Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder (Penguin Press Science Ser.)

By: Richard Dawkins

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Synopsis: From the New York Times–bestselling author of Science in the Soul. &“If any recent writing about science is poetic, it is this&” (The Wall Street Journal). Did Sir Isaac Newton &“unweave the rainbow&” by reducing it to its prismatic colors, as John Keats contended? Did he, in other words, diminish beauty? Far from it, says acclaimed scientist Richard Dawkins; Newton&’s unweaving is the key too much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don&’t lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mysteries. With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him a bestselling author, Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder. This is the book Dawkins was meant to write: A brilliant assessment of what science is (and isn&’t), a tribute to science not because it is useful but because it is uplifting. &“A love letter to science, an attempt to counter the perception that science is cold and devoid of aesthetic sensibility . . . Rich with metaphor, passionate arguments, wry humor, colorful examples, and unexpected connections, Dawkins&’ prose can be mesmerizing.&” —San Francisco Chronicle &“Brilliance and wit.&” —The New Yorker