Richard Dawkins is probably the most famous evolutionary biologist in the world today. I recently read his book Outgrowing God, which is aimed at a younger audience. Having really enjoyed that book a lot, I was happy to have an opportunity to read Adam The Ape by Wolfgang Wambach, which also introduces younger readers to evolution and humanism. While both books are wonderful, Wambach offers a carrot where Dawkins uses a stick.
What comes across most clearly from the non-fiction in ‘Outgrowing God’ is that Dawkins is an accomplished scientist. He leads the reader through the evidence in the field that he has mastered, to arrive at several unavoidable conclusions. For example, humans are a species of great ape and like other creatures we evolved from common ancestors, such that all animals on this planet are our cousins. Dawkins often uses fantastic metaphors and beautiful allusions, but the collection of evidence he gathers is a bit like a big stick, which is just as difficult to argue with as the real thing.
What comes across most clearly from the non-fiction in ‘Outgrowing God’ is that Dawkins is an accomplished scientist. He leads the reader through the evidence in the field that he has mastered, to arrive at several unavoidable conclusions. For example, humans are a species of great ape and like other creatures we evolved from common ancestors, such that all animals on this planet are our cousins. Dawkins often uses fantastic metaphors and beautiful allusions, but the collection of evidence he gathers is a bit like a big stick, which is just as difficult to argue with as the real thing.
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