Journal Entry 1 by schwester from Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria on Thursday, November 24, 2011

Blurb:
The Selfish Gene caused a wave of excitement among biologists and the general public when it was first published in 1976. Its vivid rendering of a gene´s eye view of life, in lucid prose, gathered together the strands of thought about the nature of natural selection into a conceptual framework with far-reaching implications for our understanding of evolution. Time has confirmed its significance. Intellectually rigorous, yet written in non-technical language, The Selfish Gene is widely regarded as a masterpiece of science writing, and its insights remain as relevant today as on the day it was published.

I came across Dawkins´ "God Delusion" book via Bookcrossing (which is GREAT!), so I thought, I´d also give that one here a try. And it is also great! I of course grew up with genes and evolution (in fact I am some years younger than the book), DNA for me is something like logarithm: I learned it in school and I think there was a time when I really understood it, but if I had to teach it in a detailed way that you could logically follow, I´d be rather troubled... But on so many pages of this book I thought: ah! Right! That´s totally easy and logical... the way we came from water with some particles in it - it just took a few years: very well written. Absolute recommendation. 

Journal Entry 2 by schwester at Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria on Saturday, November 26, 2011

Released 6 mos ago (11/26/2011 UTC) at Wien Bezirk 03 - Landstraße, Wien Austria

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

sent to China as a little surprise. The Federal Austrian Mailservices get stranger and stranger! I think it will take quite some time for the book to arrive in China, but it cost the same as sending a book just to our EU-neighbours across the border, which is for Slovakia less than 100 km! Strange strange... I hope it arrives. 

Journal Entry 3 by bookowl1000 at Shinjuku-ku / 新宿区, Tokyo-to Japan on Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Journal Entry 4 by bookowl1000 at FoShan, Guangdong China on Monday, January 02, 2012

Journal Entry 5 by bookowl1000 at Hanoi, Hanoi Vietnam on Thursday, January 19, 2012

Well, from start to finish it took me just over 24 hours to read. Quite a quick time considering the topic of the book, but I had a lot of time on my hand.

I started it on the two metro journey from Foshan to Guangzhou airport. I was very intrigued as the foreword described how many people have been upset about the book, it calling into question what the purpose of life was, or causing a crisis in faith.

Having to be at an airport several hours before an international flight, an hour delay and a 2 hour flight meant I was well into the battle of the generations by the time I got to Hanoi. So far I had not been startled or anguished by anything I had read. To me it all seems very logical, or maybe that is the science teacher in me.

My hotel did not pick me up as planned so Iwas stranded at the airport. Not wanting to let a taxi take me to a random part of the city in the early hours of the morning meant I found a seat, tied all my belongings together and leant on them to continue the book. The battle of the sexes was interesting (though again, nothing new), but then descriptions of genes replicating was not helping me in my quest to stay awake at 3.30am (I wanted to sleep as little as possible as I did not want to wake up and find my stuff gone) so I had to switch to something requiring less brain power.

The next morning I found a bus to take me into the city. My question of how long till the bus leaves was always met with '5 mins'. It wasan hour before it left, add to that an hours journey time meant I was almost done by the time I reached the city centre.

That evening I was exhausted and wanted an early night, but could not resist finishing as I wa son the last chapter. I agree with Dawkin's comment that evolution is something that everyone thinks they understand, but in reality they dont. I have taught it to classes of school children, yet still I don't think I understand everything. To me the idea that every action is about gene preservation is logical, I do however ponder wether or not interpretations of animal behaviour are always correct. There are examples in the book of how previously accepted explanations are now viewed as incorrect, in the end, how can anyone really know why an animal behave sin the way it does.

Thanks for sending this book my way - it was my companion on an adventurous start to a holiday.

 

Journal Entry 6 by bookowl1000 at Hanoi Backpacker Hostel in Hanoi, Hanoi Vietnam on Thursday, January 19, 2012

Released 4 mos ago (1/19/2012 UTC) at Hanoi Backpacker Hostel in Hanoi, Hanoi Vietnam

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left at the Hanoi Backpacker Hostel at 48 Ngo Huyen street near Hoan Kiem lake, Hanoi. (great place to stay, I highly recommend it)

If you were lucky enough to find this book please journal it to say where you found it, and then what you thought of it.

When you have finished please release it. Keep its journey alive!