This phenomenal book (1995 National Book Award Finalist) is perhaps one of the best books ever written on the theory of
evolution. Beyond giving an easy to understand description of the theory,
Daniel Dennett examines it from a variety of different perspectives, and gives us different ways of understanding its implications and significance from the standpoint of
History,
Computer Science,
Philosphy,
Design, and
Biology, just to name a few.
Some ideas he presents that I found to be especially interesting are:
and so on, in many more concepts that I can name. It is a fascinating book that ties these concepts together in a fabric that helps you better understand not only
evolution but its ties to a plethora of other subjects, and most importantly, how to
think about these kinds of concepts, how to
integrate them, and finally how to make them
meaningful. It is very reminiscent of
Hofstadter's monumental work,
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.