Richard Dawkins

The brilliantly argued and impassioned classic polemic from the world's best-known atheist. Sensationally incisive and perennially timely, this is required reading for everyone. The God Delusion caused a sensation when it was published in 2006. Within weeks it became the most hotly debated topic, with Dawkins himself branded as either saint or sinner for presenting his hard-hitting, impassioned rebuttal of religion of all types. His argument could hardly be more topical. While Europe is becoming increasingly secularized, the rise of religious fundamentalism, whether in the Middle East or Middle America, is dramatically and dangerously dividing opinion around the world. In America, and elsewhere, a vigorous dispute between 'intelligent design' and Darwinism is seriously undermining and restricting the teaching of science. In many countries religious dogma from medieval times still serves to abuse basic human rights such as women's and gay rights. And all from a belief in a God whose existence lacks evidence of any kind. Dawkins attacks God in all his forms. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry and abuses children. The God Delusion is a brilliantly argued, fascinating polemic: required reading for anyone interested in this most emotional and important subject.

From one of the world’s great science writers, a book that explores the deepest principles of evolutionary history. In this groundbreaking new approach to the evolution of all life, Richard Dawkins shows how the body, behaviour, and genes of every living creature can be read as a book – an archive of the worlds of its ancestors. A perfectly camouflaged desert lizard has a desiccated landscape of sand and stones ‘painted’ on its back. Its skin can be read as a description of ancient deserts in which its ancestors survived – and, before that, of the worlds of its more remote ancestors: a genetic book of the dead. But such descriptions are more than skin-deep. The fine chisels of Darwinian natural selection carve their way through the very warp and woof of the body, into every biochemical nook and corner, into every cell of every living creature. A zoologist of the future, presented with a hitherto-unknown animal, will be able to reconstruct the worlds that shaped its ancestors, to read its unique ‘book of the dead’. The book is filled with fascinating examples of the power of Darwinian natural selection to build exquisite perfection, paradoxically accompanied by what look like gross blunders. Along the way, Dawkins dismantles influential criticisms of the ‘gene’s-eye-view’ of life. And, to end with a provocative sting in the tail, the author asks there is a sense in which all our ‘own’ genes can be seen as a gigantic colony of cooperating viruses? From the author of The Selfish Gene and The Ancestor’s Tale comes a revolutionary, richly illustrated book that unlocks the door to an ancient past, seen through wholly new eyes.

Biologická evoluce není „pouhou teorií“, ale skutečností. Probíhá po miliardy let a vedla ke vzniku tolika podivuhodných životních forem, že si zaslouží označení za největší show na Zemi; a toto velkolepé představení přitom nepotřebovalo žádného režiséra. Současně se ale evoluce odehrává i přímo před našima očima, můžeme ji zaznamenat na sloních klech i ve vrtění psího ocasu. Kniha známého britského biologa a popularizátora vědy nám ukáže fungování evoluce z mnoha pohledů, od paleontologického záznamu přes molekulární genetiku a vývoj embrya až po domestikaci zvířat či to, jak se historie života promítla do geografického rozšíření současných druhů.

Asi každý se někdy zasnil, jaké by to bylo roztáhnout křídla a vznést se do vzduchu jako pták. Někteří dobrodruzi tyto sny proměnili ve skutečnost a cestování letadlem nám dnes připadá stejně všední jako jízda vlakem. Ale jak vlastně ptáci létají? A co netopýři nebo motýli? K čemu je některým savcům či plazům schopnost plachtit? A v čem se létající živočichové liší od letadel vyrobených lidmi? Odpovědi na tyto a další otázky hledá ve své knize proslulý evoluční biolog a autor teorie sobeckého genu Richard Dawkins, který čtenáře provází světem létajících tvorů a popisuje odvěké snahy člověka se jim vyrovnat. Od nezávislé evoluce křídel u několika skupin organismů a jiných způsobů, jak se vzepřít gravitaci, zabrousí do historie balónového létání, připomene úspěch bratří Wrightů, vyloží fyzikální principy letu a objasní, proč by lidstvo mělo dobýt vesmír. Jeho čtivý a srozumitelný výklad doprovází poutavé ilustrace Jany Lenzové.

Asi každý se někdy zasnil, jaké by to bylo roztáhnout křídla a vznést se do vzduchu jako pták. Někteří dobrodruzi tyto sny proměnili ve skutečnost a cestování letadlem nám dnes připadá stejně všední jako jízda vlakem. Ale jak vlastně ptáci létají? A co netopýři nebo motýli? K čemu je některým savcům či plazům schopnost plachtit? A v čem se létající živočichové liší od letadel vyrobených lidmi? Odpovědi na tyto a další otázky hledá ve své knize proslulý evoluční biolog a autor teorie sobeckého genu Richard Dawkins, který čtenáře provází světem létajících tvorů a popisuje odvěké snahy člověka se jim vyrovnat. Od nezávislé evoluce křídel u několika skupin organismů a jiných způsobů, jak se vzepřít gravitaci, zabrousí do historie balónového létání, připomene úspěch bratří Wrightů, vyloží fyzikální principy letu a objasní, proč by lidstvo mělo dobýt vesmír. Jeho čtivý a srozumitelný výklad doprovází poutavé ilustrace Jany Lenzové.

