First published 2013
Richard Dawkins traces his path from childhood in colonial Africa to becoming a world-renowned evolutionary biologist. He examines the family influences that steered him toward science, including naturalist parents and scientifically accomplished relatives. Dawkins describes his formative years surrounded by Africa's exotic wildlife, then his jarring transition to English boarding school at age eight. He recounts his experiences at Oundle public school with its peculiar traditions and memorable teachers. His early religious devotion to the Church of England gradually dissolved into skepticism and teenage revolt. Throughout, he shows how his love for music, poetry, and literature shaped his thinking. The narrative reaches its turning point at Oxford, where dynamic debates in the Zoology Department awakened his intellectual curiosity. Inspirational mentors combined with his own creative insights to produce his revolutionary interpretation of Darwinism that would become "The Selfish Gene." Dawkins weaves together honest self-examination with amusing stories and fond memories of family, friends, and the cultural influences that molded him. This personal account reveals the private experiences that created the public figure who transformed how his generation understood human origins.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, autobiography, 21st-century, biology, africa, academia, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family
Setting: Africa, England, Oxford
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
294 pages · Hardcover · Ecco