- The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing
-
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing 
Author(s) Various Country United Kingdom Language English Subject(s) Modern science writing Genre(s) Science Publisher Oxford University Press Publication date 2008 Media type Hardcover ISBN 0-199-21680-0 OCLC Number 180014200 Dewey Decimal 500 22 LC Classification Q171 .O87 2008 The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing is an anthology of well-respected scientific writings, arranged and introduced by Richard Dawkins of the University of Oxford. Published first in March, 2008, it contains 83 writings on many topics from a diverse variety of authors, which range in length from under a page to approximately eight pages. All inclusions are dated post-1900, and include poetry, anecdotes, and general philosophical musings.
Contents
Contents
The book is divided into four segments. The following is a list of pieces included in each segment.
What Scientists Study
- from The Mysterious Universe by James Jeans
- from Just Six Numbers by Martin Rees
- from Creation Revisited by Peter Atkins
- from The Ant and the Peacock by Helena Cronin
- from The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection by R. A. Fisher
- from Mankind Evolving by Theodosius Dobzhansky
- from Adaptation and Natural Selection by G. C. Williams
- from Life Itself by Francis Crick
- from Genome by Matt Ridley
- 'Theoretical Biology in the Third Millennium' by Sydney Brenner
- from The Language of the Genes by Steve Jones
- from 'On Being the Right Size' by J. B. S. Haldane
- from The Explanation of Organic Diversity by Mark Ridley
- 'The Importance of the Nervous System in the Evolution of Animal Flight' by John Maynard Smith
- from Man in the Universe by Fred Hoyle
- from On Growth and Form by D'Arcy Thompson
- from The Meaning of Evolution by G. G. Simpson
- from Trilobite! by Richard Fortey
- from The Mind Machine by Colin Blakemore
- from Mirrors in Mind by Richard Gregory
- 'One Self: A Meditation on the Unity of Consciousness' by Nicholas Humphrey
- from The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker
- from The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond
- from The Life of the Robin by David Lack
- from Curious Naturalists by Niko Tinbergen
- from Social Evolution by Robert Trivers
- from The Open Sea by Alister Hardy
- from The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
- from 'How Flowers Changed the World' by Loren Eiseley
- from The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson
Who Scientists Are
- from The Expanding Universe by Arthur Eddington
- from the Foreword to G. H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology by C. P. Snow
- from Disturbing the Universe by Freeman Dyson
- from 'War and the Nations' by J. Robert Oppenheimer
- 'A Passion for Crystals' by Max F. Perutz
- 'Said Ryle to Hoyle' by Barbara and George Gamow
- 'Cancer's a Funny Thing' by J. B. S. Haldane
- from The Identity of Man by Jacob Bronowski
- from 'Science and Literature, 'Darwin's Illness', 'The Phenomenon of Man', the postscript to 'Lucky Jim', and 'D' Arcy Thompson and Growth *and Form' by Peter Medawar
- from Self-Made Man by Jonathan Kingdon
- from Origins Reconsidered by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin
- from Lucy by Donald C. Johanson and Maitland A. Edey obit
- 'Worm for a Century, and All Seasons' by Stephen Jay Gould
- from Life Cycles by John Tyler Bonner
- from Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks
- 'Seven Wonders' by Lewis Thomas
- from Avoid Boring People by James Watson
- from What Mad Pursuit by Francis Crick
- from The Unnatural Nature of Science by Lewis Wolpert
- from Essays of a Biologist by Julian Huxley
- 'Religion and Science' by Albert Einstein
- from The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan
What Scientists Think
- from The Character of Physical Law by Richard Feynman
- from What is Life? by Erwin Schrödinger
- from Darwin's Dangerous Idea and Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett
- from The Growth of Biological Thought by Ernst Mayr
- from 'The Tragedy of the Commons' by Garrett Hardin
- from Geometry for the Selfish Herd and Narrow Roads of Geneland by W. D. Hamilton
- from How Nature Works by Per Bak
- The Fantastic Combinations of John Conway's New Solitaire Game 'Life' by Martin Gardner
- from Mathematics for the Million by Lancelot Hogben
- from The Miraculous Jar by Ian Stewart
- from The Mathematical Theory of Communication by Claude E. Shannon and Warren Weaver
- from Computing Machinery and Intelligence by Alan Turing
- from 'What is the Theory of Relativity?' by Albert Einstein
- from Mr Tompkins by George Gamow
- from The Goldilocks Enigma by Paul Davies
- from The Time and Space of Uncle Albert by Russell Stannard
- from The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
- from A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
What Scientists Delight In
- from Truth and Beauty by S. Chandrasekhar
- from A Mathematician's Apology by G. H. Hardy
- from Dreams of a Final Theory by Steven Weinberg
- from The Life of the Cosmos by Lee Smolin
- from The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrose
- from Godel, Escher, Bach: The Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter
- from Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam by John Archibald Wheeler and Kenneth Ford listing
- from The Fabric of Reality by David Deutsch
- from The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
- from Life: An Unauthorized Biography by Richard Fortey
- from The Meaning of Evolution by George Gaylord Simpson
- from Little Men and Flying Saucers by Loren Eiseley
- from Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan
Critical response
The book received extremely favourable reviews, with New Scientist proclaiming that "if you could only ever read one science book, this should probably be it".[1] Peter Forbes of The Independent praised Dawkins' inclusions, stating that "every reader is likely to make a discovery or two".[2] Steven Poole in The Guardian described it as "a beautiful volume" and "a labour of love" on Dawkins' part.[3] A number of science bloggers did criticize the lack of female scientists included in the book.[4]
Notes and references
- ^ "Review: The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, selected by Richard Dawkins". New Scientist. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19726452.400-review-ithe-oxford-book-of-modern-science-writingi-selected-by-richard-dawkins.html. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- ^ Forbes, Peter (2008-05-16). "The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing, ed. Richard Dawkins". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-oxford-book-of-modern-science-writing-ed-richard-dawkins-828939.html. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ "Laughing stock - Steven Poole on French Laughter, Body Shopping, The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing". London: The Guardian. 2008-04-26. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/apr/26/featuresreviews.guardianreview6. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ http://scienceblogs.com/drugmonkey/2009/12/dawkins_rolls_out_some_pretty.php
Categories:- 2008 books
- Science books
- Works by Richard Dawkins
- Science studies
- Oxford University Press books
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