'The Ancestor's Tale' takes the reader on a trip from the present day arrogance and hubristic anthropocentrism, through a series of humblings, back to the last universal common ancestor, and the dawn of life itself. These humblings come in the form of 'concestors', the last common ancestor of ourselves, and those species who join us on our backwards pilgrimage to the dawn of life. Why do I say humblings? Because this is a tome that will remind you how, in the scale of things, human beings are mere infants on this journey of life, yet ones who have been veritably blessed by the workings of evolution - something we would do well to have better awareness of. There is a point, clearly stated and reiterated at many times throughout the book, that any consideration of 'higher' or 'lower' organisms is a bit of a misnomer. We have all, successfully, made our respective ways, via various common ancestors, through around 4 billion years of time. There should be equality and camaraderie in that!
But, enough of my cynical, misanthropic biologist's fanwank. Let's talk about the author. Well, it must be said that Richard Dawkins is a man who divides opinion. However, why does he divide opinion? It is mainly due to his stance on religion (a rational one, it must be said) and the way he puts his message across. Well, for this book, regardless of whether you like Dawkins or not, you can cast those aspersions to one side. Aside from a few sly digs, which seem more humorous than anything else, Dawkins does little in the way of religious polemics here. Indeed, reading it one can imagine a small boy discovering the world for the very first time! The style of writing is measured, yet excited; learned and well researched, yet with a naive and youthful curiosity. The passion the author has for the subject is so self evident, and moves you seamlessly from one amazing adventure to the next like you and he were old childhood pals exploring the woods together. I really did enjoy the style and you could wish for nothing more to accompany you through such an incredible journey.
And here is the other point on the writing style. Very little by the way of ego carries this book. While Dawkins will interject with anecdotes and experiences of his own, it is not these that provide the drive. Dawkins, it seems, has quite rightly given himself a backseat and allowed the sheer wonder of life to carry its own story.
This story of life, it becomes quite clear, is not our story, though we have a part. This is not even the story of the myriad species that join us along the way as we shake hands at ancestral meetings. No. This is the story of something far greater and more all encompassing. The story of the gene. Dawkins sends us down through a roaring cascade of genetic diversity over eons, back to that point when something - though there is contention as to what - first self-replicated. From such humble and biochemical beginnings did it all spring and this book gets that message across in ways that are entertaining and amusing.
I recommend all buy this book, for the simple fact that someone has gone to great lengths to write your genetic autobiography for you and it would be rude not to at least check it out.
One final note, I shall leave on. Reading this book reminds me why I have a desire to understand the world around me, and the life upon it. For those who don't know I am currently at university studying natural science, thus I am hugely involved with biology, to the extent I have invested financially in it! But, when I try to explain things in biological terms to people, they shy away. I have been accused of removing the 'magic' from things. Of being 'too scientific'. And I have been bombarded, time and again, with that hackneyed quote from Horatio in Hamlet!
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
I happen to agree with this quote. There are more things in heaven and earth than can be dreamed in any pursuit of thought, whether scientific, philosophical, or both. I am glad of this, for it means there are always new discoveries, always new things to be found and understood, always new questions to be answered, always new lines of research and new theories to be tested. For some, the 'magic' of life is not removed by an understanding of them. For some, life is not destroyed by breaking it down into its composite parts and doing our best to understand how each works, often intricately with other pieces. Indeed, the 'magic' of life is not destroyed, but rather enhanced. Curiosity did not, as is told, kill the cat, you can check the phylogenetic trees, the felidae are alive and well. But the superstition, ignorance and irrationality of human minds has killed cats, and other animals, and other humans. Indeed, it is proposed we are in the midst of an extinction event that could rival those from pre-history, and this one is mainly anthropogenic - We are to blame. Now, more than ever, an understanding of the natural world and our humble place in it is key. So fear not the lack of 'magic' in life, read 'The Ancestor's Tale' and see the magic is well and truly there, and that life, like all good magicians, is willing to reveal her tricks if we only have the curiosity.
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