The Selfish Gene – A Classic

Title: The Selfish Gene
Author: Richard Dawkins
Genre: Popular Science/evolutionary biology and genetics
Readability: Excellent

Approximately ten years ago, The Selfish Gene started me off on a voyage of intellectual discovery into a field that I am still fascinated with, namely evolutionary biology. It is the perfect popular science introduction to the subject of genes, biology and evolution, and Dawkins’ smooth writing style and love of his subject matter makes it a pleasure to read. If you enjoy watching nature documentary movies on Discovery Channel or Animal Planet, this will likely be something for you.

Dawkins also produced a host of other books on the subject, but a lot of them are somewhat repetitious, rehashing knowledge that he already wrote about elsewhere. A good exception to this is The Extended Phenotype, the follow-up to The Selfish Gene.