{"product_id":"9781804548097","title":"The Genetic Book of the Dead: A Darwinian Reverie","description":"Author: Dawkins, Richard\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781804548097\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 03 Feb 2026\u003cbr\u003ePages: 416 Format: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTHE TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BEST SCIENCE BOOK OF 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e BEST IDEAS BOOKS OF 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eECONOMIST \u003c\/i\u003eBEST BOOKS OF 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BEST BOOKS OF 2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom one of the world's great science writers, a book that explores the deepest principles of evolutionary history.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 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.\u003cbr\u003eBut 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'.\u003cbr\u003eThe 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?\u003cbr\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Selfish Gene\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eAncestor's Tale\u003c\/i\u003e comes a revolutionary, richly illustrated book that unlocks the door to an ancient past, seen through wholly new eyes.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46643234668702,"sku":"UBD-9781804548097","price":24.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781804548097.jpg?v=1774484914","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781804548097","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}