Remember the old instructions that went with fireworks: "light blue touch paper and retire!" Well, I am looking forward to seeing the explosion when this book, by the fearless Fern Elsdon-Baker, hits the shops in a few months' time:The Selfish Genius: How Richard Dawkins Rewrote Darwin's Legacy
Of course, I have to declare a conflict of interest, in that
(1) Fern is part of the team running the British Council's Darwin bicentenary celebrations, which is funding our Darwin Day activities in Birmingham (but I have no idea how well she writes or whether any of her points are well made).
(2) I have read and enjoyed (but not uncritically) all of Dawkin's books (well, all apart from The Extended Phenotype).
I eagerly await Fern's analysis. But given the negative responses evoked by my one throwaway remark about a defence of evolution not needed to get entangled in atheism, I am looking forward even more to firestorm of comments that are going to follow publication of the book!
BANG!!
