Richard Dawkins, born in 1941, is a British biologist and author. His first book, The Selfish Gene, is an impassioned argument, written in elegant prose, for the reality of natural selection. The work essentially bridged the gap from mid-century biology to our current era of the genome, inspiring countless numbers of scientists and lay readers alike. It is also notable for coining the term 'meme' and spawning the study of genetics. This is the first printing from 1976:
