The Magic of Reality is Richard Dawkins's newest book. It is primarily targeted towards a younger audience. Judging by the content of the book, I would say it is best read by children of about 1o or 11 and up. However, this book is extremely enjoyable to adults such as myself. To those who are put off by Dawkins's "militant" approach to religion in The God Delusion, have no fear here. Dawkins doesn't lash out against religion as he does there. What Dawkins does do is go through a list of questions that everyone has wondered at some point in their lives; the questions range from the scientifically curious, such as "Is there life on other planets?" and "Why are there so many different types of animal?" to the philosophical, such as "Why do bad things happen?" and a host of other questions. Dawkins begins most of each chapter by asking a question, and giving a myth from some culture that explains it. He touches on Greek mythology, Norse mythology, African mythology, Judeo-Christian mythology, and more. He doesn't give any special preference for or against any particular culture's myth. In other words, he doesn't make a target out of the Abrahamic faiths. This might make the book more attractive to some people, including the non-religious, who were put off by his tone in The God Delusion. This book could have equally well have been written by a deist instead of one of the world's most outspoken atheists. In more philosophical chapters, such as "What is a Miracle?", he advocates rational thinking about these issues and explains them in a very easy to understand manner that should be understandable to most pre-teens. Instead of tearing down religion and arguing for atheism, here he advocates the beauty of studying the natural world without needing superstition to make it beautiful. I like this approach much more as a naturalist. I personally prefer the title of "Naturalist" when describing what I believe. I believe in the natural world, and that's what I wish to be defined by, not my disbelief in (or lack of knowledge of) the existence of a deity. To me, the title of Naturalist side-steps the issue of the existence of a creator, because there have been deistic, pantheistic, and atheistic Naturalists. For those with a similar opinion to my own, you will enjoy this book. If you are wanting to buy your child a science book, this would be an excellent one.
“I want to show you that the real world, as understood scientifically, has a magic of its own – the kind I call poetic magic; an inspiring beauty which is all the more magical because it is real and because we can understand how it works. The magic of reality is – quite simply – wonderful. Wonderful, and real. Wonderful because real.”-Richard Dawkins
The artwork in this book is absolutely beautiful. The artwork is done by Dave McKean, who is an accomplished artist. The illustrations are colorful and in many instances help give an excellent visual companion to the text that might help younger readers comprehend the material more easily.
This book gets a 10/10. This book deserves an award. If you are interested in science, or have a child that is, get this book. Unless you are very religious, this book shouldn't pose a problem to you.
1 comments:
A very articulated review. I must look into the book now! Ironically, I did a book critique for Comparative Religion, Rabbi Liebowitz's class, on Why Faith Matters. As the outspoken atheist in class, he challenged me to it, hoping that it would convert me or something. Interestingly enough, I combated all of what the author credited god for with nature, philosophy, and psychology also. I received an A, and the class said that it was very respectful and rational.
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