期刊名称：Evolutionary Psychology: an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior
印刷版ISSN：1474-7049
出版年度：2004
卷号：2
页码：7-8
出版社：Ian Pitchford, Ed.& Pub
摘要：Some things warrant attention simply by existing: if a previously unknown Bach partita is discovered, it is likely worth hearing. If someone finds a new painting by van Gogh, it is probably worth seeing. And whenever Richard Dawkins comes out with a new book, "depend upon it," as the Brits are wont to say, it is worth reading. Well, he just did, and it is. This is true even though A Devil's Chaplain is a collection of previously published pieces, and a slender and diverse collection at that. Herein are book reviews, forewords to other people's books, eulogies (for biologist W. D. Hamilton and sci-fi author Douglas Adams, an eclectic duo that bespeaks Dawkins's own wide-ranging interests), some wickedly and hilariously effective critiques of religion ¨C whether organized or un - a few notable restatements of gene-based evolutionary thinking, and a very affecting concluding essay ¨C directed to his daughter on the occasion of her tenth birthday ¨C that should be required reading for all parents, children, teachers, and, most of all, would-be purveyors of the bombastic, believe-it-because-I-say-so snake-oil that Dawkins finds especially detestable and that he debunks so effectively. A Devil's Chaplain should be particularly welcome to American readers, since most of its components have not yet been easily available outside the UK
