#15 in Popular science
The Selfish Gene
- 352
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
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About the book
The Selfish Gene is a 1976 popular science book by Richard Dawkins that espouses the gene-centred view of evolution. It builds upon the thesis of George Christopher Williams's Adaptation and Natural Selection (1966) and W. D. Hamilton's work on kin selection. From the gene-centred view, it follows that the more genes two individuals share, the more sense it makes for them to co-operate.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 483 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 76% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Popular science average of 8.3. That is how 8.4 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.7 | 75 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 408 | 85% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“This book is 45 years old at this point, but it ages well. If you could ignore the handful of references to computers and floppy disks of the era, you could believe it was written relatively recently. We have, of course, learned since it was…”
“This book mainly discusses the selfish gene hypothesis in parallel to the animal species' reproduction and social behaviour. Most of the book has discussed the basics of reproductory behaviour till chapter 9 then chapter 10 focused on The social and communal construct. Some parts of…”
Frequently asked
How long is The Selfish Gene?
It has 352 pages — longer than 54% of the ranked books in Popular science.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Popular science — with scores between 8.3 and 8.4, closest to this book.
