Holes, And Quantum Foam | p. 378 |
| The Fabric of Reality | p. 381 |
| The Periodic Table | p. 383 |
| Life: An Unauthorized Biography | p. 390 |
| The Meaning of Evolution | p. 392 |
| Little Men and Flying Saucers | p. 393 |
| Pale Blue Dot | p. 394 |
| Acknowledgements | p. 397 |
| Index | p. 401 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.
This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.
By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.
Digital License
You are licensing a digital product for a set duration. Durations are set forth in the product description, with "Lifetime" typically meaning five (5) years of online access and permanent download to a supported device. All licenses are non-transferable.
More details can be found here.
A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.
Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.
Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.