Friday, October 04, 2019

Polemics

I read this rather drole, self-congratulatory diary entry from Richard Dawkins this morning > "As I sign the books, I never tire of hearing, over and over: The Selfish Gene is the reason I went to university to study science.’ ‘You cured me of religion.’ ‘Because of you I am now an ex-Muslim.’ ‘You changed my life.’"

The Cover Challenge presents some interesting dilemmas, particularly with the non-fiction titles. Can one post the cover of an at least partially controversial text one 'loves' without appearing to wholeheartedly endorse its content?

I recall that David Bowie listed the book below as one of his all time favourites. It's one of mine too. Yet in a sense, it's also, as our PM might say, a load of cobblers. (The man Dawkins referred to as 'our sick joke Prime Minister' in the same entry.)




I'd like to have it in my seven, yet feel I cannot, at least not without comment. I wonder what Bowie thought.

As for The Selfish Gene, it's definitely one of those books that marks a turning point in one's education, though it's somewhat difficult to feel warm and cuddly about, as is its author.


No comments: