The Greatest Show On Earth

Book Name : The Greatest Show On Earth
Author : Richard Dawkins

What is it about : A wide range of evidence are presented in this most readable book, showing that evolution is alive and kicking, and happening right here and now and in its many forms and ways. The book is an attempt by the author to plug the gap in his formidable series of books on this topic where he has already covered other aspects such as gene-centric view of evolution, arguments against intelligent designs and the application of probability to evolution and such likes. Numerous experiments have been presented which showed life forms evolving in a matter of weeks and months - the one that caught my eye was the jump in the population density of bacteria when it evolved and "discovered" how to digest citrus substances on top of its ability to digest glucose - extremely fascinating !

Some thoughts after having read the book : The author is well endowed with all-round skills and the power of communication to get the messages over. Not only the author presented the book like a persuasive TV presenter, but more valuable were the experiments and data he dug up. For example, the Appendix detailed that, a 2008 poll showed that 42% of Americans believed that all life on Earth has existed in its present form since the beginning of time ! Another poll showed that roughly a third (32%) of Italians thought the earliest humans lived along side dinosaurs !!! The Appendix alone was worth my time in taking this book out from the local library.

Would I recommend this book to you : A book for all occasions - enjoying it in the sun and on the beach, over a cup of morning coffee and contemplating on life, quick firing bullets to shoot down Creationists' dubious arguments or mulling over the BIG questions in Life, you know, where do we come from, where are we heading, is there anyone out there etc. The author's eloquence and the on-going astonishing experiments made this book read like, you are watching a mega-hit movie - a must-read for both enthusiasts and the casual reader !