With the 2006 publication of The God Delusion, the name Richard Dawkins became a byword for ruthless skepticism and "brilliant, impassioned, articulate, impolite" debate (San Francisco Chronicle). his first memoir offers a more personal view.
His first book, The Selfish Gene, caused a seismic shift in the study of biology by proffering the gene-centered view of evolution. It was also in this book that Dawkins coined the term meme, a unit of cultural evolution, which has itself become a mainstay in contemporary culture.
In An Appetite for Wonder, Richard Dawkins shares a rare view into his early life, his intellectual awakening at Oxford, and his path to writing The Selfish Gene. He paints a vivid picture of his idyllic childhood in colonial Africa, peppered with sketches of his colorful ancestors, charming parents, and the peculiarities of colonial life right after World War II. At boarding school, despite a near-religious encounter with an Elvis record, he began his career as a skeptic by refusing to kneel for prayer in chapel. Despite some inspired teaching throughout primary and secondary school, it was only when he got to Oxford that his intellectual curiosity took full flight.
Arriving at Oxford in 1959, when undergraduates "left Elvis behind" for Bach or the Modern Jazz Quartet, Dawkins began to study zoology and was introduced to some of the university's legendary mentors as well as its tutorial system. It's to this unique educational system that Dawkins credits his awakening, as it invited young people to become scholars by encouraging them to pose rigorous questions and scour the library for the latest research rather than textbook "teaching to" any kind of test. His career as a fellow and lecturer at Oxford took an unexpected turn when, in 1973, a serious strike in Britain caused prolonged electricity cuts, and he was forced to pause his computer-based research. Provoked by the then widespread misunderstanding of natural selection known as "group selection" and inspired by the work of William Hamilton, Robert Trivers, and John Maynard Smith, he began to write a book he called, jokingly, "my bestseller." It was, of course, The Selfish Gene.
Here, for the first time, is an intimate memoir of the childhood and intellectual development of the evolutionary biologist and world-famous atheist, and the story of how he came to write what is widely held to be one of the most important books of the twentieth century.
Richard Dawkins taught zoology at the University of California at Berkeley and at Oxford University and is now the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, a position he has held since 1995. Among his previous books are The Ancestor's Tale, The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, and A Devil's Chaplain. Dawkins lives in Oxford with his wife, the actress and artist Lalla Ward.
在英国《前景》杂志“2013年全球最重要思想家”评选中,理查德•道金斯名列第一。这位牛津大学教授、英国皇家科学院院士不仅极大地推动了达尔文进化论的发展,他还通过《自私的基因》等一系列著作掀起了一场场思维革命。 道金斯最重要的代表作《自私的基因》初...
评分在英国《前景》杂志“2013年全球最重要思想家”评选中,理查德•道金斯名列第一。这位牛津大学教授、英国皇家科学院院士不仅极大地推动了达尔文进化论的发展,他还通过《自私的基因》等一系列著作掀起了一场场思维革命。 道金斯最重要的代表作《自私的基因》初...
评分在英国《前景》杂志“2013年全球最重要思想家”评选中,理查德•道金斯名列第一。这位牛津大学教授、英国皇家科学院院士不仅极大地推动了达尔文进化论的发展,他还通过《自私的基因》等一系列著作掀起了一场场思维革命。 道金斯最重要的代表作《自私的基因》初...
评分在英国《前景》杂志“2013年全球最重要思想家”评选中,理查德•道金斯名列第一。这位牛津大学教授、英国皇家科学院院士不仅极大地推动了达尔文进化论的发展,他还通过《自私的基因》等一系列著作掀起了一场场思维革命。 道金斯最重要的代表作《自私的基因》初...
评分在英国《前景》杂志“2013年全球最重要思想家”评选中,理查德•道金斯名列第一。这位牛津大学教授、英国皇家科学院院士不仅极大地推动了达尔文进化论的发展,他还通过《自私的基因》等一系列著作掀起了一场场思维革命。 道金斯最重要的代表作《自私的基因》初...