Snívalo sa vám niekedy, že lietate? Predstavovali ste si, aké by to bolo, keby ste boli vtákom a mohli plachtiť po oblohe či sa na krídlach strmhlav vrhnúť k zemi? Lietaním sú deti fascinované už odmalička a Richard Dawkins, mysliteľ a vedec z Oxfordskej univerzity, je z neho rovnako nadšený aj v dospelosti. Vo svojej knihe skúma všetky aspekty letu, zvieracieho, ľudského i mechanického. Keďže zázrak lietania je votkaný do celej našej histórie, kniha vás prevedie príbehmi od bájneho Ikara až po boeing 747. Aké sú rozdiely medzi vtákmi, ktoré sa vyvinuli evolúciou, a lietajúcimi strojmi skonštruovanými ľuďmi? Ako sa ľuďom podarilo prekonať zákony gravitácie? Autor okrem ľudského spoločenstva a živočíšnej ríše skúma aj fascinujúce lety, ktorých je schopná naša myseľ – úniky z reality, a to všetko prostredníctvom vedy a predstavivosti. Táto kniha je výsledkom jedinečnej spolupráce jedného z popredných svetových vedcov a talentovanej umelkyne Jany Lenzovej. Z anglického originálu Flights of Fancy vydaného vo vydavateľstve Head of Zeus v 2021 preložila Jana Lenzová. Vyšlo vo vydavateľstve IKAR, a.s. – v roku 2023

Richard Dawkins on how nature and humans have learned to overcome the pull of gravity and take to the skies. 'A masterly investigation of all aspects of flight, human and animal... A beautifully produced book that will appeal across age groups' Alexander McCall Smith 'Dawkins has always been an extraordinarily muscular, persuasive thinker. What feels new here is that he writes with such charm and warmth' The Times Have you ever dreamt you could fly? Or imagined what it would be like to glide and swoop through the sky like a bird? Do you let your mind soar to unknown, magical spaces? Richard Dawkins explores the wonder of flight: from the mythical Icarus, to the sadly extinct but spectacular bird Argentavis magnificens, from the Wright flyer and the 747, to the Tinkerbella fairyfly and the Peregrine falcon. But he also explores flights of the mind and escaping the everyday - through science, ideas and imagination. Fascinating and beautifully illustrated, this is a unique collaboration between one of the world's leading scientists and a talented artist.

'Richard Dawkins is a thunderously gifted science writer.' Sunday Times 'It may be a collection of shorter parts, but the book is in no sense Dawkins made simple. It amounts to a substantive whole which offers a unitary panoramic view across his entire intellectual life.' Spectator Including conversations with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Steven Pinker, Matt Ridley and more, this is an essential guide to the most exciting ideas of our time and their proponents from our most brilliant science communicator. Books Do Furnish a Life is divided by theme, including celebrating nature, exploring humanity, and interrogating faith. For the first time, it brings together Richard Dawkins' forewords, afterwords and introductions to the work of some of the leading thinkers of our age - Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, Jacob Bronowski, Lewis Wolpert - with a selection of his reviews to provide an electrifying celebration of science writing, both fiction and non-fiction. It is also a sparkling addition to Dawkins' own remarkable canon of work. Plenty of other scientists write well, but no one writes like Dawkins... here is Dawkins the teacher, the scholar, the polemicist, the joker, the aesthete, the poet, the satirist, the man of compassion as well as indignation, the slayer of superstition and, above all, the scientist. - Areo Magazine

At a time when science can seem complex and remote, it has a greater impact on our lives, and to the future of our planet, than ever before. It really matters that its discoveries and truths should be clearly and widely communicated. That its enemies, from the malicious to the muddled, the self-deluding to the self-interested, be challenged and exposed. That science should be brought out of the laboratory, taken into the corridors of power and defended in the maelstrom of popular culture. No one does this better than Richard Dawkins. In bringing together his forewords, afterwords and introductions to works by some of the leading thinkers of our age - Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, Jacob Bronowski, Lewis Wolpert - and a selection of his reviews, both admiring and critical, of a wide range of scientific and other works, Books do Furnish a Life celebrates the writers who communicate the ideas of science and the natural world in both fiction and non-fiction. It celebrates the courage of those who write about their experiences of escaping religion and embracing rationality, of protecting the truths of science and analytical rigour against charlatanry and obfuscation.

V tomto svižném uvedení do moderního ateismu nám jeden z nejvýznamnějších vědců dneška vysvětluje, proč bychom neměli věřit v boha. Argumenty, které rozvíjel v dosavadní práci, představuje ve své nejnovější knize stručně, přehledně a působivě, se zřetelem na čtenáře, kteří nejsou zběhlí v soudobé evoluční biologii. Sám Dawkins byl v mládí natolik ohromen krásou a spletitostí stvoření, že věřil, že za ním musí stát nějaký tvůrce. Když se však seznámil s teorií evoluce, představu boha zavrhl. Ve své knize dává čtenářům možnost znovu promyslet zásadní otázky o životě a vesmíru.

