The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins

Merits: Dawkins is a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Literature. He is a British evolutionary biologist and author of numerous bestselling books. He retired from his position as the inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University in 2008 and remains a Fellow of New College. He is also the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including the Royal Society of Literature Award (1987), the Shakespeare Prize (2005), the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science (2006), and the Nierenberg Prize for Science and the Public Interest (2009), etc.

Material: This book is a counterattack against the 'theory’ of intelligent design and attempts to retire the idea that evolutionary theory is controversial. Dawkins explores the multifaceted layers of evidence that exist to support evolution and shares a passion for the splendor of the natural world that anyone, not just biologists, can appreciate and recognize.

Grade: Bill Nye. With a little bit of N.S.F.C. Dawkins writes science in prose that is accessible and entertaining. Regardless of whether or not you think the book’s jabs at the creationist position are deserved, he delivers a spectacular case for why evolution is as real as it is fascinating.