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The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

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2009 book by Richard Dawkins

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution First edition (UK)<br>AuthorRichard DawkinsLanguageEnglishSubjectEvolutionPublisherFree Press, TransworldPublication date<br>3 September 2009 (UK)<br>22 September 2009 (US)Publication placeUnited KingdomMedia typePrintPages470 pp.ISBN978-0-593-06173-2OCLC390663505Preceded byThe God Delusion Followed byThe Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True[1][2]<br>The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution is a 2009 book by British biologist Richard Dawkins, which sets out the evidence for evolution.[3][4][5] It topped The Sunday Times' Bestseller list, with more than twice the sales of its nearest competitor.[6] An audiobook was released, read by Dawkins and Lalla Ward.

Background<br>[edit]

Richard Dawkins has written a number of books about evolution, starting with The Selfish Gene (1976) and The Extended Phenotype (1982). These he followed with three books that outlined the mechanisms of evolution: The Blind Watchmaker (1986), River Out of Eden (1995) and Climbing Mount Improbable (1996). The Ancestor's Tale (2004) traces human ancestry back to the dawn of life.[7]

However, looking back on his work, he felt that he had never comprehensively addressed the evidence of common descent.[7] He thought that 2009, the bicentennial of Charles Darwin and sesquicentennial of his On the Origin of Species, was the perfect time for such a work.[7][8] He started it during his final months as Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science (Marcus du Sautoy now holds the position). 2009 saw the publication of similar books, such as Jerry Coyne's Why Evolution is True.[9]

The book is dedicated to Dawkins' technical assistant and web designer Josh Timonen (left).<br>Dawkins's literary agent John Brockman promoted the book to publishers under the working title Only a Theory. However, American biologist Kenneth Miller had already used that title for his own book, Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul (2008). He kept "Only a Theory?" as the first chapter title, "with a precautionary question mark to guard against creationist quote-mining".[7][10]

The title is from a T-shirt given to Dawkins by "an anonymous well-wisher". It bears the words "Evolution: The Greatest Show on Earth, the Only Game in Town".[7] He wore it occasionally while lecturing,[11] and realised it was an ideal title. However, his editor said it was too long[12] so they shortened it. On three occasions, Dawkins wanted to include new scientific findings that emerged late in the publishing process; despite the disruption, the publisher accommodated them.[7]

Dawkins dedicated the book to Josh Timonen, an architect of RichardDawkins.net. He writes: "Josh's creative talent runs deep, but the image of the iceberg captures neither the versatile breadth of his contributions to our joint endeavour, nor the warm good humour with which he makes them." He also thanks his wife Lalla's "unfailing encouragement, helpful stylistic criticisms and characteristically stylish suggestions", and his friend Charles Simonyi as he signs off after fourteen years and seven books.[7]

Synopsis<br>[edit]

The vestigial wings of the flightless cormorant, which it still hangs out to dry, are discussed in the book.[13]<br>The book consists of 13 chapters.

"Only a theory?" examines evolution as theory and fact. He cites the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "theory": “A scheme or system of ideas or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or phenomena; a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment, and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed.”[14]

"Dogs, cows and cabbages" examines artificial selection, which Dawkins calls "sculpting the gene pool." He notes that from wild cabbage, breeders have made "broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, kale, Brussels sprouts, spring greens, romanescu and, of course, the various kinds of vegetables that are still commonly called cabbage. ... Another familiar example is the sculpting of the wolf, Canis lupus, into the two hundred or so breeds of dog, Canis familiaris, that are recognized as separate by the UK Kennel Club.”[3]: 27

"The primrose path to macro-evolution" examines coevolution. Flowers produce nectar to lure pollinators. Bees select for floral beauty, albeit unconsciously. Beauty is...