Science · Similar reads

Books like The Extended Phenotype

The best books like The Extended Phenotype are The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watchmaker, and The Ancestor's Tale. The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins is about genetics, evolution, gene-centered view. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.

  1. The Selfish Gene
    The Selfish Gene

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    The Selfish Gene

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Selfish Gene reframes evolution from the organism's point of view to the gene's.

    Shares genetics and evolution with The Extended Phenotype.

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  2. The Blind Watchmaker
    The Blind Watchmaker

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    The Blind Watchmaker

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Blind Watchmaker is Richard Dawkins's argument that natural selection — cumulative, non-random selection acting on random variation — is sufficient to explain the apparent design in biological organisms.

    Shares evolution and adaptation with The Extended Phenotype.

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  3. The Ancestor's Tale
    The Ancestor's Tale

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    The Ancestor's Tale

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Ancestor's Tale is Richard Dawkins's account of the history of life on Earth, told backwards: beginning with humans and traveling back in evolutionary time to meet successive ancestors at the points where different lineages join.

    Both dig into evolution.

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  1. On the Origin of Species
    On the Origin of Species

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    On the Origin of Species

    Charles Darwin · Science

    On the Origin of Species, published in 1859, is the book in which Charles Darwin presented the theory of evolution by natural selection to the general reading public.

    Shares evolution and adaptation with The Extended Phenotype.

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  2. The Gene: An Intimate History
    The Gene: An Intimate History

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    The Gene: An Intimate History

    Siddhartha Mukherjee · Science

    The Gene is Siddhartha Mukherjee's account of the gene — what it is, how it was discovered, and what humanity has done and might yet do with that knowledge.

    Shares genetics and evolution with The Extended Phenotype.

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  3. Climbing Mount Improbable
    Climbing Mount Improbable

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    Climbing Mount Improbable

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    Climbing Mount Improbable is Richard Dawkins's response to the persistent intuition that complex biological structures — the vertebrate eye, insect wings, spider webs — are too improbable to have evolved by chance.

    Shares evolution and adaptation with The Extended Phenotype.

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  4. Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human
    Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human

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    Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human

    Matt Ridley · Science

    Matt Ridley's central argument is that the nature versus nurture debate has been framed wrong for over a century.

    Shares genetics and evolution with The Extended Phenotype.

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  5. The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
    The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

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    The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature

    Matt Ridley · Science

    The Red Queen takes its title from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, where the Red Queen tells Alice she must keep running just to stay in the same place.

    Shares genetics and evolution with The Extended Phenotype.

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  6. A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
    A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution

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    A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution

    Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg · Science

    A Crack in Creation is Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg's account of how CRISPR-Cas9 works, what it can do, and why its possibilities should give everyone pause.

    Both dig into evolution.

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  7. A Short History of Nearly Everything
    A Short History of Nearly Everything

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    A Short History of Nearly Everything

    Bill Bryson · Science

    A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's attempt to understand the scientific story of everything — from the Big Bang to the emergence of modern humans — by spending three years talking to scientists and reading science history.

    Both dig into evolution.

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  8. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
    Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

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    Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

    Frans de Waal · Science

    Frans de Waal's central argument is that we've spent most of the last century asking the wrong questions about animal intelligence.

    Both dig into evolution.

    Read the summary →
  9. Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
    Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

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    Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

    Robert M. Sapolsky · Science

    Behave is Robert Sapolsky's attempt to explain why humans do what they do — the violence, the altruism, the tribalism, the heroism — by working through every layer of biology that contributes to a single act.

    Both dig into evolution.

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Books like The Extended Phenotype: quick answers

What are the best books like The Extended Phenotype?

The best books like The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins are The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins, On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Extended Phenotype, such as genetics, evolution, gene-centered view.

What should I read after The Extended Phenotype?

A natural next read after The Extended Phenotype is The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Shares genetics and evolution with The Extended Phenotype. Other strong choices are The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins, On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

What books are similar to The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins?

The Extended Phenotype centers on genetics, evolution, gene-centered view. Books with a similar feel include The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins, On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.

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