这部作品的对话简直是教科书级别的范本,充满了火花和智慧的碰撞。角色之间的交流绝非简单的信息传递,而是一种深层次的心理博弈和情感渗透。每个角色的语调、用词习惯都经过了精心的设计,即便是最简单的问答,也暗藏着角色的性格底色和隐藏的动机。我发现自己会不自觉地模仿其中某个角色的说话方式,可见其语言的感染力有多强。尤其是在那些紧张的对峙场景中,那些短促、犀利的台词,像刀光剑影一样交错,张力十足,让我手心冒汗。而且,作者对于不同社会阶层和地域背景的语言差异把握得相当到位,这无疑为整个故事增添了丰富的层次感和真实感。读到后面,我几乎能“听见”这些人物在对我说话,这是一种非常奇妙的共鸣体验,让人不禁思考我们日常交流中错失了多少潜台词。
评分我必须得提一下这本书的结构安排,它简直是一部精密的建筑艺术品。作者巧妙地采用了多线叙事的手法,将看似分散的事件和人物命运,最终汇聚成一个令人震撼的高潮点。这种叙事上的精妙布局,要求读者必须全神贯注,稍有走神可能就会错过某个关键的伏笔。我喜欢那种需要动脑筋去梳理线索的感觉,它极大地提升了阅读的参与度。在快要到达终点时,那些之前看似无关紧要的细节,如同散落的宝石般被串联起来,闪耀出巨大的意义,那一刻的恍然大悟,带来的满足感是无与伦比的。它不像有些小说那样平铺直叙,而是像一个复杂的迷宫,引导你层层深入,每一次转折都出乎意料,但回看时又觉得一切都顺理成章,这是功力深厚的体现。
评分这本书的叙事节奏把握得简直出神入化,作者仿佛是一位技艺高超的魔术师,牵引着读者的心弦,时而让你屏息凝神,时而又让你忍不住会心一笑。文字的流动性极佳,每一个段落的转换都像是精心编排的乐章,没有丝毫的滞涩感。我尤其欣赏作者在处理复杂情感时的细腻笔触,那些关于成长、迷惘与追寻的主题,被描绘得如此真实可感,仿佛我就是那个在字里行间摸索前行的角色。故事中构建的世界观宏大而又充满细节,那些奇特的设定和风俗习惯,都被描绘得栩栩如生,让我完全沉浸其中,仿佛进行了一场跨越时空的旅行。这种沉浸式的阅读体验是许多作品难以企及的,它不仅仅是讲述了一个故事,更像是邀请你进入一个全新的、充满生命力的存在维度。我花了好几个晚上才读完,每读完一个章节都舍不得放下,那种意犹未尽的感觉持续了很久,回味无穷。
评分从文学性的角度来看,这本书的意象运用达到了极高的水准,充满了象征意义和诗意的表达。作者似乎对自然界的观察有着近乎痴迷的热爱,无论是对光影的捕捉,还是对季节更迭的描绘,都渗透着一种哲学的思考。我记得有一段描写暴风雨的文字,那已经超越了单纯的天气描写,它几乎成了一种心理状态的外化,将人物内心的挣扎和翻腾具象化了。这种高密度的意象和隐喻,让每一次重读都能发掘出新的解读层面。我甚至拿出了笔在旁边做了一些批注,试图捕捉那些一闪而过的哲理火花。它迫使我放慢速度,去咀嚼每一个比喻背后的深层含义,这使得阅读过程更像是一场与作者思想的深度对话,而不是被动接受信息。
评分这本书的社会批判锋芒也十分犀利,它没有停留在肤浅的道德评判上,而是深入挖掘了权力结构、阶级固化以及个体在庞大系统面前的无力感。作者的笔触冷静而客观,却能激起读者内心深处的共鸣和对现状的反思。它成功地将宏大的社会议题融入到微观的人物命运之中,使得那些严肃的讨论变得可感、可触。我读到某些情节时,会联想到现实生活中发生的种种不公,作者成功地捕捉到了那种普遍存在的疏离感和被边缘化的痛苦。这种力量,让这本书的价值远超娱乐范畴,它更像是一面镜子,映照出我们所处的时代背景和人性的复杂性。读完之后,我感到一种沉甸甸的责任感,促使我去重新审视自己周遭的世界。
评分Ends at ‘the selfish gene’, age 35.
评分190511回望过去。 当年 自己在寻找成熟的世界观,以便自己走上自认为还算正义且舒适的道路。大三上 对道爷、彪马叔的人生观疯狂感兴趣! 201310读着看到不少专业名词 还是略费力 道金斯自传之节目宣传:http://www.richarddawkins.net/news_articles/2013/9/21/richard-dawkins-on-the-daily-show-tue-24-sep-11-00-11-30-pm-edt
评分Ends at ‘the selfish gene’, age 35.
评分Dawkins的回忆录,记述他在非洲的童年,和回英国上学,在牛津任教的经历。确实是牛人,做科研很有想法。
评分Ends at ‘the selfish gene’, age 35.
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