River Out of Eden
Richard Dawkins, the author of The Selfish Gene, wrote this short book to explain evolution through one central image: a river of DNA flowing forward through time, branching as species split, carrying information from the first life to every creature alive today. He covers natural selection, the idea of a most recent common ancestor, and why life shows the appearance of design without any designer. At under 200 pages it is one of his most compact books. Ray Dalio names it among the three books he would give every graduating student, calling it a short read that puts things in perspective.
What you might want to know about River Out of Eden
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A short, clear account of evolution as a flow of genetic information passed down an unbroken river of life across billions of years.
Yes. Richard Dawkins wrote both. River Out of Eden is a shorter, later book that revisits evolution through the image of a flowing river of genes.
River Out of Eden was written by Richard Dawkins, published in 1995 by Basic Books.
River Out of Eden is 192 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, River Out of Eden takes most readers 3 to 4 hours to finish.
River Out of Eden is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
