Dawkins does a nice job of collecting the evidence for evolution in one place, keeping the gloating mostly under control. I think there might be a few people already teetering on the edge who would read this book and find it enough to push them over, but mostly I think it will serve to fill gaps in knowledge for those of us who are not "history deniers" as Dawkins aptly describes creationists. I liked the update on missing link fossils, although I personally find molecular evidence the most compelling.

Dawkins throws in many self-indulgent asides in the form of long tiny-print footnotes. He says he knows they annoy some of his readers but he doesn't care. I enjoyed some of them; many were annoying. ( )

Magnificent. And furthermore, the pages didn't fall out! ( )

In this Year of Darwin, it's not surprising to see a new book from one of the leading proponents of Evolution. Dawkins has covered the topic from many angles in the past, this time, however, he's poking his fingers in the eyes of Creationists/"Intelligent Designers" (or, as he prefers to call them, "History deniers"). Dawkins begins by stating the dictionary definitions of the word "theory", a common entry point on Creationist dogma. The first definition of the term is, to paraphrase, "an explanation that describes a set of facts." This, he maintains, is what the Theory of Evolution is; a model which describes a set of facts. The "History deniers," however, insist on pointing to another definition of the term -- again to paraphrase, "a conjecture that describes a set of observations that have not been tested." By the end of the book, there is no doubt whatsoever that the first definition is the correct one when describing evolution.

Dawkins also purports to give readers ammunition they can use when going up against Creationist/Intelligent Designer pinheads. His examples superbly describe the evidence for evolution beyond any shadow of a doubt -- however, the examples are not of the sort that simpletons will readily understand or concede. He does debase another tiresome argument that the "fossil record is incomplete" and "riddled with missing links;" Dawkins goes on to explain how we can prove evolution without using a single fossil, and besides, we have plenty of "missing links," the deniers just keep saying that as if constant repetition will make the evidence go away. Some of the hard, indisputable evidence comes from experiments in microbiology -- which is where the ammunition gets a little sophisticated for use in your average bar fight.

The conclusion of the book in inescapable -- the Theory of Evolution is not dogma, to be taught alongside alternate opinions -- it is fact and needs to be taught as such. One of the staggering statistics he repeated often is that 44% of Americans actually believe the earth is less than 10,000 years old and that humans coexisted with dinosaurs. While there is some good stuff here to throw at them, most will just yell "la la la" when you try to make them less ignorant. ( )

Richard Dawkins has done it again! In a followup to his 2006 bestseller, The God Delusion, Dawkins hits religion again. This time, he compares the religious who deny evolution to Holocaust deniers, calling them 'nuts.' The Greatest Show on Earth is life: the beauty, elegance and evolution of life. Dawkins delves deep into his science background to show how life has evolved and how it is still evolving. Beautiful full color pictures accompany the text. ( )

(posted on my blog: davenichols.net)

There are few authors alive capable of weaving wonder and authority into popular science writing better than Richard Dawkins, and in his newest book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, released in September, 2009, he has shown that he is still the master of popular biology. Following a narrative that works much as the one employed by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species (and frequently mentioning Darwin), Dawkins presents a comprehensive look at the modern state of evolutionary theory, and more specifically, the evidence which proves it is true beyond any serious doubt.

I had read many Dawkins books prior to Greatest Show, including his biology and science-oriented books The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, Unweaving the Rainbow, The Blind Watchmaker, and River Out of Eden. I have not yet read The Ancestors Tale (which I understand is Dawkins most comprehensive biological work, nor have I read Climbing Mount Improbably (which Dawkins has stated is his own favorite work), both of which I own but have yet to get to. So, my review is in light of these experiences (or lack thereof).

The first couple of chapters are for softening up any hesistant readers and convincing new learners that evolution is not only realistic, it can be observed around us in a myriad of ways, including the comparisons between natural selection and the artificial selection practiced by human animal and plant breeders.

Following this intro, Dawkins lays down the tool kit and shows how Neo-Darwinian theory knows how to trust estimated dates, looking at the various chemical clocks available.

The chapter titled "Before Our Very Eyes" was the most enjoyable and enlightening for me, personally, as the reader has described for him/her several fascinating experiments which have demonstrated the power of natural selection and mutation to drive complex genetic progression. The information on the Richard Lenski-led study of E. coli is worth the price of the book alone. Tremendously important and strong evidence for Dawkins' central thesis.

Dawkins follows this by moving into fossil records, showing the reader how scientists have studied and come to see the fossil record as important, but not the most important facts available to evolutionary theory. He shows that the 'gaps' in the fossil record are actually useful for taxonomic reasons, and posits that a complete fossil record would lead to immense confusion when trying to determine just where a new species begins from the old. Dawkins also knocks down the argument that talk of 'missing links' is useful, and pleads for the cessation of this term since its usefulness has long-since been destroyed. Like he says often, every fossil we find is a missing link, every one is a transitional fossil of some sort.

The chapter "You did it yourself in nine months" was my least favorite, though it was certainly necessary to present in a comprehensive view of evolution. The following chapter on biogeography returns to a superior narrative and offers strong evidence for geographic proof of evolution, again, just as Darwin did in describing the variety of species found strew across the Galapagos Islands. Following that are chapters on cousinship among life forms and the ability of DNA to provide a historical archive which begin to draw together a personal closeness that derives from the evidence of the preceding chapters.

The final couple of chapters move a bit more toward being meditative, though don't expect Dawkins to get too mushy. What begins as a discussion of arms races ends with a look at 'evolutionary theodicy', where Dawkins argues that we find suffering and pain exactly as we would expect from the emotionless processes of natural selection.

Finally, the book winds down with more reflection as Dawkins expounds upon the last paragraph of Darwin's Origin and draws together the book's conclusion by reinforcing that the fact of evolution does not depend on any statement about abiogenesis or origin of life concerns. Clearly, what the theory suggest, and has been proven by practically every bit of evidence uncovered, is that, however it started, evolution is the way in which living things grow, compete, reproduce, and change.

I haven't read a more comprehensive book on Evolution to date, and I think Dawkins has abolutely knocked it out of the park here. I admit to a strong Dawkins bias, so I wanted to like this book, but I also had very high hopes for it because it was the first Dawkins biology-centric book to be released since I started reading his work. I expected a ton. I got it and more.

For the beginning reader, I would still recommend the much-more streamlined arguments in Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution is True, but for the reader with some science experience, or for the curious reader who wants the full picture, this is as good as it gets. Five stars. ( )