Should we believe in God? In this new book, written for a new generation, the brilliant science writer and author of The God Delusion, explains why we shouldn't. Should we believe in God? Do we need God in order to explain the existence of the universe? Do we need God in order to be good? In twelve chapters that address some of the most profound questions human beings confront, Dawkins marshals science, philosophy and comparative religion to interrogate the hypocrisies of all the religious systems and explain to readers of all ages how life emerged without a Creator, how evolution works and how our world came into being. For anyone hoping to grapple with the meaning of life and what to believe, Outgrowing God is a challenging, thrilling and revelatory read.

Proč se básníci a jiní umělci tak často vyjadřují o vědě s pohrdáním? Proč bývá tak často vědecká literatura nudnější než telefonní seznam? Opravdu Newton svým slavným experimentem se skleněným hranolem a lomem světla zbavil duhu poetického kouzla? Biolog Richard Dawkins si podobné otázky ohledně smyslu, krásy a záhad našeho světa a lidské povahy kladl řadu let a své odpovědi na ně shrnul v hluboce humanistické knize Rozplétání duhy. Věčný skeptik provádí čtenáře světem přírodních věd i kultury s přesvědčením, že „v nejlepší vědě by mělo zbýt místo i pro poezii“ a „záhady neztrácejí své kouzlo tím, že je vyřešíme, ale často se ukáže, že řešení je krásnější než záhada sama“.

The million copy international bestseller, critically acclaimed and translated into over 25 languages. As influential today as when it was first published, The Selfish Gene has become a classic exposition of evolutionary thought. Professor Dawkins articulates a gene's eye view of evolution - a view giving centre stage to these persistent units of information, and in which organisms can be seen as vehicles for their replication. This imaginative, powerful, and stylistically brilliant work not only brought the insights of Neo-Darwinism to a wide audience, but galvanized the biologycommunity, generating much debate and stimulating whole new areas of research. Forty years later, its insights remain as relevant today as on the day it was published. This 40th anniversary edition includes a new epilogue from the author discussing the continuing relevance of these ideas in evolutionary biology today, as well as the original prefaces and foreword, and extracts from early reviews. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Richard Dawkins - author of The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and The God Delusion - is one of science's greatest communicators. This anthology of more than forty pieces is a kaleidoscopic argument for the power and the glory of science. Breathtaking, brilliant and passionate, these essays, journalism, lectures and letters make an unanswerable case for the wonder of scientific discovery and its power to stir the imagination; for the practical necessity of scientific endeavour to society; and for the importance of the scientific way of thinking - particularly in today's `post-truth' world. With an introduction and new commentary by the author, subjects range from evolution and Darwinian natural selection to the role of scientist as prophet, whether science is itself a religion, the probability of alien life in other worlds, and the beauties, cruelties and oddities of earthly life in this one. Alongside the explications, the celebrations and the controversies are wonderfully funny ventures into satire and parody, and moving personal reflections in memory and honour of others. Science in the Soul is a sparkling showcase for Professor Dawkins' rapier wit, the clarity, precision and vigour he brings to an argument, the beauty of his prose, the depth of his feeling and his capacity for joy.

Science in the Soul is a kaleidoscopic argument for the power and glory of science: the wonder of scientific discovery; the practical necessity of scientific endeavour to society; and the importance of the scientific way of thinking - particularly in today's 'post-truth' world. With an introduction and new commentary by the author in dialogue with himself across the years, the essays, journalism, lectures and letters gathered here range over subjects from evolution and Darwinian natural selection to the role of scientist as prophet, whether science is itself a religion, the probability of alien life in other worlds, and the beauties, cruelties and oddities of earthly life in this one. A sparkling showcase for his rapier wit, the clarity, precision and vigour he brings to an argument, the beauty of his prose, the depth of his feeling and his capacity for joy, Science in the Soul is further evidence of Richard Dawkins' status as one of science's all-time great communicators.

A fully updated edition of one of the most original accounts of evolution ever written, featuring new fractal diagrams, six new 'tales' and the latest scientific developments. THE ANCESTOR'S TALE is a dazzling, four-billion-year pilgrimage to the origins of life: Richard Dawkins and Yan Wong take us on an exhilarating reverse journey through evolution, from present-day humans back to the microbial beginnings of life. It is a journey happily interrupted by meetings of fellow modern animals (as well as plants, fungi and bacteria) similarly tracing their evolutionary path back through history. As each evolutionary pilgrim tells their tale, Dawkins and Wong shed light on topics such as speciation, sexual selection and extinction. Written with unparalleled wit, clarity and intelligence; taking in new scientific discoveries of the past decade; and including new 'tales', illustrations and fractal diagrams, THE ANCESTOR'S TALE shows us how remarkable we are, how astonishing our history, and how intimate our relationship with the rest of the living world.