Popular Science Review - Unweaving the Rainbow

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Review - Unweaving the Rainbow - Richard Dawkins

This is another case of Richard Dawkins, our foremost neo-Darwinist writer, having a great idea for a book and nearly but not quite entirely carrying it off. The idea in question is to counter the argument that science takes the joy and beauty away from nature (hence the Keats quote in the title about Newton unweaving the rainbow). This Dawkins largely manages - and don't get me wrong, it is a book that's well worth reading - but he slightly shoots himself in the foot with a combination of occasionally slipping into a classic British academic "looking down the nose" attitude when talking of the common herd (i.e. the rest of us), and also because a couple of the chapters are, frankly, rather boring.

He sets off well with a sort of condensed Bill Bryson with a few chapters that cleverly take an aspect of nature then open it up, dancing elegantly through the different aspects of science that come up, unravelling onion-like layers in a manner that would delight Shrek. There's then a fascinating chapter on the use of science in the law, with the inevitable digs at lawyers and a great explanation of DNA profiling. This is followed by the other successful part where Dawkins pulls apart those with the habit of using the vague feel of science to promote bogus ideas snatched out of nowhere (often to the financial benefit of those involved). We hear of what Dawkins describes as "bad poetry" in science - getting into a rhapsodic mode, but backed up by flaky facts. This section is good, though this is where he is particularly apt to look down on most of humanity.

Then it all goes to pieces a bit - he goes on much too long down various biological avenues that could stand a chapter but runs across several - and this is where (for me at least) it got a bit boring.

Unweaving the Rainbow has a great point to make, though, and is an important part of a popular science library even if it doesn't run to a top score.

Also in hardback:

Reviewed by Brian Clegg

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