’Arvid?grenhasundertakenthemostmeticulouslythoroughreadingoftherelevantliteraturethatIhaveeverencountered,deployinganintelligentunderstandingtopullitintoacoherentstory.Asifthatwasn’tenough,hegetsitright.’(RichardDawkins)Tomanyevolutionarybiologists,thecentralchallengeoftheirdisciplineistoexplainadaptation,theappearanceofdesigninthelivingworld.Withthetheoryofevolutionbynaturalselection,CharlesDarwinelegantlyshowedhowapurelymechanisticprocesscanachievethisstrikingfeatureofnature.Sincethen,thewaymanybiologistshavethoughtaboutevolutionandnaturalselectionisasatheoryaboutindividualorganisms.Overacenturylater,asubtlebutradicalshiftinperspectiveemergedwiththegene’s-eyeviewofevolutioninwhichnaturalselectionwasconceptualizedasastrugglebetweengenesforreplicationandtransmissiontothenextgeneration.ThisviewpointculminatedwiththepublicationofTheSelfishGenebyRichardDawkins(OxfordUniversityPress,1976)andisnowcommonlyreferredtoasselfishgenethinking.Thegene’s-eyeviewhassubsequentlyplayedacentralroleinevolutionarybiology,althoughitcontinuestoattractcontroversy.Thecentralaimofthisaccessiblebookistoshowhowthegene’s-eyeviewdiffersfromthetraditionalorganismalaccountofevolution,traceitshistoricalorigins,clarifytypicalmisunderstandingsand,byusingexamplesfromcontemporaryexperimentalwork,showwhysomanyevolutionarybiologistsstillconsideritanindispensableheuristic.Thebookconcludesbydiscussinghowselfishgenethinkingfitsintoongoingdebatesinevolutionarybiology,andwhattheytellusaboutthefutureofthegene’s-eyeviewofevolution.TheGene’s-EyeViewofEvolutionissuitableforgraduate-levelstudentstakingcoursesinevolutionarybiology,behaviouralecology,andevolutionarygenetics,aswellasprofessionalresearchersinthesefields.Itwillalsoappealtoabroader,interdisciplinaryaudiencefromthesocialsciencesandhumanitiesincludingphilosophersandhistoriansofscience.
