Science in the Soul

Praise

“Compelling . . . rendered in gloriously spiky and opinionated prose . . . [Richard Dawkins is] one of the great science popularizers of the last half-century.”—The Christian Science Monitor 

“[Science in the Soul] showcases Dawkins’s dual talents. He is a ferocious polemicist, a defender of reason and enemy of superstition. He is also an extraordinarily talented explicator and celebrator of biology. He makes complex concepts, like kin selection, pop into focus in a way that imparts a jolt of pleasure.”—John Horgan, Scientific American

“These forty-one short pieces suitably capture evolutionary biologist Dawkins’s reputation as a fierce proponent of rationalism, who possesses an exacting and questioning scientific mind and acerbic wit.”—Library Journal

“Dawkins does not disappoint on the religion front, in which he has become known as a leading light of intellectual atheism. . . . For Dawkins fans, a must-have collection.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A satisfying introduction to one of today’s most prominent scientific thinkers.”—Publishers Weekly

“The illumination of Richard Dawkins’s incisive thinking on the intellectual world extends far beyond biology. What a treat to see so clearly how matter and meaning fit together, from fiction to philosophy to molecular biology, in one unified vision!”—Daniel C. Dennett, author of From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds

“I thank Thor and Zeus that in their infinite wisdom they chose to make the great wordsmith of our age a great rationalist, and vice versa.”—Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge

“In this golden age of enlightened science writing, it is stunning that no scientist has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is time literature’s highest award be granted to a scientist whose writings have changed not just science but society. No living scientist is more deserving of such recognition than Richard Dawkins, whose every book reflects his literary genius and scientific substance. Science in the Soul is the perfect embodiment of Nobel-quality literature.”—Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine, columnist for Scientific American, and author of The Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People

“Turn each page of this book slowly. Science in the Soul is packed with Dr. Dawkins’s philosophy, humor, anger, and quiet wisdom, leading the reader gently but firmly to inevitable conclusions that edify and educate, while dropping in periodic bons mots that seize attention rather firmly.”—James Randi, author of The Faith Healers

“Two people have earned the right to use the word ‘soul’ in my presence—one of them is James Brown. So now ladies and gentlemen, may I present the hardest-working man in truth and science, the other amazing Mr. Please, Please, Please himself—Richard Dawkins!”—Penn Jillette, author of God, No!